Date of Award:
12-2023
Document Type:
Thesis
Degree Name:
Master of Science (MS)
Department:
Mathematics and Statistics
Committee Chair(s)
Brennan Bean
Committee
Brennan Bean
Committee
Jürgen Symanzik
Committee
Yan Sun
Abstract
Mountain snowpack is an important resource for water management planning in Utah. Snow water equivalent (SWE) is the amount of water contained in a snowpack. A few organizations predict SWE throughout the United States but struggle making accurate predictions in mountainous regions. Weather stations provide accurate measurements of SWE but have limited spatial coverage that hinders the ability to make accurate estimates statewide. This thesis examines the accuracy of current models and proposes using local weather measurements to improve upon national level predictions. An R statistical software package named rsnodas implements this process while allowing the public access to a variety of temperature and SWE datasets. The package also provides a method for combining predictions from different data sources, which has the advantage of improving the stability of the predictions over time and space. This thesis includes a discussion of the general merits of the map combination approach along with potential avenues for improvement in the future.
Checksum
7a244ab693752b5a0435d21a3bbcf28f
Recommended Citation
Schneider, Logan, "An Ensemble Approach for Mapping Snow Water Equivalent in Utah" (2023). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present. 6.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd2023/6
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