Global mapping methods of snow water equivalent (SWE) are developed in this study using WCOM (Water Cycle Observation Mission) active/passive multichannel observations. Based on the payloads of WCOM mission, especially with X/Ku scatterometer and L/Ku/Ka radiometer active/passive observations, there are obvious advantages in snow water equivalent retrieval. The estimation of SWE mainly rely on the high resolution X and Ku band scatterometer, and combined active/passive retrieval can provide more reliable SWE product. The retrieval method of SWE from X/Ku scatterometer is described in this study, and combined active/passive retrieval is also briefly described. These validation of SWE retrieval from X/Ku band scatterometer showed that we can get high accurate and high resolution SWE products from WCOM and then meet the science requirement of WCOM for water cycle studies.
['Chuan Xiong', 'Jiancheng Shi', 'Lingmei Jiang', 'Yurong Cui']
Global mapping of snow water equivalent with the Water Cycle Observation Mission (WCOM)