Measurements on physical snow properties in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

In this study, we present in situ measurements collected during the Finnish Antarctic Research Programme (FINNARP) 2022 expedition at the Finnish Aboa station, located in Dronning Maud Land, Western Antarctica, which is characterized by snow accumulation. Field observations were carried out weekly at the AWS5 automatic weather station, situated approximately 10 km from Aboa, as well as at selected overpass locations of the IceSat-2 and CryoSat-2 satellites. This paper presents data from the AWS5 site, where seasonal snow evolution was systematically monitored. The measurements included continuous meteorological observations from the weather station maintained by FINNARP, detailed snow pit profiles, ground-based and drone-based radiation measurements, and snow surface roughness observed using both drone-mounted and backpack-mounted laser scanners. Drone-based measurements enabled spatially extensive coverage using a laser scanner, a hyperspectral camera, and a pyranometer. Spatial variability of snow surface properties was assessed at five locations in addition to the primary snow pit. The collected dataset provides valuable insight for improving satellite remote sensing and for advancing our understanding of the relationships between albedo, surface roughness, and physical snow properties.