Skip to main content

Looking beyond wildlife: using remote cameras to evaluate accuracy of gridded snow data

Authors:

Alexej Sirén

Marcelo Somos-Valenzuela

Catherine Callahan

Jillian Kilborn

Timothy Duclos

Cassie Tragert

Toni Lyn Morelli

Marcus Rowcliffe

Sadie Ryan

+4 more
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Year of Publication:
2018
Secondary Title:
Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
DOI:
10.1002/rse2.85
Year:
2018
Date:
26-Apr-2018

Abstract

The use of remote cameras is widespread in wildlife ecology, yet few examples exist of their utility for collecting environmental data. We used a novel camera trap method to evaluate the accuracy of gridded snow data in a mountainous region of the northeastern US. We were specifically interested in assessing (1) how snow depth observations from remote cameras compare with gridded cli- mate data, (2) the sources of error associated with the gridded data and (3) the influence of spatial sampling on bias. We compared daily observations recorded by remote cameras with Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) gridded predictions using data from three winters (2014–2016). Snow depth observa- tions were correlated with SNODAS predictions for sites (R2 = 0.20) and regions (R2 = 0.16), yet we detected factors associated with SNODAS bias at both scales. Specifically, SNODAS underpredicted depths at high elevations, at sites with higher solar radiation, and within conifer-dominated forest. Depths were most underpredicted at highest elevations, up to 44 and 26 cm on average at the site and region scales, respectively. Bias was greatest when predictions were lowest, occasionally predicting snow absence when depths were >100 cm at camera sites. We also detected breakdowns in accuracy when certain environ- mental conditions varied within the 1 km2 SNODAS grid cells. For example, underprediction was greatest when the solar radiation values of camera stations increased relative to the mean of the SNODAS grid cells. This relationship was most prominent in mountainous regions, suggesting that factors which influ- ence solar radiation (e.g. topographic complexity) contribute to SNODAS inac- curacy. We caution using gridded snow data for ecological studies when bias is unknown. We suggest increased sampling to adjust for errors associated with gridded data products that arise from factors, such as forest cover and topo- graphic variability. Increasing resolution and accuracy of climate data will improve predictions of species' responses to climate change.