Snow Mapping (NDSI) & Information
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Related pages: Snow Map Development Details Snowiest Pixels Determination
Mammoth Mountain, CA, Landsat Snow Mapping
Free Landsat & Sentinel-2 imagery can be used along with free GIS software (or other GIS Software, such as ArcGIS) to map the extent of snow at a point in time; including areas in shadows. Details of the images below can be accessed through the Snow map development details link above. Snow is mapped with the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI; Dozier, 1989) which is written as: (green - short wave infrared) / (green + short wave infrared). For Landsat 4 - 7: (band 2 - band 5)/(band 2 + band 5). For Landsat 8: (band 3 - band 6)/(band 3 + band 6). The below area is to the southeast of Livingston, MT, USA.
Images transition every 4 seconds (or click arrows or dots); description appears below graphic.
Reference
Dozier, J. 1989. Spectral signature of alpine snow cover from the Landsat Thematic Mapper. Remote Sensing of Environment 28: pp. 9-22.