Snowpack snow water equivalent measurement using the attenuation of cosmic gamma radiation

TitleSnowpack snow water equivalent measurement using the attenuation of cosmic gamma radiation
Publication TypeConference Proceedings
Year of Conference1998
AuthorsOsterhuber, R. J., Gehrke F., and Condreva K.
Conference Name66th Annual Western Snow Conference
Series TitleProceedings of the 66th Annual Western Snow Conference
Date PublishedApril 1998
PublisherWestern Snow Conference
Conference LocationSnowbird, Utah
KeywordsAttenuation, Gamma radiation, Snow measurement
Abstract

Incoming, background cosmic radiation constantly fluxes through the earth's atmosphere. The high energy gamma portion of this radiation penetrates many terrestrial objects, including the winter snowpack. The attenuation of this radiation is exponentially related to the mass of the medium through which it penetrates. For the past three winters, a device measuring cosmic gamma radiation --and its attenuation through snow --has been installed at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory , near Donner Pass, California. This gamma detector, measuring energy levels between 5 and 15 MeV, has proved to be an accurate, reliable, non-invasive, non-mechanical instrument with which to measure the total snow water equivalent of a snowpack. This paper analyzes three winters' worth of data and discusses the physics and practical application of the detector for the collection of snow water equivalent data from a remote location.

URLsites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1998OsterhuberB.pdf