Description
The Theia Snow collection provides snow cover data at 20 m resolution since 2015 (cloud permitting) over selected regions.
- The level 2B products provide the snow cover fraction by pixel and a cloud mask with a 5 day revisit: near real time data after 2022 are available through: https://hydroweb.next.theia-land.fr/. Earlier products are being reprocessed.
- The level 3B products provide multitemporal metrics of the snow « phenology » by hydrological year (01 Sep to 31 Aug). The data were derived from Sentinel-2 (after 2015) and Landsat 8 (2013-2021). Products are available through: https://hydroweb.next.theia-land.fr/. The product format is described here: https://gitlab.orfeo-toolbox.org/remote_modules/let-it-snow#products-format. See the gallery below.
Level 2B products are also available in near real time over the entire Europe from Copernicus Land: https://land.copernicus.eu/en/products/snow/fractional-snow-cover. More information about this collection is available in the Theia website: https://www.theia-land.fr/en/blog/product/snow/
Contact: Simon Gascoin simon.gascoin@utoulouse.fr and Guillaume Eynard-Bontemps Guillaume.Eynard-Bontemps@cnes.fr
Scientific publications
- Algorithm and evaluation of level 2B products: Gascoin, S., Grizonnet, M., Bouchet, M., Salgues, G., and Hagolle, O. (2019) Theia Snow collection: high-resolution operational snow cover maps from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 data, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 493-514, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-493-2019.
- Evaluation of level 2B products: Barrou Dumont, Z., Gascoin, S., Hagolle, O., Ablain, M., Jugier, R., Salgues, G., Marti, F., Dupuis, A., Dumont, M., and Morin, S. (2021) Brief communication: Evaluation of the snow cover detection in the Copernicus High Resolution Snow & Ice Monitoring Service, The Cryosphere, 15, 4975–4980, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4975-2021.
- Algorithm and evaluation of SMOD level 3B product: Barrou Dumont, Z., Gascoin, S., Inglada, J., Dietz, A., Köhler, J., Lafaysse, M., Monteiro, D., Carmagnola, C., Bayle, A., Dedieu, J.-P., Hagolle, O., and Choler, P. (2025) Trends in the annual snow melt-out day over the French Alps and Pyrenees from 38 years of high-resolution satellite data (1986–2023), The Cryosphere, 19, 2407–2429, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2407-2025.
- Application of SMOD level 3B product for species distribution modelling in alpine region: Kollert, A., Chytrý, K., Helm, N., Hülber, K., Moser, D., Wessely, J., Lhermitte, S., Gascoin, S., Mayr, A., Saccone, P., Hausharter, J., Warscher, M., Strasser, U., Dullinger, S., Rutzinger, M. (2026). Does meter-scale snow data matter for modeling alpine plant distribution? A comparison of four data sources at two resolutions. Ecological Modelling 511, 111366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111366.
- Application of level 2B products for snow model assessment: Vionnet, V., Marsh, C. B., Menounos, B., Gascoin, S., Wayand, N. E., Shea, J., Mukherjee, K., and Pomeroy, J. W. (2021) Multi-scale snowdrift-permitting modelling of mountain snowpack, The Cryosphere, 15, 743–769, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021.
- Application of SMOD level 3B products for snow model assessment: Haddjeri, A., Baron, M., Lafaysse, M., Le Toumelin, L., Deschamps-Berger, C., Vionnet, V., Gascoin, S., Vernay, M., and Dumont, M. (2024) Analyzing the sensitivity of a blowing snow model (SnowPappus) to precipitation forcing, blowing snow, and spatial resolution, The Cryosphere, 18, 3081–3116, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3081-2024.
- Application of level 2B products for snow model assessment: Vionnet, V., Marsh, C. B., Menounos, B., Gascoin, S., Wayand, N. E., Shea, J., Mukherjee, K., and Pomeroy, J. W. (2021) Multi-scale snowdrift-permitting modelling of mountain snowpack, The Cryosphere, 15, 743–769, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021.
Gallery: Snow phenology from Theia snow products
