Snow Water Equivalent Sensor

The load cell used for the measurements was a Cantilever beam type 200 Kg capacity with 3.0 mv/V rated output and a non-linearity of 0.03 FSO. The load cell is corrosion resistant (stainless steel) and hermetically sealed for use in outdoor environment. The snowfall is received on a MS platform of 50cmx50cm size. This area corresponded to 120 cm of SWE. The load cell was fixed between a bottom MS plate and a top MS plate, both of 4 mm thickness, through a separate fixing arrangement so that the load is uniformly transmitted to the centre of the load cell. Dimensions of the top plate were 490mm x 490mm whereas that of the bottom plate were 479mm x 479mm, thereby providing a 5 mm gap to facilitate a free vertical movement of the top plate during loading