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Beutler, Curtis ¹ ; Cowell , Kristina ² ; LaMair, Davis ³ ; Moench , Hannah ⁴ ;Tarricone, John ⁵ ; Wood, David ⁶

¹ University of Colorado, Boulder
² University of Colorado, Boulder
³ University of Colorado, Boulder
⁴ University of Colorado, Boulder
⁵ University of Colorado, Boulder
⁶ University of Colorado, Boulder

Snowpack and prolonged runoff from snowmelt in alpine regions across the world are vital to many watersheds and the livelihood of their constituents. A better understanding of the complex interface between climate, topography, and hydrology can help us assess what climate change will mean for mountainous regions and the snowpack they so heavily rely on. As water security in the Western United States is heavily dependent on these natural mountain “water towers”, it is crucial that the ways we measure and interpret mountain snowpack data, whether from instrumentation or manual fieldwork, are both accurate and representative of their respective catchments in order to inform water resource management under a changing climate. Snowpack data has been collected at and around the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research Site (NWT LTER) via in-situ instruments operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) Program and educational programs such as the 2016 Snow Hydrology Internship through the �鶹��Ƶ. Comparison of snow water equivalent (SWE) data from instrumentation at two SNOTEL sites near Niwot Ridge with that of NWT LTER snow pit field sites of similar elevation were performed in order to evaluate the measurement accuracy and area representation of the two data sources. While the accuracy and pros and cons of various snow measurement methods are generally known, we wish to highlight the unique landscape characteristics of our heavily studied area. Additional geochemical and spatial data may be incorporated as necessary to evaluate existing variations in snow distribution and characteristics in the vicinity of Niwot Ridge.