Project Info
Assessing Snow Drought Extent Across the Western US
Adrienne Marshall
adriennemarshall@mines.edu
Project Goals and Description:
In the western US, mountain snowpacks are a vital water resource for recharging aquifers and sustaining streamflow into the drier summer months. However, anthropogenic climate change is altering water resources with decreased snow accumulation and earlier runoff. In recent years, multi-year snow drought posed a threat to water availability from managed reservoirs and to downstream users. These snow droughts can be cause by unusually warm winters were more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow (warm drought) or unusually low winter precipitation (dry drought). This research project seeks to understand the frequency, extent, and threat of multi-year snow drought to water resources across the Western US. The undergraduate student will work with data from the SNOTEL network (weather stations scatter across high-elevation, remote watersheds) and spatial data from model outputs or satellite remote sensing to develop analysis of the spatial extent of snow droughts across the Western US. Ultimately, this work will help water managers and the scientific community better understand the threat snow drought poses to snow-derived water resources in the Western US.
More Information:
Grand Challenge: Provide access to clean water.
Websites:
Research Group Website (https://people.mines.edu/adriennemarshall/)
Scientific articles:
Marshall, A. M., Abatzoglou, J. T., Link, T. E., & Tennant, C. J. (2019). Projected Changes in Interannual Variability of Peak Snowpack Amount and Timing in the Western United States. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(15), 8882–8892. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083770
Harpold, A. A., Dettinger, M. D., & Rajagopal, S. (n.d.). Defining Snow Drought and Why It Matters Swings from snow drought to extreme winter rainfall make managing reservoirs , like the Oroville. 1–12.
Hatchett, B. J., & McEvoy, D. J. (2018). Exploring the Origins of Snow Drought in the Northern Sierra Nevada, California. Earth Interactions, 22(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1175/EI-D-17-0027.1
Primary Contacts:
Dr. Adrienne Marshal (Adriennemarshall@mines.edu)
Arielle Koshkin (akoshkin@mines.edu)
Student Preparation
Qualifications
We are looking for one undergraduate student who is excited to learn more about snow, climate and water. Computer programing experience (in Matlab, Python, or R) or willingness to learn is essential. Background knowledge of statistics is helpful but no required. Students from any department at Mines are welcome to apply.
TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)
5
SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED
The student will gain skills in computational data analysis, data access, manipulation and visualization of large datasets based in R programing, and basic statistical techniques. Additionally, the student will learn about climate science, snow hydrology and generally research project workflows.
MENTORING PLAN
The student will work closely with the primary mentors, Arielle Koshkin and Dr. Adrienne Marshall. We will set up weekly or bi-weekly meetings to discuss project updates, ask questions of mentors and discuss next steps. Mentors will provide assistance and feedback on the project, help form achievable research goals, track overall progress, help overcome scientific or coding roadblocks, and discuss interesting findings and results. The student is also invited to join weekly group meetings with graduate students from the Marshall Lab Group which includes discussion of scientific articles, skill development and research presentations. We will encourage the student to present at the annual department science fair, submit an abstract and present at a conference, and/or co-author a publication.
Preferred Student Status
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior