Snow water equivalent (SWE) is a key hydrologic variable for accurately assessing
snowmelt runoff and water availability for human and ecosystem needs. However, our
knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of SWE across the globe is limited. In an
effort to better quantify SWE, a hypothetical, space-based snow LiDAR that measures snow
depth is explored as part of an observing system synthetic experiment (OSSE). Namely, the
OSSE conducts a synthetic twin experiment within the NASA Land Information System (LIS) …