Boise State News February 24, 2021
From the single falling snowflake to the terrifying power of an avalanche, snow is something that Boise State researchers take pretty seriously. It’s no wonder when one realizes that winter snowfall is responsible for about 70 percent of Boise and Idaho’s water supply. Globally, the world depends upon snowpack and snow melt for everything from hydropower to agriculture production. Snow is an integral part of successful economies, ecology, the environment, and for Boise State, education.
“The Department of Geosciences at Boise State is one of the few places in the world with such a high concentration of snow scientists,” said geosciences Department Chair James McNamara. “In the last few years we have become a leading center of thought on snow in the environment. We have actual snow physicists who work on methods to measure and model snow, as well as snow-focused scientists in geosciences, biology, engineering, and other disci