Snow depth, snow water equivalent, and albedo datasets from Andean sites in the Araucanía Region, Chile

This dataset compiles in-situ and distributed snow measurements across four Andean sites in the Araucanía Region of Chile. It integrates snow track data and drone photogrammetry to characterize the spatial variability of snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and albedo. Snow density, hardness, and grain size data were also collected during the 2022 accumulation and melt seasons. Snow routes:Field campaigns were conducted along fixed transects to measure snow depth and SWE. Snow density was determined using a 1000 cm³ stainless steel cutter (Snowmetrics), and complementary hardness and grain size assessments were performed following standard snowpit procedures. Distributed snow depth (SfM):High-resolution snow depth maps were generated using structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry from drone imagery. The method involved differencing snow-on and snow-off digital surface models (DSMs) to estimate distributed snow depth at centimeter-scale spatial resolution. Distributed albedo:Surface albedo was obtained using a dual-pyranometer setup mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). After post-processing, the resulting albedo maps represent spatially continuous fields of broadband albedo at high resolution.