Microplastic particles, present everywhere on the planet, may complicate assessments of black carbon’s role in the melting of snow and of its contributions to Earth’s radiative balance.
snow
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How to Hedge the Risk of Reduced Snowpack for Hydropower
A new index insurance contract – a financial product innovation seeking to cope with climatic variability – could help hydropower operators to manage climate risks.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Census of Snowdrifts in Northern Alaska
Snowdrifts prove less ephemeral than they might seem, occurring in the same places year after year.
Posted inNews
How Infrastructure Standards Miss the Mark on Snowmelt
Nationwide, civil engineers consider precipitation values from NOAA to design their structures. But those values are missing another contributor to flood risk: snowmelt.
Posted inNews
New Tool Quantifies and Predicts Snow Droughts
A new metric for calculating snow water equivalence relies on three methodologies: modeling, satellite imagery, and direct observation.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Snowpack Data Sets Put to the Test
A new study compares the accuracy of three observation-based methods of calculating snow water equivalent, a key component in water management.
Posted inNews
Reindeer Could Trample Permafrost Thaw
Thick, fluffy snow traps summer’s heat in the top layers of Arctic permafrost even as winter chills the air above. Grazing animals stomp that snow flat.
Posted inNews
Researchers Quantify a Seeded Snowpack
In Idaho, three hour-long cloud-seeding events created the snow equivalent of about 282 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of water.
Posted inNews
Here’s What Your Favorite Ski Resort May Look Like in 2085
Ski seasons at many of North America’s western resorts might melt away by 2085 because of warming temperatures.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Atmospheric Rivers Trigger Heavy Snowmelt in Western USA
A rare atmospheric phenomenon that transports large quantities of water vapor into the coastal watersheds of the western USA is responsible for up to 10–20% of intense snowmelt events in the region.