{"id":41138,"date":"2022-04-17T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/can-the-next-generation-of-scientists-help-solve-our-dust-on-snow-problem\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:59:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:59:29","slug":"can-the-next-generation-of-scientists-help-solve-our-dust-on-snow-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/can-the-next-generation-of-scientists-help-solve-our-dust-on-snow-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the next generation of scientists help solve our dust on snow problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jeff
Jeff Derry, executive director of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, shows students with Heidi Steltzer\u2019s Research Methods and Design course at Fort Lewis College how to collect snow samples so they can look at its crystalline structure. Derry and Steltzer took students to Coal Bank Pass for a field tour Tuesday so they could learn about dust on snow and snowpack first hand. (Aedan Hannon\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

COAL BANK PASS \u2013 Fort Lewis College students spent nearly 20 minutes digging a large snow pit until it was above their heads. As they sheared snow off the side of the pit walls, they revealed distinct layers of dust trapped in the snow.<\/p>\n

Nine undergraduate students traveled to Coal Bank Pass on Tuesday for their environmental research course and a field tour with Jeff Derry, executive director of Silverton\u2019s Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies.<\/p>\n

The students learned about dust on snow, snowpack and water resources while gaining field experience that will help guide them through their studies and into their careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of students in this major want to solve environmental problems and that means being able to talk and engage across a wide range of different fields of science,\u201d said Heidi Steltzer, a professor of environment and sustainability at FLC and the course leader.<\/p>\n

Steltzer, who coordinates FLC\u2019s environmental science degree program, organized the field tour with Derry so students could learn more about the effects of dust on snow and the energy balance of snowpack at the time of year when dust events typically affect Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

The class first snowshoed to a monitoring site where Derry and Steltzer spoke about snow-water equivalent, the metric water managers use to estimate runoff in spring, and the need for more robust scientific monitoring to understand the impact of climate change on the region\u2019s water resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t do enough monitoring of our environment,\u201d Steltzer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was never for these SNOTEL (monitoring) sites to characterize long-term change in the snowpack. The goal was annual water supply, so they aren\u2019t ideally located to tell the story of change over time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Students then dug snow trenches to examine dust and learn some of the measurement techniques they would need if they decided to pursue careers in snow science.<\/p>\n

It was while measuring snow density and analyzing dust layers that Derry, who helps run the Colorado Dust-on-Snow program, broke down the impact of dust on snowpack and interconnected physics that ultimately lead to snowmelt.<\/p>\n

\"A
A Fort Lewis College student with Heidi Steltzer\u2019s Research Methods and Design course holds a sampling board with a magnifying glass and snow Tuesday on Coal Bank Pass. The field tour was a chance for environmental students to build their field skills, discover new interests and expand their professional network. (Aedan Hannon\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Driven in part by land-use practices, storms across Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico kick up dust that is then deposited in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The storms) originate mainly down south, so in the San Juans we\u2019re the first hit and hardest hit,\u201d Derry said.<\/p>\n

The dust darkens the snow, lowering its \u201calbedo,\u201d a measurement of how much sunlight the snow reflects.<\/p>\n

Because the sun, not temperature, drives snowmelt in Colorado\u2019s mountains, the darkening of the snow has a significant impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt increases the absorption of solar radiation in the snowpack, warming and melting the snowpack faster than it would have normally,\u201d Derry said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the easy part.<\/p>\n

Dust can also exacerbate snowmelt by spurring latent heat. Latent heat is the energy released when something undergoes a phase change, say from a solid to a liquid or a liquid to a gas.<\/p>\n

Melting snow releases latent heat, as does melted snow as it refreezes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSolar radiation is melting this top bit of the snow and the water that\u2019s melting percolates down into the snowpack and refreezes,\u201d Derry said, pointing to the top layer of snow. \u201cWhen that water freezes, it\u2019s releasing latent heat, so it\u2019s warming the snowpack.\u201d<\/p>\n

The more snow the energy-absorbing dust melts, the more latent heat the melting snow produces. In turn, this latent heat melts more snow, amplifying the effects of the dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love latent heat,\u201d Derry said. \u201cIf you want to know what\u2019s going on with the snowpack nine out of 10 times, follow the latent heat.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the snow melts, it then exposes plants and soils to the sun and Southwest Colorado\u2019s arid climate. That forces them to shed more water into the atmosphere, drying out the landscape.<\/p>\n

\"Jessica
Jessica Anaruk takes a snow sample Tuesday on Coal Bank Pass so that students with Fort Lewis College can measure its density. In addition to learning field skills, Jeff Derry, executive director of Silverton\u2019s Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, and Heidi Steltzer, a professor of environment and sustainability at Fort Lewis College, spoke about the ways in which dust and the energy balance of snowpack affect water resources. (Aedan Hannon\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A 2010 study by researchers with the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies found that the Colorado River loses 5% of its flow annually to the effects of dust on snow, amounting to about 250 billion gallons of water each year.<\/p>\n

While fresh snow in the spring can help to limit some these effects, it is not a panacea. The sun can penetrate up to a foot beneath the snow surface, so a layer of dust buried several inches under the snow can still increase melting, Derry said.<\/p>\n

And other studies have shown that dust in the San Juan Mountains is only getting worse, he said.<\/p>\n

Steltzer organized the field tour in part so that students could see the dust in layers of snow and begin to visualize the effects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see it, then it starts to make more sense why it\u2019s going to have such a big impact on water supply,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Steltzer\u2019s motivations extend to the students\u2019 future studies at FLC and their careers. Opportunities like these help students to refine their interests as they progress through school, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like being able to go to different areas (and) meeting different people who work in this field and seeing where we could eventually end up and if we wanted to pursue that career,\u201d said Jessica Anaruk, a student on the trip.<\/p>\n

\"Jeff
Jeff Derry, executive director of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, speaks with Fort Lewis College students during a field tour Tuesday on Coal Bank Pass. Dust and latent heat, which is the energy released when something undergoes a phase change, combine to make snow melt faster. A 2010 study by researchers with the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies found that the Colorado River loses 5% of its flow annually to the effects of dust on snow, amounting to some 250 billion gallons of water each year. (Aedan Hannon\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The opportunity to expand their professional network was one reason why Lauren DeLaRosa, a junior majoring in environmental studies, felt the field tours with experts like Derry were valuable for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite thing about something like this where we get to meet with someone new is the opportunity to make connections and network,\u201d DeLaRosa said. \u201cIt\u2019s cool getting to use our teachers as a resource and then when they bring in other resources it just creates this wealth of knowledge that we\u2019re given. It\u2019s an opportunity to expand our sources for our future projects and (the) people that we know we can rely on in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ben Violett, a junior environmental studies major, the field work generated ideas for his upcoming environmental colloquium course, when students design and tackle their own environmental projects.<\/p>\n

In speaking about snow samples, Derry mentioned to students that analysts with the U.S. Geological Survey found microplastics in samples the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies had taken in the San Juan Mountains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives me ideas for the future,\u201d Violett said. \u201cI thought the microplastics being found in the snow was interesting so I was going try to look into that later.\u201d<\/p>\n

With field exercises like these, a staple of Steltzer\u2019s class, students also develop their field skills and the training they will need to transition into their chosen fields.<\/p>\n

\"Fort
Fort Lewis College students with Heidi Steltzer\u2019s Research Methods and Design course dig a snow pit Tuesday on Coal Bank Pass. Steltzer, a professor of environment and sustainability at Fort Lewis College, took students on the field tour in part so that they could interact and network with Jeff Derry of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, a snow science expert, and so that they could explore career paths and refine their interests. (Aedan Hannon\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cMost employers want to hire somebody who can step into the space and quickly get up to speed on the tasks that they\u2019re going to need to be able to do, so I try to bring in the hands-on experiences in the field,\u201d Steltzer said.<\/p>\n

The goal of Steltzer and the Environment and Sustainability Department is to extend the practice and knowledge students gain at FLC far beyond their time at the college.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to help them think about, \u2018What do I want to do with what I\u2019m going to learn in college?\u2019 And then chart their own course,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

ahannon@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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