The use of snow pits may have been the earliest means of determining snow density (Table 4). A pit is excavated to the ground surface, and a known volume of the pit cross section is extracted and weighed, which provides a value for snowpack density. For a precise SWE measurement, the snowpack profile is stratified into layers of varying density, and SWE is determined for each layer. SWE can be obtained based on integrated snow density and snow depth for the profile.
Instruments for measuring SWE and snow density
| Gauge name . | Country of origin . | Description/Manufacture . |
|---|---|---|
| Snow tubes for manual SWE and snow density (Goodison et al. 1987; Dixon & Boon 2012; Laudon & Lofvenius 2016) | ||
| Mount Rose | USA | Cutter area (A) is 11.4 cm2, tube material is aluminum |
| 1980 Metric | Canada | A = 10.0 cm2, aluminum |
| 1981 Metric | Canada | A = 10.4 cm2, aluminum |
| Standard Federal | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Sharpened Federal | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Bowman | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, plastic |
| McCall | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Rosen | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Utah | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Svartberget | Sweden | A = 12.6 cm2, plastic |
| ESC 30 | Canada | A = 30.0 cm2, plastic |
| SnowHydro | USA | A = 30.0 cm2, plastic |
| Adirondack | USA | A = 35.7 cm2, fiberglass |
| MSC | Canada | A = 39.1 cm2, plastic and aluminum |
| WS-43 | Russia | A = 50 cm2, aluminum |
| Aluminum Tubing | Canada | A = 77.1 cm2, aluminum |
| Songa | Norway | A = 79 cm2, stainless steel |
| Glacier | USA | A = 81.9 cm2, plastic |
| Korhonen-Melander sampler | Finland | A = 100 cm2, black plastic |
| Manual snow density measurements | ||
| Snow density cutter | USA | 250/1,000 cm3 wedge cutter by Snowmetrics |
| Density cutter | USA | 100/250 cm3 (custom volumes available) box cutter by SnowHydro |
| Automatic SWE measurements | ||
| Snotel snow pillow | USA | Snow pillow by Rickly Hydrological |
| SSG | Austria | Snow scale by Sommer Messtechnik |
| SWE sensor | USA | Solid-state SWE sensor by CRREL |
| SSC300 | USA | 2KR Snow scale |
| CS725 | USA | CS SWE Sensor by Campbell Scientific |
| SPA | Austria | SPA by Sommer Messtechnik |
| Gamma Water Instrument | Finland | Gamma SWE sensor by Astrock |
| Lysimeter | Several | Weighing lysimeter |
| Gauge name . | Country of origin . | Description/Manufacture . |
|---|---|---|
| Snow tubes for manual SWE and snow density (Goodison et al. 1987; Dixon & Boon 2012; Laudon & Lofvenius 2016) | ||
| Mount Rose | USA | Cutter area (A) is 11.4 cm2, tube material is aluminum |
| 1980 Metric | Canada | A = 10.0 cm2, aluminum |
| 1981 Metric | Canada | A = 10.4 cm2, aluminum |
| Standard Federal | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Sharpened Federal | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Bowman | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, plastic |
| McCall | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Rosen | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Utah | USA | A = 11.2 cm2, aluminum |
| Svartberget | Sweden | A = 12.6 cm2, plastic |
| ESC 30 | Canada | A = 30.0 cm2, plastic |
| SnowHydro | USA | A = 30.0 cm2, plastic |
| Adirondack | USA | A = 35.7 cm2, fiberglass |
| MSC | Canada | A = 39.1 cm2, plastic and aluminum |
| WS-43 | Russia | A = 50 cm2, aluminum |
| Aluminum Tubing | Canada | A = 77.1 cm2, aluminum |
| Songa | Norway | A = 79 cm2, stainless steel |
| Glacier | USA | A = 81.9 cm2, plastic |
| Korhonen-Melander sampler | Finland | A = 100 cm2, black plastic |
| Manual snow density measurements | ||
| Snow density cutter | USA | 250/1,000 cm3 wedge cutter by Snowmetrics |
| Density cutter | USA | 100/250 cm3 (custom volumes available) box cutter by SnowHydro |
| Automatic SWE measurements | ||
| Snotel snow pillow | USA | Snow pillow by Rickly Hydrological |
| SSG | Austria | Snow scale by Sommer Messtechnik |
| SWE sensor | USA | Solid-state SWE sensor by CRREL |
| SSC300 | USA | 2KR Snow scale |
| CS725 | USA | CS SWE Sensor by Campbell Scientific |
| SPA | Austria | SPA by Sommer Messtechnik |
| Gamma Water Instrument | Finland | Gamma SWE sensor by Astrock |
| Lysimeter | Several | Weighing lysimeter |