snow surveying above Silverton Mountain, Colorado snow surveying in the San Juan Mtns, Colorado
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

100 year Snow Survey Centennial Celebration
Avalanche, Snow Science Pioneer Ed LaChapelle died Feb 1, 2007


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 - to be determined
Sara Simonson - Avalanches and Vegetation
Amir Kashipazha - Spatial Variability in Operational Snow Measurements
Joel Murray - to be determined
MS:
Erin Bentley - Seasonal Progression In Subnivian Space: An Assessment Of Variation In Snowpack Characteristics In North Central Colorado
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
Brent Barker - to be determined
Johannes Beeby - Climate Change Impacts on Winter Recreation
Harold Moore - to be determined
Jared Heath - 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 ]





unofficial sponsor: [ the Fremont Company ]
official sponsor: [ geh nackt ]


©2002-7 S.R. Fassnacht
Last update: SRF, 2007.III.01

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