CryoIdaho: Building Idaho’s Cryosphere Research Community through Analysis of Terrain Effects on Snow and Ice Meltwater Fluxes

The seasonal accumulation of snow and melting of snow and ice exert important controls on the hydrology of mountain regions and glacier mass balance. Projections of snow and ice meltwater fluxes in a changing climate require both accurate estimates of snow and ice meltwater fluxes as well as process-based understanding of controls on snow accumulation and snow and ice melt. Snow accumulation and melt vary over a variety of length scales due to variations in terrain (topography, vegetation, roughness, etc.). Large-scale terrain effects can be approximated using empirical parameterizations, but the processes controlling smaller-scale variations in snow accumulation and melt and the influence of these variations on basin-scale meltwater fluxes remain poorly understood. For glacierized regions, our ability to predict meltwater fluxes is further complicated by the complex interplay between surface melting, glacier hydrology, and glacier sliding that can enhance or mitigate glacier mass loss. As such, improved understanding of snow accumulation and melt will advance our understanding of glaciers, and will improve streamflow forecasts for agriculture, flood, and hydropower. This collaborative project addresses the pressing scientific need reduce uncertainties in estimates of snow and ice meltwater fluxes through interdisciplinary research on snow and ice at Boise State University and the University of Idaho. The project leverages existing observational networks, including NASA SnowEx and USGS Benchmark Glacier programs, extends in situ and remotely sensed observations, and incorporates models to explore interactions between snow and underlying terrain. Importantly, the project will seek out process-based understanding of 1) micro-topographic effects on snow accumulation and melt and 2) feedbacks between glacier melt, hydrology, and sliding. The project will also test the performance of empirical and numerical models for mapping seasonal snow and will develop a workflow to optimize in situ observations needed to validate satellite- and model-derived meltwater flux estimates. The project will develop methodologies to use NASA ICESat-2 observations to map seasonal snow in mountain regions spanning a range of terrain characteristics and constrain uncertainties in the data, quantify biases and uncertainties in NASA ITS_LIVE glacier velocities, and reduce uncertainties in snow and glacier meltwater flux estimates. Thus, the success of this project will result in more accurate and low-cost quantification of seasonal snow and glacier meltwater fluxes using a novel NASA dataset and inform future NASA spaceborne missions with snow and ice applications. This project will bring together Idaho scientists with expertise in snow and ice geophysics, remote sensing, hydrology, and atmospheric modeling to work across disciplinary boundaries to better directly address the NASA 2017 Earth Science Mission decadal survey’s priority to “[q]uantify rates of snow accumulation, snowmelt, ice melt, and sublimation from snow and ice worldwide at scales driven by topographic variability” in order to better predict snow and ice meltwater changes in mountain regions. The project will involve several federal collaborators, including NASA ICESat-2 Project Scientist Dr. Tom Neumann and Dr. Shad O’Neel at USGS Anchorage. Through this project, we will strengthen Idaho’s capacity and reputation for cryospheric research and equip a number of graduate and undergraduate students with a diverse array of expertise that will make them well equipped to enter the STEM workforce. Students will gain valuable experience in interdisciplinary scientific research, science communication, and education, making them well prepared to enter the STEM workforce. The public will be engaged in the research through citizen science performed at the McCall Outdoor Science School and through the Winter Wildland Alliance SnowSchool, introducing K-12 students to snow science and winter ecology.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.