CAREER: Defining the Role of Snow in Storing and Transmitting Liquid Water to Generate Streamflow

Communities worldwide rely on water resources from mountain snowpacks. Because of this, snow hydrology research in recent years has used a variety of techniques to model and observe snowmelt processes. However, a disconnect between observed physical processes and modeling capabilities has been revealed, exposing a need to improve understanding of snowmelt dynamics. This research will fill a knowledge gap in understanding how the snowpack stores and transmits liquid water to streams. This project will develop a snowmelt monitoring program for both research and educational opportunities. Scientific advancements will be made while also providing experiential learning opportunities for both university and K-12 students across Wyoming. In total, two Ph.D. students and one M.S. student will be involved in scientific research while approximately 20 undergraduate students, 300 high school students, and 1,250 middle school students will gain a broad understanding of hydrologic sciences through outreach and field activities. Through field observations and modeling, this project will identify when and where common model representations of snowmelt processes need to be improved. The results will be broadly applicable rather than specific to individual watersheds for the purpose of improving future streamflow forecasting models to benefit stakeholders across the United States and beyond. The overall scope of this NSF CAREER project is to improve fundamental knowledge of the hydro-terrestrial system in headwater catchments and produce transformational understanding of hydrologic fluxes within a snowpack. This project will test a model structure that includes representation of previously observed liquid water dynamics in a snowpack that are not currently included in models. Thus, the overarching goals of this proposal are to: 1) Develop a long-term monitoring program to define a snowpack’s role in storing and transmitting liquid water to streams under various conditions; and 2) develop a long-term educational program that promotes mountain hydrology across the University of Wyoming campus and STEM education to underrepresented groups. This project will use a combination of traditional hydrology field work, geophysical observations of a melting snowpack, and advanced modeling techniques to conduct investigations. The results of this work will identify when and where consideration of the snowpack as an “extension of the vadose zone” is important for hydrologic modeling based on watershed characteristics while providing unique experiential learning opportunities for students at the University of Wyoming and beyond. This project is jointly funded by Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes program,and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.