Concepts

Fresh weight minus dry weight divided by dry weight

The depth of water that would result from melting the snowpack, quantified as peak snow water equivalent and snow disappearance rate

Proportion of area covered by snow

Light absorption and reflection properties of tissues that vary with chemical composition and structure

The fraction of solar radiation reflected by the surface, with snow-covered surfaces having high albedo (0.8) and snow-free surfaces having lower values

The difference between net radiation flux at the surface under all-sky and clear-sky conditions, accounting for both downwelling and upwelling radiation changes

Statistical distribution describing the number concentration of particles as a function of their size

Measure of cloud opacity to solar radiation, related to cloud droplet concentration and size distribution

Classification of cloud particles as liquid water droplets, ice crystals, or mixed phase

Spectral band ratio that leverages the fact that snow reflectance is high in visible wavelengths and low in shortwave infrared wavelengths

Radar systems that transmit and receive both horizontal and vertical polarizations to characterize particle shape, orientation, and microphysical properties

Methodology for measuring turbulent fluxes using high-frequency measurements of vertical wind velocity and scalar concentrations

Parameter describing the water uptake ability of aerosol particles using κ-Köhler theory

Spatial intersection of radar beams from different systems enabling measurement comparison

The difference between observed streamflow and expected or baseline streamflow, representing water shortage

Estimates of precipitation amount derived from radar and other observational data