PowerPoint Presentation
The Potential of Landscape Scale Treatments to Reduce
Sublimation Losses of Critical Water Supply Snowpack in the Western
United StatesAdam BringhurstKeri WilliamsonKevin WerbyloSnowpack
Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringSpring
20111Overview of PresentationProject Understanding BackgroundScope
of ServicesScheduleMethodologyResultsAnalysisConclusions and
RecommendationsFinal Budget
2Adam BringhurstProject UnderstandingOriginated by Dr. Rand
Decker at Northern Arizona UniversityInvestigate at the study plot
scale, treatments that will minimize sublimation losses of winter
snowpack into the airWhy? To increase the amount of surface water
flowsProject RequirementsConsider forest health issuesUnique
treatment ideasTested on multiple landscapesLandscape scaleCost
effective
What is Sublimation?3Adam BringhurstProject BackgroundWhy focus
on snow and sublimation?Arid climates are most dependent on
snowpack for water supplyUp to 70-80% of water in western US comes
from snowpack
Why is this important in Arizona?Half of Arizonas total water
originates as snowpackSublimation rates can account for over 50% of
snow loss in Arizona
4Adam BringhurstScope of Services Task 1- Project ManagementTask
2- Research and BackgroundTask 3- Experiment DesignTask 4-
Experimental Setup and Data CollectionTask 5- Data AnalysisTask 6-
Cost AnalysisTask 7- Results and RecommendationsTask 8-
Presentation of Results
Exclusions-Water quality considerationsLong-term environmental
impactsRequired permits for treatment applications
5Adam Bringhurst
Schedule6
Adam BringhurstProject schedule begins November 22, 2010 and
ends April 29, 2011. 6Planned MethodologyFour sampling
sitesCanopyRepeated applicationMeadowRepeated applicationTwo roof
structuresStart to finish data collectionFour subplots to a
site
7Keri WilliamsonPlanned MethodologySelected Treatments for
TestingVegetable OilCompactionBiomass blanket
8Keri WilliamsonPlanned Methodology
9Keri WilliamsonOn-site temperature recordingCollect samples
using a snow sampling tubeWeight and densityCalculate snow water
equivalent (SWE)
9Methodology as PerformedChanges:Unable to begin sampling until
late FebruaryStarted with thin biomass layer switched to thick
layerTemperature loggers produced unusable data, left temperature
recordings out
10Keri Williamson
Results11Keri WilliamsonOpen meadow, canopy, roof #1, roof
#211
Analysis Roof StructuresRoofs had sun exposure on southern
subplotsFaster rates of snow loss observed visually and confirmed
with samplingStrong correlation between subplot location and snow
loss
12Kevin Werbylo
Analysis CanopyCaptured two stormsSecond storm analyzed, more
data pointsBiomass performed bestOnly treatment that retained more
snow than controlRetained 30% of SWE when all other subplots
completely ablated
CanopySlope(inches SWE/day)R2 ValueControl-0.210.93Thick
Biomass-0.080.7513Kevin WerbyloAnalysis Open
MeadowMeadowSlope(inches SWE/day)R2
ValueControl-0.260.89Biomass-0.040.16
Captured two stormsSecond storm analyzed, more data
pointsBiomass performed bestOnly treatment that retained more snow
than controlRetained 78% of SWE when all other subplots completely
ablatedLow R2 due to mounding
14Kevin WerbyloCostOperation CostWood Chipper$229.50Woodchip
Spreader$3.60Tractor Operation$132.40Total for 4 inches over 1
acre$365.50Cost was analyzed for application of biomassUse slash
piles for chippingExcluded:Chipping laborTransportation of chipped
pilesStart up costs of buying equipment15Kevin WerbyloIncluded:Cost
of operating a wood chipperMaintenance costs of a spreaderCost of
operating a tractorConclusionsIsolation of sublimation monitoring
was not achievedLosses included sublimation and meltCanopy and
Meadow study plots showed that a biomass blanket of 3 to 4 inches
will limit losses of snowpackHowever, treatment would be very
expensive to implement at a landscape scale16Kevin
WerbyloRecommendationsFurther study of biomass treatment to
quantify how much sublimation has been preventedHydrologic study to
determine amount of additional water that would be delivered to
surface watersEconomic study to determine rate of return on the
price of equipment, labor and application
17Kevin WerbyloFinal Budget
18Kevin WerbyloReferencesUSGS. The Water Cycle: Snowmelt Runoff.
Web. Feb 2011.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesnowmelt,htmlArizona
Department of Water Resources. Statewide Cultural Water Demand in
2001-2005 and 2006. 2010. Web. 14 April 2011.
www.adwr.state.az.us/.../StatewidePlanning/WaterAtlas/.../statewide_demand_wed.pdfSalt
River Project. Web. 27 April 2011.
http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Water/Water_Supply_Planning/Sustainable_Supply/Salt_River_Project
19Questions?20