Training Schools

The 4th Winter Field Course for Snow Measurement

The NASA Snow Working Group-Remote Sensing
January 5-9, 2017
Kananaskis, Canadian Rockies

The closing date for applications to The NASA Snow Working Group-Remote Sensing 4th Winter Field Course for Snow Measurement has been moved up to Friday, 18 November. Applicants will be notified by 1 December.

What: A course for serious students of snow, whether engaged in modeling, measuring, or teaching about snow. The course will introduce students to standard and specialized quantitative and qualitative measurements of snowpack characteristics, as well as how to conduct safe and efficient snow field campaigns. Over three full days we will provide fundamental training to students in performing and analyzing snow measurements, including depth, density, snow water equivalence, grain size and shape, stratigraphy, temperature and hardness. Students completing this course will be able to perform high-quality fieldwork as well as design studies requiring snowpack measurements, including those required during snow remote sensing calibration and validation campaigns. Class credit will be offered through the University of Saskatchewan.

Where: Barrier Lake Field Station, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada (about 45 minutes west of Calgary) with field work at Fortress Mountain in the Canadian Rockies (see http://bgs.ucalgary.ca/facilities & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmLND5EhL5w)

When: January 5 - 9, 2017

Who: Students:
The course is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, professionals and senior scientists, modelers and those who do snow remote sensing that will either need to make snow measurements as part of their research, or use snowpack data in their research. There are no prerequisites, but students will be selected from the pool of applicants based on applicability to their studies. Successful applicants will be notified by December 15, 2016. Students from any nation may apply. Applications are available at http://iswgr.org/fieldwork2017 and are due by December 1, 2016.

Who: Instructors
Dr. Kelly Elder: US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station
Dr. Matthew Sturm: Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Dr. John Pomeroy, Director, Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Jessica Lundquist, Mountain Hydrology Research, University of Washington
Dr. Alexandre Langlois, Centre d’applications et de recherches en télédétection, Université de Sherbrooke
Dr. Nicholas Kinar, Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan


How: NASA funding for the course is pending (and expected in October) and student application/selection will start soon. Students will be reimbursed for travel, food, and lodging enroute the Barrier Lake field station, where lodging and meals will be provided. Travel expenses may include airfare, taxi or bus for airport access, and shuttle from Calgary Airport (YYC). Car rental will not be reimbursed. Receipts for all the above expenses should be kept and information about processing will be provided at the course. Please make every effort to minimize travel costs. Questions about rates, fees, and reimbursements should be sent to Cindy Brekke at NSIDC (brekke@nsidc.org).

For course information and registration, see http://www.iswgr.org/fieldwork2017

or contact: Dr. Matthew Sturm via email: msturm1(at)alaska.edu and indicate Snow School in the subject line.