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CEE Seminar: From playas to Peaks: Monitoring Patterns of Dust Deposition and Impacts on Seasonal Snow Water Resources in the Western US

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Tuesday, February 09, 2021
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
S. McKenzie Skiles, Assistant Profressor, University of Utah, Georgraphy Department
CEE Spring 2021 Seminar Series Colloquium

Remote sensing records show a clear trend toward earlier snowmelt across midlatitude mountains, which impacts regions where water resources come primarily from seasonal snowmelt, like the Western US. Although declining snow patterns are typically attributed to warming air temperatures, the energy for snowmelt comes from absorbed solar radiation, which itself is determined mainly by variation in snow reflectivity (albedo). Snow albedo across the visible wavelengths is determined by concentrations of light absorbing particles (LAPs), which darken the normally bright surface, and can rapidly accelerate snowmelt. In the Western US, where mountains are often adjacent to arid landscapes, the primary LAP impacting snowmelt is dust.....

https://duke.zoom.us/j/97283216160?pwd=TksvRlJoSStSSDhrNElvZzRFcFI2dz09
Meeting ID: 972 8321 6160
Passcode: 274932