Potential and limitations of RADARSAT SAR data for wet snow monitoring

Based on Canadian Satellite (RADARSAT) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and simulations from a radar-backscattering model, we determined that conventional wet snow-mapping algorithms should perform optimally for a snowpack with a liquid-water content greater than or equal to 3%, at low incidence angle (theta = 20-30 degrees) and for a rather smooth surface(rms height less than or equal to 2.1 mm).