Previous attempts to map snow depth using scanned aerial
imagery were already made 50 years ago (Smith et al., 1967)
and the topic was investigated in detail by Cline (1993,
1994). However, their results suffer from image saturation
and insufficient reference data leading them to the conclusion
that photogrammetry has much potential but is not yet accurate
enough for large-scale snow depth mapping. Ledwith
and Lunden (2010) used scanned aerial imagery to derive
digital elevation models over glaciated and snow-covered areas
in Norway. They report a mean accuracy of 2.8m in comparison
with differential Global Navigation Satellite System
(dGNSS) transects, which is clearly too low for meaningful
snow depth mapping in alpine regions. Lee et al. (2008)
used a digital mapping camera (DMC) digital frame camera
to cover an area of approximately 2.3 km2 with a very high
mean ground sampling distance (GSD) of 0.08 m. The reported
mean differences compared to dGNSS measurements
are approximately 0.15 m, stressing the great potential of digital
photogrammetry for accurate snow depth mapping. However,
no snow depth mapping has been performed and compared
to different reference data sets, covering larger areas