An operational algorithm for snow cover mapping in hydrological applications

An operational algorithm to produce snow cover maps from remote sensing data in the Italian Alps has been implemented in the framework of the Italian national project PROSA to contribute timely information to civil protection from floods and landslides. The algorithm can generate maps in presence of cloud cover by combining optical data from MODIS and SAR data from ENVISAT/ASAR. It has been validated on a wide area in North Italy by comparing the algorithm output with ground measurements.