#snowmelt — Public Fediverse posts

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) For Monitoring Seasonal Snow
--
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025WR042866 <-- shared paper
--
https://eos.org/features/satellite-radar-advances-could-transform-global-snow-monitoring <-- shared technical article
--
H/T @Jack Tarricone, PhD | Assistant Research Scientist @ NASA GSFC/UMD ESSIC | Remote Sensing and Snow Hydrology
“[The authors] review[ed] 25 years of progress in using InSAR to measure changes in snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow depth and discuss[ed] what’s needed to extend these methods to basin-scale snow monitoring with NISAR. [They] hope it’s a useful resource for people interested in snow, SAR/InSAR, remote sensing, and hydrology in general…”
#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #InterferometricSyntheticApertureRadar #InSAR #literaturereview #research #history #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #seasonal #snow #water #hydrology #waterresources #snowpack #snowmelt #ablation #melt #runoff #snowwaterequivalent #SWE #NISAR #snowdepth #basin #snowphase #estimation #change #spatial #GIS #mapping #temporal #model #modeling #algorithm #ecosystems #environment #habitat #agriculture #farming #snowmass #satellite

Hydro-Climatic Extremes And Water Conflicts In The Kamala River Basin Of Nepal
--
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2026.100871 <-- shared paper
--
https://jvs.org.np/news/%22kamala-river-basin-20-year-water-management-strategy <-- shared 2024 technical article on planning and policy (from JVS, a Nepalese non-profit driving water resilience)
--
[My sincere thoughts to those on those the Nepal/Tibet border so very effected by the recent GLOF-style flooding; the loss of your family and friends – and ‘things’ – must be so very hard!
May the missing individuals return safely. 🙏]
H/T @ Prakriti Niraula | Researcher at Kathmandu University School of Arts | Urban FutureScape Pilot Project | Urban Governance | Climate and Disaster Resilience | Development Researcher
“What happens when communities face 'too much water' during the monsoon and 'too little water' during the dry season? [Their] research in Dudhauli and Siraha municipalities [Nepal] shows that floods and droughts are not merely environmental challenges; rather, they interact with existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, intensifying conflicts over water and land resources.
From upstream-downstream tensions following flood damage and changing water flows to competition over wells and handpumps during periods of scarcity, the findings show that hydro-climatic extremes often act as amplifiers of existing social, economic, and political vulnerabilities.
The study underscores the importance of moving beyond managing climatic hazards alone towards conflict-sensitive and equitable water governance that addresses structural inequalities, strengthens local adaptive capacities, and supports fair water allocation and conflict resolution…”
#climatechange #flood #flooding #drought #monsoon #precipitation #rainfall #snowmelt #dryseason #socialconflict #KamalaRiver #basin #Dudhauli #Siraha #Nepal #hydroclimate #waterresources #risk #hazard #watersecurity #hydrosocial #exteremeweather #environment #inequality #vulnerable #socioeconomic #conflict #groundwater #water #hydrology #hydrography #hydroclimate #extremes #social #economic #political #watergovernance #watermanagement #localcommunities #conflictresolution

Unraveling The Drivers Of Water Shortage Across Spatial Scales And Sectors In Colorado's West Slope River Basins
--
https://doi.org/10.1029/2026EF008137 <-- shared paper
--
['sorry' about your Kentucky Bluegrass, almonds, etc... /s]
H/T Sai Veena Sunkara | Postdoctoral Associate
“…Colorado’s West Slope basins provide nearly 70% of the inflows to Lake Powell and are also essential to communities, agriculture, industry, hydropower, and downstream Colorado River users.
To examine the wide range of possible futures, [they] simulated 2.1 million years, defining 20,000 plausible scenarios applying changes to streamflow, snowmelt timing, drought persistence, and agricultural, municipal, and industrial water demand.
A key finding is that there is 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀. The most influential drivers vary by basin, sector, and water user. In some areas, shortages are driven primarily by persistent low-flow conditions or changing snowmelt timing. In others, increasing municipal, industrial, or irrigation demand plays a larger role. This suggests that adaptation strategies must be tailored to specific basins and users rather than relying on a single, system-wide solution. Other major findings are
• West Slope deliveries to Lake Powell could fall more than 50% below the current median baseline
• Storage in major West Slope reservoirs could decline 40–55% below historical medians
These results underscore the need for water-planning approaches that account for deep uncertainty, persistent drought, shifting snowmelt patterns, and sector-specific demand…”
#Colorado #waterallocation #StateMod #USWest #USA #WesternSlope #waterresources #watersecurity #watershortage #drought #snowmelt #rainfall #precipitation #riverbasin #water #hydrography #hydrology #reasons #agriculture #industry #hydropower #streamflow #surfacewater #municipal #irrigation #adaptationstrategies #planning #policy #mitigation #ColoradoRiver #basins #climatechange #extremeweather #populationpressure #waterdemand #waterrights #model #modeling #HiddenMarkovModel #stochastic #projecteddemand #ColoradoRiverBasin #wateruse #spatial #mapping #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #strategy

Clear Cut Logging Can Dramatically Increase Flood Risk
--
https://theconversation.com/new-study-finds-clear-cut-logging-can-dramatically-increase-flood-risk-284825 <-- shared technical media article
--
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123895 <-- shared paper
--
H/T @Daniel Pierce | Ramshackle Pictures
“Here is a clear and simple breakdown of some of the latest bombshell findings out of the UBC Hydrology Lab… using a probabilistic framework, known as attribution science in the climate world. [The researchers] studied two watersheds in BC's Okanagan Valley near Summerland. In this area, they found that climate change was actually making the frequency of floods go down, but forest harvesting counteracted the effects of climate change and increased the flood risk by 10-fold (!!!) turning a 20-year flood into a flood that occurs every two years. [The H/T] truly want to know how the BC government and timber industry are responding to this new science internally. They're absolutely silent on it in public as they continue business as usual…”
#Nonstationary #Probabilisticphysics #Foresthydrology #Floodfrequencyanalysis #Snowmelt #Causalinference #flood #flooding #forest #forestry #water #hydrology #OkanaganValley #watershed #BC #Canada #BritishCanada #clearcut #logging #harvesting #practices #climatechange #extremeweather #humanimpacts #caseexamples #floodrisk #risk #hazard #probabilistic #framework #attributionscience #policy #planning
#UniversityofBritishColumbia | #GovernmentofBritishColumbia

Can Himalayan Crops Help Secure The Future Of Food?
(Exploring how genomic diversity, traditional crops, and regional cooperation can strengthen climate resilience and food security across the Hindu Kush Himalaya [HKH])
--
https://substack.com/home/post/p-207443153 <-- shared technical post
--
https://openlibrary.substack.com/ <-- shared Substack, “Open Library on Green Economy”
--
https://adaptationwithoutborders.org/knowledge-base/adaptation-without-borders/shifting-cooperation-in-the-hindu-kush-himalaya/ <-- shared technical article, “Shifting cooperation in the [HKH]”
--
https://www.icimod.org/who-we-are/the-hindu-kush-himalaya/ <-- background on the HKH, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
--
https://doi.org/10.48130/cas-0026-0003 <-- shared paper
--
[not at all my technical area - but fascinating, including the spatial component #alldataisspatial]
H/T @jeevan Labh
“As we navigate the intensifying impacts of the 2026 El Niño, the vulnerability of our global food systems require careful evaluation. With this year’s erratic weather patterns driving severe, prolonged droughts in some regions and unseasonal, devastating floods in others, the climate crisis is proving that it is not a distant threat; it is happening right now, in our fields and on our plates.
This crisis is more visible in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. Often called the “water tower of Asia,” this vast mountain range sustains 240 million people across eight countries and provides essential ecosystem services to nearly 2 billion people downstream. When glaciers melt at accelerated rates and monsoons become unpredictable, the narrative often focuses solely on the mountain communities. But the truth is much broader: a disrupted harvest in the high hills of Nepal or Bhutan creates a domino effect. It leads to displaced populations, reduced agricultural output flowing into the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra basins, and ultimately, skyrocketing food prices for families living in the sprawling downstream plains.
The climate crisis respects no borders and recognizes no difference between altitude and sea level. Because this problem affects us all, the solution must protect us all. Fortunately, the means to overcome this challenge are already in our hands, locked within the ancient seeds of the mountains…”
## #GreenEconomy #economy #monoculture #agriculture #farming #crop #cropland #HinduKushHimalaya #himalaya #mountain #HKH #spatial #mapping #elevation #climatechange #foodsecurity #food #extremeweather #weather #ElNiño #drought #rainfall #precipitation #snowmelt #climatecrisis #mountainrange #water #hydrology #ecosystem #glacier #moonsoons #community #harvest #Nepal #Bhutan #watersheds #watersecurity #risk #hazard #waterresources #genes #genomicdiversity #cooperation

Ancient Water Wisdom - The Acequias Of Sierra Nevada, Europe’s Oldest Groundwater System ⛰️
--
https://memolaproject.eu/sierra-nevada/wateruse <-- shared link to the 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗟𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 page
--
https://regadiohistorico.es/ <-- shared technical page, “Collaborative map of historical irrigation systems in Granada and Almería” / “Mapa colaborativo de regadíos históricos de Granada y Almería”
--
https://youtu.be/-TIUI2KflMk?si=iaSOwV99-WWMDCpV <-- shared video overview, “Participa al Mapa colaborativo de regadíos históricos de Granada y Almería”
--
H/T @sofie de Volder | Co-founder TRAQUA
“[The author has] already discussed ancient water management systems, such as the qanats in Persia and other Eastern countries. In Europe, there are the acequias of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia, Spain.
The hand-dug channels date back over 1,000 years to the Moorish era. Networks of canals, aqueducts and cisterns were engineered to capture and transport snowmelt, turning this natural resource into a sustainable water supply for agriculture. The high-altitude ditches had openings, allowing water to infiltrate into fractures and faults, replenishing the aquifer, and to irrigate the lower levels of the slopes.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗮𝘀?
✅ Gravity-fed irrigation that supported terraced farms and local biodiversity.
✅ Designed to distribute water slowly and equitably, even during dry summers.
✅ Stretching over thousands of kilometres, these systems fell into disuse in the 1980s but are now part of restoration efforts led by the MEMOLA Project (Universidad de Granada).
With climate change and more intense droughts, the Acequias could provide an ancient solution to the modern-day water crisis…”
#Spain #𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗮𝘀 #waterresources #historic #irrigation #mapping #watermanagement #agriculture #farming #watersecurity #HistoricalIrrigationSystems #agroecological #SierraNevada #Andalusia #Moors #engineering #constructed #channels #canals #aqueducts #cisterns #water #hydrography #snowmelt #naturalresource #sustainability #groundwater #aquifers #recharge #MEMOLA #mapping #climatechange #extremeweather #drought

Up until approximately a decade ago, most boreal forest lightening strikes fell on damp ground, usually from recent snow melt. Climate change has turned the upper half of North America into a giant tinder box.

#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #BorealForest #snowmelt

Recent Upper Colorado River Streamflow Declines Driven by Loss of Spring Precipitation
--
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109826 <-- shared 2024 paper
--
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/08/240816121501.htm <-- shared technical article
--
[it would be interesting to see the paper’s author’s updated views/analysis after the 2025/2026 (lack of) winter / record-low snowpack in the Rockies, feeding the Colorado R., etc]
#water #hydrology #waterresources #precipitation #snow #snowpack
#Colorado #ColoradoRiver #planning #allocation #aquifer #surfacewater #groundwater #vegetation #plant #phenology #watercycle #spring #rainfall #snowmelt #sublimation #hydrogeomorphology #runoff #infiltration #checkdams #engineering #keystone #species #beaver #wolf #herbivore #overgrazing #burrows #watertable #research #streamflow #evapotranspiration #restoration
@University of Washington

Scientists Finally Know Where The Colorado River’s Missing [sic] Water Is Going
--
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260413232421.htm <-- shared technical article
--
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109826 <-- shared paper
--
#water #hydrology #waterresources #watermanagement #streamflow #weather #springweather #ColoradoRiver #meteorology #snowpack #snow #rainfall #precipitation #ET #evaporation #cloud #snowmelt #extremeweather #plants #vegetation #uptake #evapotranspiration #PET #MillenniumDrought #drought #climatechange #headwaters #cloudcover #soil #wateravailability #prediction #forecasting #estimates
@University Of Washington

Scientists finally know where the Colorado River’s missing water is going

For years, water managers have been puzzled as the Colorado River kept delivering less water than expected—even when snowpack levels looked promising. New research reveals the missing piece: spring rain, or rather, the lack of it. Warmer, drier springs mean plants are soaking up more snowmelt before it can reach rivers, fueled by sunny skies that boost growth and evaporation. In fact, this shift explains nearly 70% of the shortfall, tying the mystery directly to the long-running Millennium drought.

#ColoradoRiver #water #snowmelt #drought

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260413232421.htm

‘On A Whole Other Level’ - Rapid Snow Melt-Off In American West Stuns Scientists
--
Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory
--
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/01/snowmelt-american-west <-- shared media/technical article
--
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/predictive/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf <-- shared National Significant Wildland Fire Potential @ 04/01/26 (for the next four months)
--
[ extreme lack of snowfall already in the ‘25/’26 US West winter to begin with, and now this… ☹ ]
#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #weather #metrology #climatechange #extremeweather #snowpack #USWest #USA #winter #heat #melting #snowmelt #risk #hazard #water #hydrology #waterresources #watersecurity #agriculture #wildfire #risk #hazard #firerisk #watersupply #watershed #management #planning #Colorado #Utah #California #earthobservation
@the Guardian | @nasa | @California Department of Water Resources

Upstream Hydrology And The Importance Of Snowmelt In Buffering Droughts In The Karnali Basin In Nepal
--
https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2025.1720178 <-- shared paper
--
https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-karnali-portrait <-- shared media article
--
https://youtu.be/ns7jytSwpng?si=rGm90l9FC_ahHum5 <-- shared video, Megh Ale, Nepal River Conservation Trust on the Karnali R.
--
#water #hydrology #hydrography #surfacewater #catchment #waterresources #Nepal #Karnali #snowmelt #drought #SPHY #model #modeling #ERA5 #Himalya #river #basin #fluvial #pluvial #precipitation #rainfall #discharge #history #record #weather #climate #snow #climatechange #watersecurity #watersupply #conservation #planning #risk #hazard #rain #runoff #baseflow #waterbalance #evapotranspiration #ET #variability #spatiotemporal #change #time #streamflow #resilience

Annual 30 Metre Snow Dynamics (2018-2019 To 2023-2024) – Canada [Mapping / Spatial Data]
--
https://app.geo.ca/en-ca/map-browser/record/1ed7fdec-9a50-4fe9-aa16-78f9ee3f05bc?hsid=440405ef-5ad2-4d80-80c3-7a43cc94c3c4 <-- shared NRCAN resource link
--
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/snow-cover.html <-- shared overview/technical web page about Canadian snow cover
--
#GIS #spatial #mapping #opendata #dataset #snow #snowcover #Canada #webmap #snowmelt #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #planning #safety #sustainability #naturalresource
@NRCAN

Adaptive Thresholding (AT) For Snowmelt Detection With Calibrated Enhanced-Resolution Brightness Temperatures (CETB) - Timing And Regional Patterns For Case Study Of Alaska
--
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srs.2026.100390 <-- shared paper
--
“HIGHLIGHTS:
• Data-driven Adaptive Thresholding (AT) for snowmelt detection using PMW CETB data.
• AT improves melt detection accuracy to ≤ 1.0 day MAE over legacy methods in Alaska.
• AT captures spatial and regional melt variability linked to snow class and terrain.
• AT is sensor-agnostic, scalable across frequencies and polarizations for broad use..."
#snowmelt #winter #snow #spatialanalysis #GIS #spatial #mapping #spatiotemporal #water #waterresources #hydrology #spatialdata #AdaptiveThresholding #Passivemicrowave #remotesensing #EnhancedResolutionData #Snowmeltdetection #DiurnalAmplitudeVariation #US #USA #Alaska #geostatistics #melt #melting #monitoring #regional

Evaluating The Functional Realism Of Deep Learning Rainfall-Runoff Models Using Catchment Hydrology Principles
--
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025WR040076 <-- shared paper
--
#water #hydrology #surfacewater #pluvial #fluvial #rainfall #snow #snowmelt #runoff #precipitation #model #blackbox #robustness #functionalrealism #screening #parameters #accuracy #hydrologic #principles #trustworthy #modeling #spatialanalysis #spatial #mapping #GIS #spatiotemporal #USA #CONUS #AI #ExplainableAI #celerity #machinelearning #artificialintelligence #LSTM #deeplearning #evapotranspiration #waterresources #extremeweather #flood #flooding #risk #hazard #monitoring #prediction #catchments #streamflow #geomorphometry #network #flow #calibration

Rapid Mass Movements Triggered By An Atmospheric River In Disko Island, West Greenland
--
https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70201 <-- shared paper, 2023 event(s)
--
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-022-01922-7 <-- shared paper, 2021 event(s)
--
https://www.polarresearch.at/the-great-landslide-of-assapaat/ <-- shared technical article
--
#landslide #massmovement #thawing #permafrost #extremewweather #cryosphere #Qeqertarsuaq #ArcticDEM #DiskoIsland #Greenland #ERA5 #CARRA #fluvial #pluvial #precipitation #rainfall #snow #ice #glacier #glacial #temperature #slushflow #GIS #spatial #mapping #geomorphology #elevation #slope #atmosphericriver #climate #weather #snowmelt #island #coast #coastal #damage #humanimpacts #infrastructure #arctic #monitoring #geohazard #risk #hazard #engineeringgeology #polar #change #remotesensing #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #earthobservation #debrisflow #remoteareas
#GreenlandEcosystemMonitoring | @europeanspaceagency | #CopernicusECMWF #Copernicus

Identifying Baseflow Source Areas Using Remotely Sensed and Ground-Based Hydrologic Data and Models
--
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70322 <-- shared paper
--
#water #hydrology #SierraNevada #California #baseflow #source #snowpack #precipitation #fluvia #pluvial #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #waterresources #watermanagement #model #modeling #rainfall #recharge #groundwater #streamflow #snowmelt #elevation #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #extremeweather #climatechange #mountain #aquifer #watersecurity #hydrologicmodel #earthobservation

Estimating Increased Transient Water Storage With Increases In Beaver Dam Activity
--
https://doi.org/10.3390/w16111515 <-- shared paper
--
“Dam building by beaver (Castor spp.) slows water movement through montane valleys, increasing transient water storage and the diversity of residence times. In some cases, water storage created by beaver dam construction is correlated to changes in streamflow magnitude and timing. However, the total amount of additional surface and groundwater storage that beaver dams may create (and, thus, their maximum potential impact on streamflow) has not been contextualized in the water balance of larger river basins..."
#water #surfacewater #groundwater #infiltration #river #basin #hydrology #natural #beaver #wildlife #habitat #ecosystem #waterstorage #waterresources #waterbalance #streamflow #snowwaterequivalent #snowmelt #beaverdams #geomorphology #montane #landscape #landforms #basin #watershed #drainage #HAND #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #model #modeling #spatial #MODFLOW #reservoir

The Disappearance of Lac [Lake] Rouge [remote sensing]
--
https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154526/the-disappearance-of-lac-rouge <-- Shared NASA Earth Observatory Images Of The Day
--
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/lake-drainage-land-collapse-waswanipi-lake-rouge-lake-doda-1.7539994 <-- shared media article
--
“A landscape in central Quebec transformed suddenly in spring 2025 when a lake burst its banks and drained. Members of the nearby community of Waswanipi who use the area for hunting, fishing, and trapping learned of the curious incident in early May, after reports of a washed-out road. Further air- and ground-based investigations revealed that land around the lake had collapsed and that Lac Rouge had emptied..."
#GIS #spatial #mapping #spatiotemporal #water #hydrology #lake #LacRouge #Quebec #Canada #Waswanipi #Cree #FirstNation #wildfire #geomorphometry #outflow #OLI2 #Landsat #Landsat9 #earthobservation #remotesensing #wildlife #habitat #change #ecology #sediment # #snowmelt #rainfall

Mapping the Cradle of Civilization - How Geography Shaped the Indus Valley
--
https://americangeo.substack.com/i/166074972/mapping-the-cradle-of-civilization-how-geography-shaped-the-indus-valley <-- shared technical article
--
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0f508nx <-- shared BBC podcast
--
#GIS #spatial #mapping #IndusWatersTreaty #IndusValleyCivilization #Harappan #agriculture #urban #cities #trade #transportation #technology #geography #BronzeAge #civilisations #hydrology #water #surfacewater #waterresources #snowmelt #watersecurity #history #ancienthistory #Indus #IndusRiver