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-Snow cover is a major component of hydrological resources in North America, Northern Eurasia, Mediterranean countries, and Asian and South-American river basins including high mountain regions.-Snow cover is a major source of positive climate feedbacks (eg, ice-albedo feedback).-Snow cover is a very sensitive indicator of climate change.-Snow cover strongly impacts surface meteorological conditions.-There remain large uncertainties in snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow depth (SD) satellites retrievals. These uncertainties are significantly reduced when ground-based snow depth observations are assimilated.