Satellite photography for snow surveillance in Western Mountains

The use of satellite photography to map snow cover distribution in the mountainous regions of the western United States are described in this paper. The techniques presented for identifying and mapping snow were developed from meteorological satellite data representative of that currently being received operationally. Differences between satellite snow mapping in flat and mountainous terrain are reviewed, and the outlook for operational snow surveillance from space is discussed. A survey of snow and ice on a world-wide basis, as planned in the International Hydrological Decade, appears economically feasible only through satellite observations.