Snow Camp was a team-building event designed for the WC-WAVE Tri-State Meeting participants. The objectives of Snow Camp were met through a 3-day data collection and analysis project in which participants worked together to estimate the volume and distribution of water stored as snow in the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed. Objectives for Snow Camp were:
- Create a collaborative foundation for the student cohort, which included students from computer science as well as hydrology;
- Introduce the student cohort to the Consortium faculty and to a project field site;
- Introduce snow hydrology and measurement methods for snow;
- Exchange ideas on research topics and develop students' dissertation committees from Consortium faculty.
The central activity was a field project with a goal to estimate the volume and distribution of water stored as snow in the watershed. After the Snow Camp field exercise, participants were able to:
- Make point measurements of snow depth, density, and snow-water equivalent;
- Describe relationships between terrain properties and snow distribution;
- Design field campaigns to estimate the volume of water stored as snow in a watershed;
- Describe processes controlling snow accumulation and melt in a mountain watershed;
- Describe how spatially variable snow accumulation and melt impacts hydrologic response.
Participants designed and implemented a field campaign to estimate the volume of water stored as snow. Discussions and field demonstrations focused on scales of variability from point to basin for participants to understand the role of snow accumulation and melt in the water balance of a mountain watershed. Snow Camp participants also developed a collaborative student cohort. Students received assistance on research topics and developing dissertation committees from Consortium faculty.