Avalanche
Research and Graduate Student Opportunities in North America
Students are becoming increasingly
interested in snow and avalanche studies in North America.
Though there isn't a plethora of available options, the motivated
student will find some great places to go study snow. This
document lists some of the programs offering graduate studies
in snow and avalanches available in North America. If you
have information on a program you feel should be included in this
list, please email me the pertinent information at kbirkeland
at fs.fed.us. This information was originally compiled for
the Research Committee of the American
Avalanche Association . Schools are listed
alphabetically by state or province, and program descriptions
have been provided by each school. Study hard and you too
can be a degreed snow nerd!
Canada
United States
University of British
Columbia
Opportunities for graduate research exist in the Geography
and Civil Engineering Departments at University of British Columbia
in Vancouver. Primary interests are in natural hazards (specifically
snow avalanches), avalanche forecasting, interaction of avalanches
and forest cover, snow mechanics, avalanche dynamics, and risk
analysis.
Links:
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/avalanche
(Click on Research for primary topics and latest publications)
Contact information:
University
of Calgary, Alberta
Students with degrees in Civil Engineering or Earth Sciences
interested in pursuing graduate studies on topics related to snow
stability and avalanches can apply to the Department of Civil
Engineering or to the Department of Geology and Geophysics.
Typically, our graduate students will do their course work in
the fall, field studies in the winter and analysis and writing
in the summer and fall. MSc programs will likely require two years.
PhD programs typically require three to four years. To work on
our field studies, graduate students should have several seasons
of winter travel experience in the mountains.
We have two field stations: one at Rogers Pass in the Selkirk
Mountains and one in Blue River between the Monashee Mountains
and Cariboo Mountains. In the field, graduate students work 60
to 70 days per winter with one or more technicians on various
field studies including one for their thesis. Additional data
for a graduate students thesis may be collected at the other field
station, depending on the topic and logistics.
Thesis topics are chosen by the student and supervisor(s) from
areas with funding.
Our current areas of research include:
- metamorphism and strength changes of persistent weak layers
- diurnal snowpack warming over terrain
- modelling snow transport by wind
- near-crust faceting
- avalanche initiation including skier triggering
- fracture in weak snowpack layers
- field tests for snow stability
- spatial variability of slab stability
- data-based regional forecasting
Links:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/asarc
Contact Information:
Arizona State University
The Department of Geography at Arizona State University offers
B.A., B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in Geography with an option
for a meteorology-climatology emphasis that includes study of
the hydrosphere and cryosphere. Courses focusing on alpine/arctic
environments and snow/ice processes are taught within the department,
and instrumentation from the department's Office of Climatology
provides for intensive fieldwork in these areas. Within this
arena, current research efforts within the department are focussed
on the hydroclimatological consequences of snow-atmosphere interactions
across the full range of geographic scales.
Links:
Department of Geography - http://geography.asu.edu
Office of Climatology - http://saguaro.la.asu/ooc/
Contact Information:
Northern Arizona
University
Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate studies in snow,
ice and snow hydrology exist in the Department of Geography at
Northern Arizona University, located in Flagstaff, Arizona. Upper
division classes in both snow & ice are hydrology (within
the School of Forestry) are offered. A graduate degree in Rural
Geography can be customized to meet the interests of physical/process
oriented students as well as hazards/planning oriented students.
The NAU campus sits at 7000 feet elevation and provides immediate
access to a wide variety of field terrain. In addition, cooperative
research work with the snow safety staff at the Arizona Snow
Bowl can be arranged.
Links:
http://www.geog.nau.edu/
Contact information:
(Homepage -
http://www.geog.nau.edu/~lrd/)
University of California,
Merced
UC Merced, the newest and 10th campus of the University of California
offers opportunities for undergraduate and graduate studies that
focus on snow and ice processes through the schools of engineering
and natural sciences at the undergraduate and graduate level (MS
and PhD). Currently, field research is being conducted in Yosemite
and Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks on the spatial and temporal
variability of snow distribution processes, remote sensing, using
satellite-derived maps of snow-covered area, snow albedo, and
snow water equivalence, and coupling both field and space-borne
satellite data for snowmelt runoff models. Additional opportunities
are available on the hydrology and biogeochemistry of seasonally
snow-covered catchments. Accessibility to the Sierra Nevada provides
excellent opportunities for field research, modeling of snow,
and watershed processes.
Contact information:
(Homepage:
http://faculty.ucmerced.edu/rbales)
University of California,
Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara offers opportunities for graduate studies
that focus on snow hydrology, with an emphasis on remote sensing
of snow properties and the use of remotely sensed data in the
analysis of snow. Students may matriculate in either the Donald
Bren School of Environmental Science and Management or in the
Department of Geography. The Bren School offers a professional
Master's degree (the MESM) and the PhD and has an interdisciplinary
curriculum that includes science, policy, and management. The
Department of Geography offers the MA and PhD.
While Santa Barbara is a few hundred miles from the closest alpine
field sites, it is a good place to think about snow and ice. Superb
facilities for computation and remote sensing exist in the Institute
for Computational Earth System Science, a research unit that operates
a satellite antenna that receives data from the NOAA meteorological
satellites. Jeff Dozier and Jim Frew supervise a research group,
funded by NASA’s REASoN
program (Research, Education, and Applications Solutions Network)
that provides satellite-derived maps of snow-covered area, snow
albedo, and snow water equivalence. UCSB operates a field instrument
station on Mammoth Mountain and a cold room and offices at the
Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL).
Links:
NASA REASoN project: "Multi-Resolution Snow Products for the
Hydrologic Sciences" http://www.snow.ucsb.edu/
Snow Hydrology Research Group (for information on research programs
and results): http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/hydro/hydro.html
Mammoth Mountain Energy Balance Monitoring Site: http://neige.bren.ucsb.edu/mmsa/
Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
(for information about graduate degree programs): http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/
Department of Geography (for information about their graduate
programs): http://www.geog.ucsb.edu
Contact information:
University
of Colorado
The University of Colorado at Boulder offers a variety of
educational and research projects in snow and ice processes through
both departments and research institutes at the undergraduate
and graduate level (MA and PhD). The Department of Geography
offers several undergraduate courses in hydrology and mountain
meteorology, including snow hydrology and a field internship
in snow hydrology. The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
(INSTAAR) and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) are
the focal points for research activities on snow and ice processes
in mountain ranges of the US, Central Asia, China, Europe and
South America, as well as strong programs in the Arctic and Antarctic.
NSIDC also maintains one of the best snow and ice libraries,
databases, and image repository in the world. Current and recent
research topics by MA and PhD students include the permeability
of snow, meltwater flow through snow, energy balance over snow,
sublimation from seasonal snow and from the Greenland Ice Sheet,
hydrologic mass balance of snow and ice-covered catchments, and
remote sensing of snow and ice properties.
The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research maintains two
subnivian laboratories with meteorological stations on Niwot
Ridge in the Colorado Front Range at 11,000' (subalpine) and
11,500' (alpine), both well-equipped to study snow-atmosphere
energy exchanges, meltwater flow through snow, and snow-soil
interactions. Equipment, technician, and laboratory support is
provided by the NSF Long-Term Ecological Research program. Similar
research sites are located on the Greenland Ice Sheet and the
Dry Valley in Antarctica.
Links:
Geography: http://www.colorado.edu/geography/
INSTAAR: http://instaar.colorado.edu/
NSIDC: http://www-nsidc.colorado.edu/NSIDC/
NWT LTER: http://culter.colorado.edu:1030/
Contact information:
(Homepage:
http://snobear.colorado.edu/Markw/mark.html)
Colorado State University
Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate studies in snow
avalanches and snow hydrology exist at Colorado State University,
located in Fort Collins, Colorado. Both the Geosciences Department
and the Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship,
offer upper division classes in snow science, and convenient field
sites are located in the nearby Colorado Front Range. Cooperation
with the Silverton Avalanche Forecast Center and the Center for
Snow and Avalanche Studies, in Silverton, Colorado, has allowed
graduate students to conduct avalanche research in the San Juan
mountains of southwestern Colorado. Current snow hydrology research
is ongoing at the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station,
adjacent to campus. MS degrees are offered in both departments,
and PhD degrees are currently offered through the Department of
Geosciences.
Links:
Department of Geosciences - http://www.cnr.colostate.edu/ER/
Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship -
http://www.cnr.colostate.edu/frws/
USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station - http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/rwu4352/index.htm
Contact information:
(Homepage:
http://www.cnr.colostate.edu/%7Esrf/)
(Homepage:
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/rwu4352/personnel_kellyelder.htm)
Montana State University
Montana State University provides excellent opportunities
for graduate studies of snow and avalanches in both the Department
of Earth Sciences (Geology and Geography) and the Department
of Civil Engineering. Several projects have involved the collaboration
of the two departments. Located in Bozeman, the university is
a short drive from numerous mountain ranges and potential study
sites. Research is conducted with the cooperation of Bridger
Bowl Ski Area, Big Sky Ski Area, Moonlight Basin Ski Area, The
Yellowstone Club, the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center,
and the Forest Service National Avalanche Center, and students
are encouraged to interact with the numerous avalanche practitioners
in the area.
The Earth Sciences Department offers a MS degree, and will begin
offering a PhD degree in the Fall of 2003. In addition, the department
has a new
undergraduate snow option. Faculty involved in snow and avalanche
research, or who have advised past students in snow, include Dr.
Katherine Hansen, Dr. Steve Custer, Dr. Wm Locke, Dr. John Montagne
(Professor Emeritus), and Dr. Karl Birkeland (Adjunct Professor).
Current research interests include spatial variations in snowpack
properties, avalanche forecasting, snow metamorphism and weak
layer formation, snow stability tests, avalanche climatology,
the effects of snow on animal migration patterns, the effect of
forests on snow hydrology, and factors which increase wet snow
avalanche potential.
The Civil Engineering Department offers both MS and PhD degrees.
Dr. Ed Adams and Dr. Ladean McKittrick are actively involved in
snow and avalanche research. Current research interests include
snow metamorphism and sintering, modelling the evolution of the
snowpack, avalanche dynamics (including a project to collect data
within flowing avalanches), blowing snow, and a variety of snow
and ice topics, including work in Antarctica. The department has
some excellent facilities for snow studies, including several
cold labs, an environmental chamber, a CT scanner, and access
to a low temperature scanning electron microscope.
Links:
Earth Sciences: http://www.montana.edu/wwwes/
Civil Engineering: http://www.coe.montana.edu/ce/
Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center: http://www.mtavalanche.com
U.S. Forest Service National Avalanche Center: http://www.fsavalanche.org
Links to many recent MSU snow theses can be found at: http://www.fsavalanche.org/NAC/techPages/techPap.html#TD
Contact information:
Earth Sciences:
Civil Engineering:
Rutgers University
The climate program in the Department of Geography at Rutgers
University provides opportunities for graduate research in hemispheric
and regional snow cover dynamics, interactions of snow cover
with other climate elements, and the collection and archiving
of accurate climatic data, particularly related to snow. M.S.
and Ph.D. degrees are offered.
The department has well-equipped graduate and teaching computer
laboratories for spatial data analysis, geographic information
systems, and cartography. There is also a separate lab for climate
research, with abundant climatologic data on file. Students have
access to excellent faculty and facilities elsewhere at Rutgers
and may also earn a certificate in Quaternary studies while completing
their Geography graduate degree. In addition, course work may
be taken at Princeton University, and department faculty have
local contacts with scientists at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid
Dynamics Lab, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia
University, and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Links:
http://climate.rutgers.edu/climatelab
http://geography.rutgers.edu
Contact information:
University of South
Carolina
The Department of Geography at the University of South Carolina
offers the bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in geography.
Educational opportunities involving snow avalanches exist, particularly
as they relate to climate, GIS, hazards, and glaciology. The
department offers related coursework in climatology, meteorology,
hazards, geomorphology, GIS, cartography, and hydrology, and
houses the Hazards Research Laboratory. Avalanche research from
this department has been conducted on avalanche weather and climatic
change as it concerns the western United States, and Alaska,
with support coming from the National Science Foundation.
Links:
University of South Carolina Department of Geography: http://www.cla.sc.edu/geog/index.html
Contact information:
(Homepage -
http://www.cla.sc.edu/geog/facStaff/mock.html)
University of
Utah
University of Utah offers a number of opportunities for students
interested in mountain meteorology, snow and avalanches. Most
of the active research is being conducted in the Department of
Meteorology, which offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in meteorology
and performs wide-ranging research in the area of mountain meteorology.
The department's Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction
developed weather support systems for the 2002 Olympic Winter
Games and performs basic and applied research examining orographic
precipitation, lake-effect snowstorms, thermally driven flows,
downslope wind storms, and mountain weather prediction. The Institute
also maintains the MesoWest cooperative networks, which collects
observations from more than 100 networks and 3000 locations in
the western United States. Department graduates are employed
by groups such as the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Department
of Transportation, National Weather Service, and Colorado River
Basin Forecast Center as meteorologists, hydrologists, and snow-safety
professionals. In addition, the department now offers a mountain
meteorology course that can be taken by non majors: Meteo 3000:
Mountain Weather and Climate.
In addition to the Meteorology department, the Geography Department
offers a 5000 level course in Snow and Avalanche Mechanics taught
by Dr. Bill Harrison. Open to all majors, this semester-long
course covers a variety of topics related to snow and avalanches.
For more information on the course, visit http://www.leang.com/avalanche/
Links:
Department of Meteorology: http://www.met.utah.edu
Contact information:
(Homepage -
http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/homepages/jhorel/jhorel.html)
(Homepage -
http://www.met.utah.edu/jimsteen/personal/jimsteen.html)
Utah State University
Utah State University offers graduate study in snow and avalanche
science through the College of Natural Resources, Department
of Forest Resources. M. S. and Ph.D. degrees are offered in Forest
Ecology and in the interdisciplinary Watershed Unit. The major
research focus of the snow and avalanche group is in avalanche
ecology, especially avalanche effects on forest vegetation. Of
particular interest is the interaction of avalanches with other
agents of disturbance on forest composition and structure at
long temporal and spatial scales. Coursework is offered in all
aspects of forest ecology, recreation resource management, meteorology,
engineering, watershed science and snow and avalanche dynamics.
The Department of Forest Resources houses the Utah Avalanche
Forecast Center-Logan which provides daily mountain weather and
avalanche information for northern Utah and southeastern Idaho.
The program offers graduate education in avalanche forecasting
leading to graduate degrees. The Department also operates the
Intermountain Division National Ski Patrol avalanche training
program providing education to patrollers and public in avalanche
safety and rescue in basic and advanced courses. Graduate student
training in avalanche education is an integral part of this program.
Utah State University lies in a high mountain valley in the
northern Wasatch Mountains only minutes from research sites and
"the greatest snow on earth".
Links:
http://www.usu.edu/~uafclogn/
Contact information:
University
of Washingon
Glaciology is the study of ice in the environment. Important
components are seasonal snow, sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets and
frozen ground. Glaciology at the University of Washington includes
course curriculum and research related to all of these components
of ice in the environment. Much of our recent work has focused
on Antarctica. Snow avalanche research is also done in the Washington
Cascades where rain-on-snow avalanches are common.
Links:
Earth and Space Sciences: http://www.ess.washington.edu
Research Page: http://www.geophys.washington.edu/Surface/Glaciology/
Contact information:
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