This pioneering study tells us how snow disappears into thin air
A team of researchers has been hard at work in the Rocky Mountains to solve a mystery. Snow is vanishing into thin air. Now, for the first time, a new study explains how much is getting lost, and when, exactly, it’s disappearing. Their findings have to do with snow sublimation, a process that happens when snow evaporates before it has a chance to melt. Perhaps most critical in the new findings is the fact that most snow evaporation happen s in the spring, after snow totals have reached their peak. This could help water managers around the West know when to make changes to the amount of water they take from rivers and reservoirs.
Related upper watershed articles:
- San Francisco Chronicle: Federal study shows California loses vast amount of forest after wildfires, drought
- USDA Forest Service: A blueprint for fire prevention – Lake County California puts federal support to local action
- Denver Post: Rafting season is here and the whitewater forecast for northern Colorado looks good