Putting the Capital 'A' in CoCoRAHS: An Experimental Program to Measure Albedo
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Transcript of Putting the Capital 'A' in CoCoRAHS: An Experimental Program to Measure Albedo
Putting the Capital ‘A’ in CoCoRaHS: An Experimental Program to Measure
Albedo Using the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network
Elizabeth BurakowskiJack DibbMary StamponeCameron Wake
Photo: Michelle DayPhoto: Midge Eliassen Photo: Midge Eliassen
Putting the Capital ‘A’ in CoCoRAHS: An Experimental Program to Measure
Albedo Using the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network
Elizabeth BurakowskiJack DibbMary StamponeCameron Wake
Photo: Michelle DayPhoto: Midge Eliassen Photo: Midge Eliassen
Albedo^
Outline
• Motivation• Research Objectives• The CoCoRAHS Albedo Network• Results• Future Work• Acknowledgements
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Motivation
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Me
Twin sister
Life-long obsession with albedo that began in 1986
Motivation
• State-wide effort to measure the impact of land use, population growth, and climate on New Hampshire’s ecosystems
• Link between land cover and climate: – Climate impacts of historical deforestation
Foster et al., 2010. Wildlands and Woodlands5
Motivation
• State-wide effort to measure the impact of land use, population growth, and climate on New Hampshire’s ecosystems
• Link between land cover and climate: – Climate impacts of historical deforestation – Greater sensitivity in shortwave energy balance
through changes in winter albedo (Robinson & Kukla, 1985)
6Betts and Ball 1997
Motivation• State-wide effort to measure the impact of land
use, population growth, and climate on New Hampshire’s ecosystems
• Link between land cover and climate:– Deforestation greater sensitivity in shortwave
energy balance through changes in winter albedo (Robinson & Kukla, 1985)
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Motivation• State-wide effort to measure the impact of land
use, population growth, and climate on New Hampshire’s ecosystems
• Link between land cover and climate:– Deforestation greater sensitivity in shortwave
energy balance through changes in winter albedo (Robinson & Kukla, 1985)
• Embrace CoCoRaHS mission to:1. Use low-cost measurement tools
2. Provide training and education
3. Collect, record, and communicate albedo data for educational and research applications
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Research Objectives
• Establish a volunteer network of citizen scientists to collect daily measurements of:
1. surface albedo
2. snow depth
3. snow density• Measure surface albedo for a variety of land
cover types
• 18 CoCoRAHS observers
• 15 observers able to report regularly (4-7 times/week)• 12 grass lawn• 1 bare soil• 1 rooftop deck• 1 pasture
• Mostly retired individuals
• Actively seeking school groups for 2012/2013
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CoCoRaHS Albedo Network
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Thompson Farm Research StationDurham, NH
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Thompson Farm Research StationDurham, NH
• Daily CoCoRAHS Measurements
• Comparison of Kipp and Zonen CMA6 30-min average albedo
vs
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CoCoRaHS Albedo Network
CoCoRAHS Albedo Kit
• Apogee MP-200 Pyranometer with custom leveling boom
• 2-ft and 4-ft aluminum snow tubes
• Hanging digital scale• Spatula• Yardstick• Field Notebook
FieldSpec4 Spectroradiometer
• Measure snow-covered and snow-free spectral albedo at CoCoRAHS and UNH Thompson Farm sites
• Opportunity to test out instrument before purchasing
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CoCoRaHS Albedo Network
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Results: Albedo
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Results: Albedo & Snow Depth
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Results: Albedo & Snow Density
R=0.41
Results: Spectral Albedo
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Conclusions• Apogee MP-200 low-cost albedometer comparable to
Kipp and Zonen CMA6
• Albedo increases logarithmically with snow depth
• Albedo decreases linearly with snow density, likely due to increases in grain size
• CoCoRAHS Albedo shows great promise to provide useful albedo and snow data for research and education applications
Photo: Midge Eliassen Photo: Midge Eliassen
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Future Work• Evaluate climate impacts of snow cover on forested
and non-forested landscapes
• Compare snow density collected with snow pillow, snow tube and scale, snow tube and melt methods (UNH Undergrad Ethan Chase)
• Climate and Land Surface Modeling- Weather, Research, and Forecasting (WRF) Model- Community Land Model (CLM4.0)
• Snow grain size data collection
• Equip observers with IR temperature guns for skin surface temperature measurements
• Snow dance for 2012/2013 field season!
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Acknowledgements
• National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF-EPSCoR #1101-245)
• NASA New Hampshire Space Grant Fellowship• ASD, Inc. Goetz Instrument Support Program• CoCoRAHS Volunteers • David Harrigan, Jake Logemann, Mike Routhier• Advising Committee
- Dr. Cameron Wake (UNH)- Dr. Jack Dibb (UNH)- Dr. Mary Stampone (NH State Climatologist)- Dr. Scott Ollinger (UNH)- Dr. Ming Chen (NCAR, Boulder)
• Family and Friends
Website: www.cocorahs-albedo.org
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Canopy & Pasture Temperature
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Thompson Farm: Canopy and Pasture
• Canopy albedo does not change very much compared to pasture albedo.
• Snow cover persists longer under canopy than in the pasture (when it’s not +80oF)
• Snow density generally increases over time.