ECV Products and Requirements for Snow
These products and requirements reflect the Implementation Plan 2016 (GCOS-200). GCOS is reviewing and will update the requirements until 2022. More information on: gcos.wmo.int.
| PRODUCT | DEFINITION | FREQ. | RES. | REQUIRED MEASUREMENT UNCERTAINTY | STABILITY | STANDARDS/ REFERENCES |
| Area covered by snow | Snow cover refers to the area of land covered by snow at a given time | Daily | 1km (100m in complex terrain) | 5% (maximum error of omission and commission in snow area); location accuracy better than 1/3 IFOV with target IFOV 100 m in areas of complex terrain, 1 km elsewhere | 4% (maximum error of omission and commission in snow area); location accuracy better than 1/3 IFOV with target IFOV 100 m in areas of complex terrain, 1 km elsewhere | WMO (2008c) IGOS (2007), IACS/UNESCO, 2009 |
| Snow depth | Snow depth is the perpendicular distance between snowpack surface and the underlying ground. | Daily | 1km (100m in complex terrain) | 10mm | 10mm | WMO (2008c) IGOS (2007), IACS/UNESCO, 2009 |
| Snow water equivalent | It is depth of water that result from the snowpack melting in a unit of area. | Daily | 1km | 10mm | 10mm |
