Stories in the Snow

closeup of snow crystals

Stories in the Snow is a citizen science program led by the Desert Research Institute that involves students and community members in taking pictures of freshly-fallen snow crystals.

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Western Colorado University and CSO

group ready to measure snow

On March 2nd and 3rd students at Western Colorado University ventured out into the Gunnison Valley to collect snow depth measurements for CSO. The project brought all ages of students from first years to graduates together to learn about the importance of the snowpack through snowshoeing and hands on measurements.

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Stream Tracker Citizen Science Project

digging a hole in the snow

Stream Tracker, like Community Snow Obs, is a community monitoring network. However, instead of snow depths, project members focus their observations on intermittent streams—streams that do not always have flowing water.

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Living Snow Project

pink snow algae

The Living Snow Project (LSP) is a citizen science program housed at Western Washington University that studies “watermelon snow,” or snow algae.

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Using Citizen Science Snow Depth Measurements in Snowpack Modeling

snow depth image

After snow depth measurements are recorded by CSO participants, we’ve developed a way to integrate those observations into the process of snowpack modeling. Snow models use data from weather stations and landscape characteristics to build a snowpack during the winter and melt it away when the weather gets warmer in spring and summer.

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