Publications

Kadlec, J; Miller, AW; Ames, DP (2016). EXTRACTING SNOW COVER TIME SERIES DATA FROM OPEN ACCESS WEB MAPPING TILE SERVICES. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, 52(4), 916-932.

Abstract
The probability of the presence of snow cover at a given location over time is a critical input to hydrologic simulation models in snowpack-driven watersheds. While a number of open access web mapping tile services exist for viewing images of current and historical snow cover over large regions, no equally accessible tools exist for extracting numerical time series data of snow cover probability defined at particular point locations. This article presents the design, development, and testing of a new open source script and web application for snow cover probability time series extraction from map images. The script is deployed as a web app using the Tethys framework making it accessible to novice users through a user interface. A WaterML web-API gives access to third-party applications for automation and embedding in modeling tools. The full design of the script is presented such that it can serve as a model for similar or extended tools that may be developed by others. A set of use case experiments is presented demonstrating the full functionality of the script and its limitations, and an example application for ground validation of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer snow cover dataset is discussed.

DOI:
10.1111/1752-1688.12387

ISSN:
1093-474X