Authors: Nolan Morrow – University of Utah
Title: Leveraging Time-Series UAV LiDAR to Uncover Microtopographic Drivers of Snow Accumulation and Melt
Presentation Type: Lightning Talk
Abstract: Snow is a vital water resource for the Western United States and many parts of the world. As a natural reservoir, snow stores water during winter and gradually releases it through spring and summer melt. This process is critical for sustaining ecosystems, agricultural irrigation, hydropower generation, and municipal water supplies. However, snowpack dynamics, spatial patterns and snow accumulation and melt, are highly influenced by weather, climate, land cover, and terrain at landscape scales and microtopography at finer scales. Although broad scale controls have been relatively well studied, small-scale variations, particularly under tree canopies and within vegetated areas, remain poorly understood due to limitations in traditional measurement techniques (manual/in situ).
This project uses time series of high-resolution UAV-collected lidar to measure snow depth and track spatial patterns of snow accumulation and depletion throughout winter and spring around Atwater Snow Study Plot in Alta, Utah (Wasatch Mountains). The study area includes diverse terrain, ranging from open rocky, grass-covered slopes to densely packed coniferous forests. The lidar provides an unprecedented ability to resolve fine-scale snowpack changes across topographic and vegetation conditions, enabling new insights about snow accumulation, storage, and melt processes. The primary focus is advancing high-resolution data collection techniques to bridge snowpack variability scale gaps and their role in w