Mountain Hydrology Group
We are primarily focused on the processes controlling hydrologic fluxes in cold regions and within the greater Earth system. Improved understanding of these processes is essential for sustainable management of natural resources and for making informed environmental policy decisions. Our research projects use ground-based observations, remote sensing, and computational modeling to obtain comprehensive understanding of hydrological processes: in particular the distribution of snow.
Additional projects aim at developing techniques for scaling hydrological processes and for designing ground-based observation networks tailored for integration with remote sensing and modeling. Studies relating fluxes of water, carbon, and nitrogen are also a focus of our current projects: in particular the feedbacks between water availability and carbon cycling in montane forests.
Noah Molotch
Director
Karl Rittger
Leadership
Sebastien Lenard
Research Associate
Leanne Lestak
Research staff
Ross Palomaki
Postdoc
John Knowles
INSTAAR affiliate
Ryan W. Webb
INSTAAR affiliate
Eric Kennedy
Grad student
Jen Morse
Grad student
Patrick Saylor
Grad student
Millie Spencer
Grad student
Emma Tyrrell
Grad student
- Kate Hale, PhD 2022
- Kehan Yang, PhD 2021
- Siobhan (Nani) Ciafone, Undergraduate Researcher
- Connor Chen, Undergraduate Researcher
- Adam Wlostowski, Water Resources Scientist, Lynker Technologies
- Oliver Wigmore, Research Associate
- Keith Jennings, PhD, 2018
- Qinghuan Zhang, PhD, 2018
- Alice Hill, Postdoctoral Research Associate
- David M. Barnard, Former BcCZO Postdoctoral Fellow; Now at USGS FRESC
- Theo Barnhart, PhD 2018, Geography
- Adrian Harpold, Director, Nevada Mountain Ecohydrology Lab, Reno, NV
- Emily Baker, MA 2015 in Geography; Now at USGS Alaska Science Center
- Leah Meromy, MA 2012 in Geography; Now Hydrologist with SSP&A
- Taylor Winchell, MA 2016 in Engineering; Now Hydrologist at ICEM
- Danielle Perrot, MA 2012 in Geography; Now Water Resources Admin in Greeley CO
- Ernesto Trujillo-Gomez, INSTAAR Affiliate
- Dominik Schneider, PhD 2017
- Alana Wilson, Alumna - PhD 2017 in Geography
Contact & services
Noah Molotch Phone: 303 492-6151
Near-real-time spatial estimates of SWE (Snow Water Equivalent)
Our research product provides near-real-time estimates of snow-water equivalent (SWE) at a spatial resolution of 500 m. We create reports for specific regions approximately every two weeks from mid-winter through the end of the melt season. The reports are released within a week of satellite image data acquisition and are distributed to water managers and forecasters. For more information on reporting or to discuss reporting for your area please contact Leanne Lestak.
- Sierra Nevada SWE reports (California)
- Intermountain West SWE reports (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming)
Snow Today website
Snow Today is a website at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) with daily images and monthly scientific analyses (in season) of snow conditions across the Western United States, synthesizing satellite data and surface observations. New regions will be added this year, expanding to global over the next few years. For more info, contact Karl Rittger.
Modified from sammykatta.com/diversity
Group members. Click to zoom
Research
Research components
NASA - $510,000 PI-Molotch: Characterization of the spatio-temporal variability of snow properties to support active and passive microwave remote sensing of snow (2017 – 2022).
NASA - $515,000 Co-PI (M. Durand PI): Characterizing accuracy of an advanced snow water equivalent retrieval algorithm applied to airborne microwave remote sensing measurements (Molotch portion ~$50,000; 2017 – 2022).
CWI - $50,000 PI-Knowles: Colorado Water Institute. Bark beetle impacts on remotely sensed evapotranspiration in the Colorado Rocky Mountains (2017-2018).
NASA - $90,000 PI-Molotch: Assessing the climate sensitivity of mountain snowpacks using the Airborne Snow Observatory and a distributed snowpack model (2016 – 2019); Fellowship for K. Jennings.
NSF - $6.8M Co-PI (K. Suding PI): NWT LTER VII: Long-term research on the dynamics of high-elevation ecosystems – a framework for understanding ecological responsiveness to climate change (Molotch portion ~$500,000; 2016 – 2021).
State of WY - $70,000 PI-Molotch: A 13-year analysis of snow water equivalent in the North Platte and Tongue River basins, Wyoming (2016 - 2017).
NSF - $151,000 PI-Molotch (w/ S. Anderson): Hydrologic partitioning across the CZO network: transforming knowledge of water and energy fluxes through Earth’s living skin (supplement to Boulder Cr. CZO; 2016 – 2017).
CU - $44,000 PI-Molotch: Multi-Scale Modeling and Measurement of Ecosystem Sensitivity to Water and Energy Availability (2016 – 2017).
NASA - $96,000 PI-Molotch: Field work planning for NASA SnowEx Campaign (2015 - 2016).
NASA - $90,000 PI-Molotch: Combining a MODIS-based snow water equivalent product and statistical interpolation methods to estimate snowpack conditions in the Colorado headwaters (2014 – 2017); Fellowship for D. Schneider.
USDA/NSF - $1.4M PI-Molotch: Snowpack and Ecosystem Dynamics: The Sustainability of Inter-basin Water Transfers under a Changing Climate (2012 - 2016).
NASA - $1.4M Co-PI (J. Dozier PI): Error analysis of MODIS fraction snow-covered area and snow albedo in mountainous regions (2011 – 2016); $385,386 Molotch portion.
Join our team!
Want to chat? Reach out to Mountain Hydrology Group members.
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