Community Snow Observations Project
Backcountry Enthusiast,We are writing to share with you information about the Community Snow Observations (CSO) Project and to invite you to participate. The CSO project is an initiative funded by NASA to improve understanding of snow variability in complex terrain.
The CSO team uses snow depth measurements collected by Citizen Scientists traversing backcountry environments. These data are incorporated into numerical model simulations of snowpack and runoff processes. By sampling in a wide variety of locations and elevations, these data provide valuable spatial coverage that traditional fixed stations (SnoTel) are unable to provide.
The data are easy to collect, requiring only an avalanche probe, a smart phone equipped with the Mountain Hub app (available for IOS and Android devices) and enthusiasm from backcountry users like you. Tutorials on how to participate are provided at the CSO website and our Twitter feed will keep you up to date on the latest developments and modeling results.
The 'snow data' link on our website gives you a real time map of submitted snow observations. Alaska has been fantastic, since that is where our project started. We are now wishing to grow the project into BC and the PNW.
Thank you for your time and, as the snow season kicks off, we hope you’ll take a moment to contribute to our collective understanding of the snow environment.
David Hill, on behalf of the CSO Team.
ps. If you would like further information, the Associated Press just ran a great story on our work and it was in the New York Times, etc. Link:
https://apnews.com/2379707e89d5460ba82dad890c9efb5c/Attention-backcountry-skiers:-Scientists-want-your-help