Source code for the publication Optical determination of snow density via sub-surface scattering

The repository contains the source code necessary to reproduce Figs. 2-5 of the publication: L. Mewes, H. Löwe, M. Schneebeli & B. Walter, *Optical determination of snow density via sub-surface scattering*, Commun Phys, doi: [10.1038/s42005-026-02490-1](https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02490-1).
The data for Fig. 5 of the above mentioned publication is available at [10.16904/envidat.724](https://doi.org/10.16904/envidat.724).
Please refer to the `README` in this repository for additional information.
- **License:** The scripts in this repository are licensed under the MIT License; see LICENSE.txt for the full text.
Files
`generate_figures.py`: Main script to generate the figures of the publication.
`snow_optics.py`: Core radiative-transfer functions.
`snow_image.py`: Utilities for loading and processing SnowImager ([www.snowimager.ch](https://www.snowimager.ch)) HDF5 data.
`helper.py`: Miscellaneous helper functions.
`lambertw.py`: Lambert W function implementation (John Burkardt, 2023, MIT license, -https://people.sc.fsu.edu/~jburkardt/py_src/lambert_w/lambert_w.py-).
Third party resources
- Refractive indices of ice are taken from 'Warren, S. G., and R. E. Brandt (2008), Optical constants of ice from the ultraviolet to the microwave: A revised compilation, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D14220, doi:[10.1029/2007JD009744](https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009744).' available at: https://refractiveindex.info/database/data/main/H2O/nk/Warren-2008.yml
- The Lambert *W* function is implemented using the code of John Burkardt, modified 20 June 2023 and distributed under the MIT license (-https://people.sc.fsu.edu/~jburkardt/py_src/lambert_w/lambert_w.py-).
- The source code in this repository is part of a larger project for post-processing [SnowImager](https://www.snowimager.ch) data hosted at [https://code.wsl.ch/snow-physics/snowimagerpro](https://code.wsl.ch/snow-physics/snowimagerpro).