Vita

Steven Fassnacht


Education

2000 Ph.D.  Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
1995 M.A.Sc.  Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo
1992 B.A.Sc.  Civil Engineering (Water Resources), University of Waterloo

Employment

2008-present Associate Professor  Watershed Science Program, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University
2002-2008 Assistant Professor  Watershed Science Program, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University
2002-present Adjunct Assistant/Associate Professor  Department of Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo
2000-2002  Research Associate  Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson
1995-1999  Graduate Research Engineer  Hydrology Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo
1993-1994  Research Assistant  Department of Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo
1991-1993  Engineer-in-Training  Environment Canada, Yellowknife, NT
1991  Assistant Hydrometric Technician Water Survey of Canada, Nepean, Ontario
1990  Assistant Information Broker  Fraunhofer Institute, Stuttgart, Germany
1989  Researcher  Centre de Technologie Noranda, Pointe Claire, Quebec

Awards and Activities

2009-present Eastern Snow Conference Past President
2008-2009 Eastern Snow Conference President
2008   Eastern Snow Conference SnoFoo Award
2007-2008 Eastern Snow Conference Vice President
2006-2007 Eastern Snow Conference Steering Committee chair
2005-2006 Eastern Snow Conference Research Committee chair
2003-2005 Eastern Snow Conference Research Committee member
2003   International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy Young Scientist's Travel Award to IUGG 2003
2001   American Geophysical Union Young Scientist's Travel Award to IAHS 2001
2000-present   Reviewer: Water Resources Research; Journal of Geophysical Research; Geophysical Research Letters; Hydrological Processes; Journal of Hydrometeorology; Geocarta; Eastern Snow Conference Proceedings; Computers and Geoscience; Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research; Advances in Water Resources; Journal of Stochastic Environmental Research & Risk Assessment; Journal of Hydrology; Climate Research
2000   Invited participant: American Geophysical Union special session on Monitoring, Measuring and Modeling Snow Processes
1999-2003 Eastern Snow Conference Technical Committee member
1999   American Geophysical Union Student Travel Award to IUGG 1999
1995-1998   University of Waterloo Graduate Scholarship
1994-1998   Faculty of Engineering Graduate Scholarship
1990   University Of Waterloo Engineering Society President's Award
1989   NSERC Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Award
1987   Faculty of Engineering Entrance Scholarship

Professional Affiliations

  • Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario
  • American Geophysical Union
  • Canadian Geophysical Union
  • European Geophysical Union
  • International Association of Hydrological Sciences
  • Western Snow Conference
  • Eastern Snow Conference
  • Arctic Institute of North America
  • Selected Publications

    Refereed Publications

    2012

    Fassnacht, S.R., K.A. Dressler, D.M. Hultstrand, R.C. Bales, and G. Patterson, 2012. Temporal Inconsistencies in Coarse-scale Snow Water Equivalent Patterns: Colorado River Basin Snow Telemetry-Topography Regressions. Pirineos, 167, 167-186 [doi: 10.3989/Pirineos .2011.166008].

    Venable, N.B.H., S.R. Fassnacht, G. Adyabadam, Tumenjargal S., M. Fernández-Giménez, and B. Batbuyan, 2012. Does the Length of Station Record Influence the Warming Trend That is Perceived by Mongolian Herders near the Khangai Mountains? Pirineos, 167, 71-88 [doi: 10.3989/Pirineos.2012.167004].

    2011

    Dorligsurena, D., B. Batbuyana, D. Bulgamaaa and S.R. Fassnacht, 2011. Lessons from a Territory-based Community Development Approach in Mongolia: Ikhtamir Pasture User Groups. Chapter 9 in: Restoring Community Connections to the Land: Building Resilience through Community-based Rangeland Management in China and Mongolia (ed. M.E. Fernández-Giménez, X. Wang, B. Baival, J. Klein, R. Reid), CABI Press Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK, 260pp.

    López-Moreno, J.I., S.R. Fassnacht, S. Beguería, and J.B.P. Latron, 2011. Variability of snow depth at the plot scale: implications for mean depth estimation and sampling strategies. The Cryosphere, 5, 617-629, [doi:10.5194/tc-5-617-2011].

    Fassnacht, S.R., T. Sukh, M. Fernández-Giménez, B. Batbuyan, N.B.H. Venable, M. Laituri and G. Adyabadam, 2011. Local understanding of hydro-climatic changes in Mongolia. Cold Region Hydrology in a Changing Climate (Proceedings of symposium H02 held during IUGG2011 in Melbourne, Australia, July 2011), IAHS, 346, 120-129.

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2011. Snow density. In (eds. V.P. Singh, P. Singh, U.K. Haritashya), Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers, Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, Dordrecht Heidelberg, Springer, p502, [doi: 1007/978-90-481-2642-2_502].

    2010

    Fassnacht, S.R., M. Toro Velasco, P.J. Meiman, and Z.C. Whitt, 2010. A Local Aeolian Influence in the Surface Roughness of Melting Snow, Byers Peninsula, Antarctica. Hydrological Processes, 24(14), 2007-2013 [doi, 10.1002/hyp.7661].

    López-Moreno, J.I., B. Alvera, J. Latron, and S.R. Fassnacht, 2010. Instalación y Uso de un Colchón de Nieve para la Monitorización del Manto de Nieve, Cuenca Experimental de Izas (Pirineo Central). Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica (Journal of Geographical Research), 36(1), 73-85.

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2010. Temporal changes in small scale snowpack surface roughness length for sublimation estimates in hydrological modeling. Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica (Journal of Geographical Research), 36(1), 43-57.

    Fassnacht, S.R., C.M. Heun, J.I. López-Moreno, and J.B.P. Latron, 2010. Variability of Snow Density Measurements in the Rio Esera Valley, Pyrenees Mountains, Spain. Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica (Journal of Geographical Research), 36(1), 59-72.

    Fassnacht, S.R., and J.E. Derry, 2010. Defining similar regions of snow in the Colorado River Basin using self-organizing maps. Water Resources Research, 46, W04507 [doi:10.1029/2009WR007835].

    2009

    Fassnacht, S.R., M.W. Williams, and M.V. Corrao, 2009. Changes in the surface roughness of snow from millimetre to metre scales. Ecological Complexity, 6(3), 221-229 [doi: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2009.05.003].

    Fassnacht, S.R., J.D. Stednick, J.S. Deems, and M.V. Corrao, 2009. Metrics for assessing snow surface roughness from digital imagery. Water Resources Research, 45, W00D31, [doi:10.1029/2008WR006986].

    2008

    Deems, J.S., S.R. Fassnacht, and K.J. Elder, 2008. Interannual consistency in fractal snow depth patterns at two Colorado mountain sites. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 9(5): 977-988.

    Ryan, W.A., N.J. Doesken, and S.R. Fassnacht, 2008. Preliminary results of ultrasonic snow depth sensor testing for National Weather Service (NWS) snow measurements in the US. Hydrological Processses, 22(15): 2748-2757 [doi:10.1002/hyp.7065].

    Ryan, W.A., N.J. Doesken, and S.R. Fassnacht, 2008. Evaluation of ultrasonic snow depth sensors for U.S. snow measurements. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 25(5): 667-684.

    Bales, R.C., K.A. Dressler, B. Imam, S.R. Fassnacht, and D. Lampkin, 2008. Fractional snow cover in the Colorado and Rio Grande basins, 1995-2002. Water Resources Research, 44: W01425 [doi:10.1029/2006WR005377].

    2007

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2007. Data time step to estimate snowpack accumulation at select United States meteorological stations. Hydrological Processes, 21(12): 1608-1615.

    2006

    Dressler, K.A., S.R. Fassnacht, and R.C. Bales, 2006. A comparison of snow telemetry (SNOTEL) and snowcourse measurements in the Colorado River Basin. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 7(4): 705-712.

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2006. Upper versus Lower Colorado River sub-basin streamflow: characteristics, runoff estimation and model simulation. Hydrological Processes, 20: 2187-2205 [doi: 10.1002/hyp.6202].

    Fassnacht, S.R., Z.-L. Yang, K.R. Snelgrove, E.D. Soulis, and N. Kouwen, 2006. Effects of averaging and separating soil moisture and temperature in the presence of snow cover in a SVAT and hydrological model. Journal of Hydrometeorology 7(2): 298-304.

    Deems, J.S., S.R. Fassnacht, and K.J. Elder, 2006. Fractal distribution of snow depth from LiDAR data. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 7(2): 285-297.

    Fassnacht, S.R., and J.S. Deems, 2006. Measurement sampling and scaling for deep montane snow depth data. Hydrological Processes 20: 829-838 [doi: 10.1002/hyp.6119].

    Dressler, K.A., G.H. Leavesley, R.C. Bales, and S.R. Fassnacht, 2006. Evaluation of gridded snow water equivalent and satellite snow cover products for mountain basins in a hydrologic model. Hydrological Processes, 20: 673-688 [doi: 10.1002/hyp.6130].

    2005

    Fassnacht, S.R., and W.A. Brazenec, 2005. Discussion of 'Simple Snowdrift Model for Distributed Hydrological Modeling' by M. Todd Walter, Donald K. McCool, Larry G. King, Myron Molnau, and Gaylon S. Campbell, J. Hydrologic Engrg., July/August 2004, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 280-287 doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0699(2004)9:4(280). Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 10(6), 522-524 [doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0699(2005)10:6(522)].

    2004

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2004. Estimating alter-shielded gauge snowfall undercatch, snowpack sublimation, and blowing snow transport at six sites in the coterminous United States. Hydrological Processes, 18(18): 3481-3492 [doi:10.1002/hyp.5806].

    Molotch, N.P., S.R. Fassnacht, R.C. Bales, and S.R. Helfrich, 2004. Estimating the distribution of snow water equivalent and snow extent beneath cloud cover in the Salt-Verde River basin, Arizona. Hydrological Processes, 18(9): 1595-1611 [doi:10.1002/hyp.1408].

    Fassnacht, S.R., F. Yusuf, and N. Kouwen, 2004. Paralysing January 1999 snowstorms produced minimal streamflow for Southern Ontario. Canadian Water Resources Journal, 29(1): 1-12.

    2003

    Fassnacht, S.R., K.A. Dressler, and R.C. Bales, 2003. Snow water equivalent interpolation for the Colorado River Basin from snow telemetry (SNOTEL) data. Water Resources Research, 39(8): 1208 [doi:10.1029/2002WR001512].

    Fassnacht, S.R., E.D. Soulis, and N. Kouwen, 2003. Radar precipitation for winter hydrological modelling. Information from Weather Radar and Hydrological Modelling (Proceedings IUGG 2003 Symposium HS02, Sapporo Japan, July 2003), IAHS, 282: 35-42.

    2002

    Fassnacht, S.R., and E.D. Soulis, 2002. Implications during transitional periods of improvements to the snow processes in the Land Surface Scheme - Hydrological Model WATCLASS. Atmosphere-Ocean, 40(4): 389-403.

    2001

    Fassnacht, S.R., N. Kouwen, and E.D. Soulis, 2001. Surface temperature adjustments to improve weather radar representation of multi-temporal winter precipitation accumulations. Journal of Hydrology, 253(1-4): 148-168.

    Fassnacht, S.R., K.R. Snelgrove, and E.D. Soulis, 2001. Daytime incoming longwave radiation approximation for physical hydrological modelling. Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer Schemes and Large-Scale Hydrological Models (Proceedings Sixth IAHS Scientific Assembly Symposium S5, Maastricht, July 2001), IAHS, 270: 279-286.

    Fassnacht, S.R., E.D. Soulis, and N. Kouwen, 2001. Enhancing weather radar winter precipitation accumulation estimates. Remote Sensing in Hydrology 2000 (Proceedings IAHS Remote Sensing and Hydrology Conference 2000, Santa Fe, April 2000), IAHS, 267: 46-49.

    2000

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2000. Flow modelling to establish a suspended sediment sampling schedule in two Canadian Deltas. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 4(3): 425-438.

    Fassnacht, S.R., and F.M. Conly, 2000. The persistence of a scour hole on the East Channel of the Mackenzie Delta, NWT. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 27(4): 798-804.

    1999

    Fassnacht, S.R., E.D. Soulis, and N. Kouwen, 1999. Shape characteristics of freshly fallen snowflakes and their short-term changes. Interactions between the Cryosphere, Climate and Greenhouse Gases (Proceedings IUGG 99 Symposium HS2, Birmingham, July 1999), IAHS, 256: 111-122.

    Fassnacht, S.R., E.D. Soulis, and N. Kouwen, 1999. Algorithm application to improve weather radar snowfall estimates for winter hydrologic modelling. Hydrological Processes, 13(18): 3017-3039.

    Fassnacht, S.R., J. Innes, N. Kouwen, and E.D. Soulis, 1999. The specific surface area of fresh dendritic snow crystals. Hydrological Processes, 13(18): 2945-2962.

    1997

    Fassnacht, S.R., 1997. A multi-channel suspended sediment transport model for the Mackenzie Delta, NWT. Journal of Hydrology, 197(1-4): 128-145.



    Conference Proceedings

    Fassnacht, S.R., M.E. Skordahl and J.E. Derry, 2008. Variability at Colorado Operational Snow Measurement Sites: Snowcourse Stations at Collocated Snow Telemetry Stations. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (Fairlee, VT, June 2007), 65: 141-145.

    Ewing, P.J., and S.R. Fassnacht, 2007. From the tree to the forest: the influence of a sparse canopy on stand scale snow water equivalent. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (St. John's NF, June 2007), 64: 149-163.

    Derry, J.E., and S.R. Fassnacht, 2006. Regional Patterns of Snow Water Equivalent in the Colorado River Basin Using Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) data. Proceedings of the 74th Annual Western Snow Conference, (Las Cruces NM), 135-142.

    Hicks, D.M., J.D. Stednick, S.R. Fassnacht, and R. Musselman, 2006. Annual Hydrochemical Fluxes from Alpine Sub-alpine Catchments in the Snowy Range, Wyoming. Proceedings of the 74th Annual Western Snow Conference, (Las Cruces NM),143-146.

    Hultstrand, D.M., S.R. Fassnacht, and J.D. Stednick, 2006. Geostatistical Methods for Estimating Snowmelt Contribution to the Alpine Water Balance. Proceedings of the 74th Annual Western Snow Conference, (Las Cruces NM), 149-154.

    Mace, A.I., E.K. Bentley, and S.R. Fassnacht, 2006. Spatial Similarities in Snowpack Profile Characteristics. International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings, (Telluride, Colorado, October 2006), 1 page.

    Fassnacht, S.R., M. Toro, S. Simonson, and E.K. Bentley, 2006. From the Tree to the Forest - Investigating Snow Accumulation Around Individual Trees. International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings, (Telluride, Colorado, October 2006), 4 pages.

    Brazenec, W.A., N.J. Doesken, and S.R. Fassnacht, 2006. Ultrasonic Snow Depth Sensors for Measuring Snow in the U.S. 10th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), the 86th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, (Atlanta, GA, January 28-February 3, 2006), 4 pages.

    Fassnacht, S.R., and J.S. Deems, 2005. Scaling associated with averaging and resampling of LiDAR-derived montane snow depth data. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (Waterloo ON, June 2005), 62: 163-172.

    Fassnacht, S.R., and E.B. Foster, 2004. The Relationship between Introductory Snow Hydrology Field Methods and Level One Avalanche Courses. International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings, (Jackson, Wyoming, September 2004), 721.

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2004. Streamflow Predictability in the Upper versus Lower Colorado River Sub-basins. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (Portland ME, June 2004), 61: 115-123.

    Fassnacht, S.R., 2003. Teaching snow hydrology to science and non-science majors. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (Sherbrooke PQ, June 2003), 60: 37-40.

    Fassnacht, S.R., F. Yusuf, and N. Kouwen, 2002. January 1999 storms dumped snow on Southern Ontario yet limited streamflow resulted. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (Stowe VT, June 2002), 59: 223-233.

    Fassnacht, S.R., K.A. Dressler, D.J. Lampkin, S.R. Helfrich, R.C. Bales, and B. Imam, 2001. Comparing AVHRR and hydrologically modelled discontinuous alpine snow-covered area estimates. IEEE 2001 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, (Sydney, July 2001), 3 pages.

    Fassnacht, S.R., S.R. Helfrich, D.J. Lampkin, K.A. Dressler, R.C. Bales, E.B. Halper, D. Reigle, and B. Imam, 2001. Snowpack modelling of the Salt Basin with water management implications. Proceedings of the 69th Annual Western Snow Conference, (Sun Valley ID, 2001), 65-76.

    Fassnacht, S.R., E.D. Soulis, K.R. Snelgrove, and N. Kouwen, 1998. Application of weather radar to model the snow hydrology of southern Ontario. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (Jackson NH, June 1998), 55: 115-123.

    Fassnacht, S.R., E.D. Soulis, and N. Kouwen, 1998. Local snow sampling with grade school children. Proceedings of the Eastern Snow Conference (Jackson NH, June 1998), 55: 131-136.

    Fassnacht, S.R., 1997. Suspended sediment travel time estimates for the Mackenzie Delta. In Mackenzie Basin Impact Study Final Report (ed. S.J. Cohen), Environment Canada, p92-99.



    Other

    AAAS Science Update May 29, 2002 Interview [sound byte]



    Music

    Fassnacht, S.R., and M. Viramontes, 2002. Elephant Farm. Full-length 12 track CD written and recorded for Ukermann Records.

    updated: 2012-04-10