An acoustic frequency-swept wave was investigated as a means for determining Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) in cold wind-swept prairie and sub-alpine environments. Building on previous research conducted by investigators who have examined the propagation of sound in snow, digital signal processing was used to determine acoustic pressure wave reflection coefficients at the interfaces between 'layers' indicative of changes in acoustic impedance. Using an iterative approach involving boundary conditions at the interfaces, the depth-integrated SWE was determined using the Berryman equation from porous media physics. Apparatuses used to send and receive sound waves were designed and deployed during the winter season at field sites situated near the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and in Yoho National Park, British Columbia. Data collected by gravimetric sampling was used as comparison for the SWE values determined by acoustic sounding. The results are encouraging and suggest that this procedure is similar in accuracy to SWE data collected using gravimetric sampling. Further research is required to determine the applicability of this technique for snow situated at other geographic locations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:SSU.etd-06132007-102612 |
| Date | 13 June 2007 |
| Creators | Kinar, Nicholas John Stanislaus |
| Contributors | Westbrook, Cherie, Pomeroy, John W., Guo, Xulin |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-06132007-102612/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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