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David Steitz
Headquarters, Washington                           Feb. 14, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1730)

Kent Laborde
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Washington
(Phone: 202/482-5757)

RELEASE: 03-058

SCIENTISTS IN THE SNOW: IMPROVING WATER & CLIMATE FORECASTS

     Scientists and students from six federal agencies and many 
universities will study the snow packs of the Colorado Rockies from 
the ground, air and space this year. Their goal is to improve 
forecasts of springtime water supply, snowmelt floods, and to study 
how snow- cover affects the Earth's weather and climate.

The 2003 Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX) runs February 19-25 and 
March 25-31. It will be conducted in the central Rocky Mountains of 
the western United States, where there is a wide array of different 
terrain, snow, soil, and ecological characteristics. 

Additional studies will help design better sensors to measure the 
water content of snow from space. In the future, new remote sensing 
measurements coupled with water and weather forecast models should 
improve prediction of water supplies, floods, weather and climate.

Jointly sponsored by NASA and NOAA, CLPX is concerned with landscapes 
where water is frozen either seasonally or permanently. Cold regions 
form a major component of the Earth's hydrological system. This is the 
second year of intensive snow measurements in Colorado's mountains and 
high-elevation rangelands. A major advance this year is the inclusion 
of several advanced satellite and airborne sensors to determine the 
best ways to conduct remote sensing of the global cryosphere.

Measurements from four aircraft and NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites 
will gather snow data by remote sensing. The data gathered on the 
ground and from the aircraft will be compared to that obtained by the 
satellites to determine the accuracy of the satellite data. 
Researchers hope to eventually measure snow quantity and frozen ground 
from space, anywhere in the world without a ground team, particularly 
in inaccessible areas. Ground teams, however, do play a crucial part 
in instrument validation and calibration. 

Researchers from several NASA field centers will conduct the 
experiment with NOAA scientists from the National Weather Service's 
National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NWS/NOHRSC). 
Other participants include scientists at the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
Cold Region Research and Engineering Lab, the U.S. Geological Survey, 
the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and graduate students from 
universities around the world.

CLPX is sponsored by NASA's Terrestrial Hydrology Program and the 
Earth Observing System Program, and by NOAA's Office of Global 
Programs to address broad interagency objectives in hydrology, water 
resources, ecology, and atmospheric sciences. NOAA is dedicated to 
enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction 
and research of weather and climate- related events and providing 
environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine 
resources. NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is dedicated to 
understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth 
System Science to improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural 
hazards using the unique vantage point of space.

Internet links with more information, photographs and images are 
posted at:

http://www.nasa.gov/HP_news_03058.html

For reporters who would like to arrange field dates, contact: Kent 
Laborde or Scott Smullen, NOAA Public Affairs: 202/482-5757/1097. To 
attend media day, please contact David Steitz or Elvia Thompson at 
NASA Headquarters: 202/358-1730/1696.

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