Smartphone-based measurements of the optical properties of snow

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-cost, portable smartphone-based device and framework for measuring the intrinsic optical properties of snow, facilitating large-scale climate research, education, and citizen science.

Contribution

It presents a novel, simple apparatus and analysis method for measuring snow's optical properties using readily available components and smartphones.

Findings

Successfully tested on scattering phantoms with known properties.

Demonstrated field applicability of the device.

Low-cost and portable design suitable for large-scale use.

Abstract

Snow is a highly complex medium composed of ice crystals of various shapes and sizes. Knowledge of its intrinsic optical properties such as the scattering and absorption coefficient is tantamount to radiative transfer models in climate research. The absorption coefficient, in particular, allows us to access information about light-absorbing particles contained in the snow. In contrast to snow's apparent properties like the albedo, measuring the intrinsic properties is challenging. Here, we present a simple apparatus that can measure bulk optical properties of snow using readily available components and a smartphone camera, and a robust diffuse-optical framework for data analysis. We demonstrate the instrument both on scattering phantoms with known scattering and absorption coefficient as well as in the field. Its low cost, simplicity and portability uniquely qualify this setup for large-scale field work, undergraduate education and citizen science.