Cosmic-Rays Neutron Sensing as a novel approach to measure Snow Water Equivalent, key to Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectricpower issignificantlyaffectedbythenaturalvariabilityofavailablewater.Snow,beingthemainstorageofwaterover themountains, representsakeyvariableto managehydroelectricpowerplants.To improveefficiencyof renewablepowerproduction it isthereforecritical toachieveaccurateestimationsof thewatercontentwithinthe snowpack, i.e. theSnowWaterEquivalent(SWE), inrelevantareas.Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing (CRNS) is an emergent technology which allows to provide a direct evaluation of SWE over large areas in continuous operation regime, overcoming the challenges related to the complex layering and high temporal and spatial variability of the snowpack. We developed a new generation of compact, autonomous CNRS probes and report the results of our tests on two experimental sites.
