Dust on Snow

snowpit measurements

In the Western US, the primary aerosol that darkens the snow and accelerates melt is dust, the deposition rates of which have increased dramatically since modern settlement of the West.

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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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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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Glacier Phenology

skiing uphill

In the past, I’ve associated the concept of phenology with flowers and trees undergoing seasonal transformations from buds to blooms. However, conducting research on the Easton Glacier the past several months for my Masters thesis has shown me the remarkably striking ways at which mountain-scapes, too, change with the seasons.

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