A Prototype Network for Measuring Arctic Winter Precipitation and Snow Cover (Snow-Net) Matthew Sturm, CRREL Doug Kane, UAF Svetlana Berezovskaya, UAF Daqing Yang, UAF Chris Hiemstra, CSU Glen Liston, CSU (Photo by Kenneth G. Libbrecht and Patricia Rasmussen)

In light of the difficulties in measuring winter (snow) precipitation, we are developing a prototype international network where we will concurrently measure all components of the winter moisture budget, including snowfall, sublimation, horizontal transport, and snow on the ground.

At 5 arctic sites we will augment existing meteorological and snow measuring instrumentation with solid-state snow pillows, heated plate precipitation sensors, snow fences (to capture the wind-blown flux), and eddy correlation towers for sublimation computation.

Several times a winter at the sites we will conduct ground surveys of snow cover depth, water equivalent, and other properties using tools that allow rapid collection of extensive data.

These will be augmented with aerial photography and airborne remote sensing from inexpensive platforms (kites and UAVs) to visualize drift and deposition patterns. Snow-Topography Interactions Snow-Vegetation Interactions

Using a set of modeling tools (e.g., micro-meteorological, snowmelt, and blowing snow models), we will a)develop methods and algorithms for quality checking both meteorological and snow data by cross-comparison between sensors and instruments, and b)close the water balance in a way that produces more accurate values of winter precipitation and snow on the ground than are currently being collected. SnowModel / SnowTran-3D MicroMet

The combined suite of instruments, measurements, and modeling tools is designed to allow us to close the winter water balance at each site, for the first time balancing the precipitation with measured accumulation. Typical Snow-Net Site