snow surveying above Silverton Mountain, Colorado Byers Peninsula, Antarctica
Steven R. FASSNACHT
srf (at) cnr.colostate.edu
Natural Resources Building Room 335
Department of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship
Colorado State University
Fort Collins CO USA 80523-1472
voice +1.970.491.5454
fax +1.970.491.6754



NEWS

Snow Scienstist/Physicist Hal S. Boyne passed away on January 26, 2009
Avalanche, Snow Science Pioneer Ed LaChapelle passed away Feb 1, 2007
100 year Snow Survey Centennial Celebration (1906-2006)




vita
abstracts
research
courses
students : current / former
links

images: [ snow images 1 ] [ snow images 2 ] [ snow images 3 ] [ snow images 4 ]



research:
My primary research interests are the improvement of the understanding of snow and cold land hydrological processes, and their incorporation into various scales and complexities of models (e.g., Davison). These models are used for water resources forecasting, hydrological simulations, and climate modelling. My focuses are improving the data used for modelling, and understanding the sensitivity of process formulations. Snowpack and related (e.g., remotely sensed) data exist at various spatial and temporal scales; ongoing research is working towards determining the scale for sampling (e.g., Deems, Brazenec) and for data required to model (e.g., Repass, McKim).

courses:
Fall Semester: [ WR 474 ] Snow Hydrology Spring Semester: [ WR 406 ] Seasonal Snow Environments (odd years) Summer Semester: [ NR 220 ]
[ WR 574 ] Advanced Topics in Snow Hydrology [ WR 575 ] Snow Hydrology Field Methods
[ GR 100 ] Introduction to Geography [ WR 674 ] Data Issues in Hydrology (even years)
[ WR 420 ] Watershed Practicum [ WR 440 ] Watershed Problem Analysis
[ IU 193 ] Films of the Future
[ IU 193 ] Snow and Society

current students:
PhD:
Douglas Hultstrand - Improving Water Balance Estimates
Sara Simonson - Avalanches and Vegetation
MS:
Magdalena Skordahl - Persistence and Variability of a Montane Snowpack
Sharla Stevenson - Paleo-streamflow Modelling Using A Monte Carlo Approach
Molly Tedesche - Snow accumulation in rangelands
Amir Kashipazha - Spatial Variability in Operational Snow Measurements
Joel Murray - Spatial Data Management for Hydrological Modelling
Johannes Beeby - Climate Change Impacts on Winter Recreation
Harold Moore - Bio-fouling and Well-head Protection
Jared Heath - Motorized Vehicle Impacts on Snowpack Properties
Tumenjargal Sukh - Climate Change in Mongolia
Manuel Guzman - to be determined
Adam Pierce - to be determined

former students:
PhD:
Jeff Deems 2007 - Quantifying scale relationships in snow distributions {download dissertation} [now with Civil and Environmental Engineering ]
MS:
Jeffrey Derry 2008 - Regional Patterns of Snow Water Equivalent in the Colorado River Basin Using Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL) Data {download thesis} [started with GW Scientific ]
Patrick Ewing 2007 - From the Tree to the Forest: the Influence of a Sparse Canopy on Stand Scale Snow Water Equivalent {download thesis}
Anne Sawyer 2007 - Snowpack Depletion Modeling Using Fast All-season Soil Strength (FASST) and SNOWMODEL in a High-elevation, High Relief Catchment in the Central Rocky Mountains {download thesis} (with Kelly Elder US Forest Service) [started with NOHRSC ]
Mark Corrao 2007 - Spatial, Temporal and Directional Changes in Snow Surface Roughness [started with Hydro Construction Co. Inc. ]
Douglas Hultstrand 2006 - Geostatistical Methods for Estimating Snowmelt Contribution to the Annual Water Balance in an Alpine Watershed {download thesis} (with John Stednick CSU FRWS) [started with Metstat ]
Jennifer Mann 2006 - Instream Flow Methodologies: A Validation of the Tennant Method for Higher Gradient Streams in the National Forest System Lands in the Western U.S. {download thesis} [started with In-situ]
Scott McKim 2006 - The Effects Of Input Data Degradation On Hydrological Model Performance For A Snowmelt Dominated Watershed {download thesis} [started with NWS-AKRFC - Alaska]
Wendy (nee Brazenec) Ryan 2005 - Evaluation of Two Ultrasonic Snow Depth Sensors To Predict Six Hour Snowfall at National Weather Service Automated Surface Observing Sites {download thesis} (with Nolan Doesken CSU Atmospheric Sciences) [started with CSU Atmospheric Sciences]
Julie Repass 2005 - Assessment of Digital Land Cover Maps for Hydrological Modeling of the Yampa River Basin, Colorado, USA {download thesis} [started with Red Hen Systems, Fort Collins, then ESRI]
Bruce Davison 2004 - Snow Accumulation in a distributed Hydrological Model {download thesis} (with Ric Soulis U. Waterloo Civ Eng) [started with Environment Canada - NHRI Saskatoon]
Julie (nee Holcombe) Koeberle 2004 - Modeling Snowcover Depletion and Soil Moisture Recharge at Two Different NASA Cold Land Processes Experiment Sites {download thesis} (with Kelly Elder USFS) [started with NWS - Seattle, then NRCS - Boise]



professional links:
[
Colorado Avalanche Information Center] [ Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the US]
[ Western Snow Conference] [ Eastern Snow Conference]
[ American Geophysical Union] [ Canadian Geophysical Union] [ European Geosciences Union]
[ International Association of Hydrological Sciences]
[ Professional Engineers Ontario]



local ski-related links:
[ Diamond Peaks Ski Patrol] [ Powderbuzz]

Local links:
[ Fort Collins ]





©2002-9 S.R. Fassnacht
Last update: SRF, 2009.II.18

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