Authors: William Roe – University of Utah
Title: Prototype of a snow energy and mass balance monitoring system to support distributed observations and modeling in headwater catchments
Presentation Type: Poster
Abstract: Snowmelt timing and magnitude are critical for hydrology in the Western US. Accordingly, there is a network of snow observations sites that is dense relative to other snow covered locations; over 900 in situ snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites distributed across the Western US. These sites provide valuable long-term records for index-based forecasting. However, the network (by design) does not capture the spatial heterogeneity of snow across mountainous terrain. Additionally, SNOTEL sites are designed specifically for mass balance observations and typically lack the radiation balance observations needed to determine snow energy balance. This project prototypes a flexible, moveable, low-cost sensing system that collects and communicates real time snow energy and mass balance observations in snow dominated headwater catchments in Utah and Colorado. The low-cost sensor suite was designed specifically to allow for multiple sites per watershed to capture spatial variability and support process-based distributed snow modeling, supplementing long term index sites with measurements of broadband solar radiation, longwave radiation, temperature/RH, and snow depth. To assess the low-cost sensor suite and infrastructure design, instrumentation was installed at existing (validation site) and new (test site) locations in early winter 2025. Here, we will assess instrument performance and present the time series of observations across sites.