Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

24 Jul, 08 AM - 10 Aug, 05 AM

Snow cover and its melt dominate regional climate and water resources in many of the world?s mountainous regions. In the western United States, snowmelt runoff drives the water system, providing more than 75% of the total freshwater. However, we face significant water resource challenges due to the intersection of increasing demand from population growth and changes in runoff total and timing due to climate change. The two most critical properties for understanding snowmelt totals and timing are the distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) and the distribution of snow albedo (Figure 1), respectively. Despite their importance in controlling volume and timing of runoff, the snowpack is still poorly quantified in the US and not at all in most of the globe, leaving runoff models poorly constrained. The growing changes in and pressure on the water systems in the western US and elsewhere in the globe where snowmelt dominates freshwater supplies have motivated water managers, federal governments, and international NGOs to explore improved knowledge of snow and its melt, at a range of scales. Recognizing this need, JPL is formulating the Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO), an imaging spectrometer and imaging lidar system, to directly quantify snow water equivalent and snow albedo, provide unprecedented knowledge of snow properties, and provide complete, robust inputs to water management models and systems of the future.

Visit #28567 @Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

Approved

Under Project # 25296 | Research

Airborne Snow Observatory

faculty - Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute of Technology)

Reservation Members(s)

Group of 6 Research Scientist/Post Doc Jul 24 - Aug 10, 2012 (18 days)

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