Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, Idaho (Snow)
Snow is the dominant form of precipitation in the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW). Seven snow course sites were established in 1961, and one additional site was added in 1970. All sites are located in the high-elevation southern extent of the basin, where snow accumulation is greatest. Snow water equivalent (SWE) and depth have been sampled at multiple locations in RCEW since 1961. These data have been collected using snow tube methods that are generally considered the standard for manual measurement of SWE and snow depth. Snow water equivalent (SWE) has been measured at eight locations in RCEW every 2 weeks throughout the snow season (December 1 to June 1) for 35 water years (1962-1996). SWE was continuously monitored at site 176x07 using a snow pillow for 14 water years (1983-1996).
Resources in this dataset:
Resource Title: Data for Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, Idaho (Snow).
File Name: snow.zip
Resource Description: Data for Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed, Idaho (Snow)
Funding
USDA-ARS
History
Data contact name
Marks, DanielData contact email
daniel.marks@ars.usda.govPublisher
USDA Agricultural Research ServiceIntended use
In RCEW the storage of winter precipitation in the seasonal snow cover for release during spring and early summer is critical to sustaining the basin's vegetation and ecosystems. Snow data from the RCEW have been used to support numerous runoff forecasting and hydrologic studies. Hamon [1972] used snow course data extensively to develop his dual-gage undercatch correction method. Zuzel et al. [1975] used snow course data from RCEW to develop optimization methods for streamflow forecasts of the RCEW and several of its subbasins. These methods were later applied to several larger basins in the northwestern United States. Zuzel and Cox [1975] also used snow course data to support their work in determining the relative importance of meteorological variables during snowmelt. Springer et al. [1984] used RCEW snow data in the development and initial testing of the Simulated Production and Utilization of Rangelands (SPUR) model, and Wilcox et al. [1989] used RCEW snow data to verify the ability of the SPUR model to predict snowmelt runoff.Use limitations
Prior to the 1970 water year, data were not collected on a specific schedule, and not all sites were visited on the same day or the same number of times. A transition from the Standard Federal Sampler to the Rosen sampler was begun in 1966 because the Rosen sampler showed consistently less oversampling (2.9% versus 10.2% when averaged over all conditions as reported by Work et al. [1965]). The Standard Federal Sampler was replaced with the Rosen sampler in 1968.Temporal Extent Start Date
1962-01-01Temporal Extent End Date
1996-01-01Theme
- Not specified
Geographic Coverage
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[-116.7,43.322],[-116.8,43.322],[-116.8,43.051],[-116.7,43.051],[-116.7,43.322]]]},"type":"Feature","properties":{}}]}ISO Topic Category
- environment
- inlandWaters
Ag Data Commons Group
- Great Basin
- Long-Term Agroecosystem Research
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus terms
streams; watersheds; snow; altitude; basinsOMB Bureau Code
- 005:18 - Agricultural Research Service
OMB Program Code
- 005:040 - National Research
ARS National Program Number
- 211
- 215
Primary article PubAg Handle
Pending citation
- No
Public Access Level
- Public
