UZH Festive Card Snow 2025
This year’s UZH festive card features an image drawn from UZH research with a link to space-based observation. The selected image was contributed by the Department of Geography and is based on satellite data, showing dry snow on mountain peaks in yellow, while areas of consistently strong backscatter in urban regions appear in white.
The image was part of this year's exhibition “The Aesthetics of Wonder” at UZH.
Dreaming of a white Christmas?
In clear skies, optical satellite images reveal where snow lies. Researchers at the University of Zurich's Department of Geography use radar sensors to gather additional information about snow conditions - even at night or through cloud cover. When the radar signal issued from a Sentinel-1 satellite generates strong backscatter, the snow is usually dry; weak back-scatter, by contrast, indicates wet snow. These data provide insights into our climate that improve safety forecasts and help manage vital water resources.
Whether you spend the holidays with or without snow, we wish you a season full of discoveries and moments that invite reflection.
The festive card can be bought here: https://shop.uzh.ch/en/lifestyle/festive-card-snow-2025-de-en/
More infos regarding the picture can be found here: https://www.space.uzh.ch/en/events/space_art_exhibition/earth_observation/wet_snow_in_the_alps.html
More infos regarding the exhibition "Aesthetics of Wonders" can be found here: www.geo.uzh.ch/de/news/2025/aesthetik-des-wunders.html