Evaluation of snow depths in ski centers in terms of sustainable planning by examining with radar images in remote sensing: example of eastern anatolia region

Within the scope of the study, remote sensed RADAR images of important ski center located in different provinces in the Eastern Anatolia Region (Van/GevaĢ Abalı, Hakkari/Merga Butan, Erzurum/Palandöken Ski Resorts) were analyzed in a temporal period (between 2020-2023) using the interferometry method with the support of the data set. Snow depths were determined to cover the winter season (december, january, february and march), and were tested with snow depth measurement data taken from meteorological stations as ground truth data. In addition, the results obtained were evaluated in terms of sustainable planning by comparing the snow permanence in the centers with the snow depth averages of important ski resorts in the world and Turkey, and suggestions were made in terms of planning and investment. The purpose of determining snow depth with remotely sensed data sets is to contribute to the cost-effective, accurate and rapid measurement of snow permanence in challenging terrain conditions at different elevations of the planned facilities and to sustainable tourism planning.