NASA
2016-11-11 13:54:37.0 [aaleman] added new data center at request of NSIDC insert AltLabel (id: null text: Airborne Snow Observatory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA language code: en);
NASA/JPL/ASO
The two most critical properties for understanding snowmelt runoff and timing are the spatial and temporal distributions of snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow albedo. Despite their importance in controlling volume and timing of runoff, snowpack albedo and SWE are still largely unquantified in the US and not at all in most of the globe, leaving runoff models poorly constrained. NASA/JPL, in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, has developed the Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO), an imaging spectrometer and scanning lidar system, to quantify SWE and snow albedo, generate unprecedented knowledge of snow properties for cutting edge cryospheric science, and provide complete, robust inputs to water management models and systems of the future. Funding provided by NASA Terrestrial Hydrology, NASA Applied Sciences, and California Department of Water Resources