Welcome to NEFF

Sign up for a new account today, or log on with your old account!

Give us a try!

Welcome back to the new NEFF. Take a break from Twitter and Facebook. You don't go to Dicks for your fly fishing gear, you go to your local fly fishing store. Enjoy!

=Snowpack Redux= [article from Penn State University]

TR

"You can observe a lot just by watching." Y. Berra
Snowpack doesn't matter, we don't live in the Rockies or high mountains where they get real snow and have an actual runoff season. What matters here is temperature and precipitation in whatever form it comes.

================================


[From Penn State University]

Forests Blanketed in Snow -
A Good Sign for Groundwater Aquifers



Forests blanketed in snow should be appreciated by those who enjoy streams in the summer and rely on groundwater wells and springs for drinking water supplies. That's because forests and snowpacks together allow for recharge of underground aquifers.


December 18, 2009- For Immediate Release
Contact: Allyson Muth, Phone: 814-865-3208, E-mail: abm173@psu.edu

Written by Bryan Swistock, Phone: 814-863-0194, brs@psu.edu


Winter snowstorms are starting to whiten Pennsylvania and many meteorologists are predicting above-normal snowfall for the state this season. The sight of snow-covered forests excites many recreationist including hunters, skiers, and snowmobile enthusiasts. But, forests blanketed in snow should also be appreciated by those who enjoy streams in the summer and rely on groundwater wells and springs for drinking water supplies. That's because forests and snowpacks together allow for recharge of underground aquifers that consist of trillions of gallons of freshwater stored in the pore spaces and cracks in rock beneath the surface. These aquifers serve to maintain the flow of streams throughout the year and provide water that supports industries, businesses, agriculture, and drinking water for millions of Pennsylvania residents.


The forest creates a perfect environment to capture and slowly melt snow into the ground. The soil under forest canopies acts like a sponge to soak up and pass water from the surface into groundwater aquifers. Where forests are removed, the soil may become compacted or even paved, reducing the amount of water that can infiltrate into the ground to support aquifers. Infiltration of water into the ground occurs most efficiently during times when the forest is dormant. That's where a thick snowpack become beneficial.


The snow pack that accumulates during the winter insulates the soil underneath it, keeping the soil largely unfrozen and able to absorb water from melting snow. Since trees and other plants are dormant during early spring, most of the snowmelt water entering the soil can infiltrate and recharge groundwater aquifers. The snowpack also represents a large volume of stored water that can be released slowly during the spring melt. A ten inch snowpack covering just one acre may hold 30,000 gallons of water or more. Once the snow is gone and trees leaf-out in late spring, most infiltrating water from summer rainstorms is taken up the roots of the growing trees. This cycle results in high groundwater levels during March and April that typically fall throughout the summer and early fall.


Ground water aquifers that are recharged in the spring by melting snow provide water supply wells and streams with a steady source of cool ground water during the long, hot summer. Fish and other stream life have adapted to the increased stream flows in spring and the relatively cool ground water that is supplied to the stream throughout the summer. Without this spring recharge, stream levels may drop and stream temperatures may increase to dangerous levels during the summer. So the next time you cast a fly over a rising trout or take a drink of water from your well or spring, remember that the combination of undisturbed forests and winter snowpacks provide much of the groundwater that we rely on every day.


The Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program provides publications on a variety of topics related to woodland management for private landowners. For a list of free publications, call 1-800-235-WISE (toll-free), send e-mail to rnrext@psu.edu , or write to: Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with the Penn State's Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.




Bryan Swistock
Extension Associate; Water Resources Coordinator
Bryan Swistock
308 Forest Resources Bldg
University Park, PA 16802
Email: brs@psu.edu
Work Phone: 814-863-0194
Areas of Expertise
Water systems
protection
ponds
Websites
Ecosystem Science and Management — Penn State University
Water Quality — Penn State Extension
Natural Gas — Penn State Extension

###

--------------------



Remember: Snowpack doesn't matter, we don't live in the Rockies or high mountains where they get real snow and have an actual runoff season. What matters here is temperature and precipitation in whatever form it comes.


 
Your supposed to be a guide, right? You must be a pleasure to be in a boat with for 12hrs, everyone loves an argumentative know it all, escpecially when your paying them.
 
Your supposed to be a guide, right? You must be a pleasure to be in a boat with for 12hrs, everyone loves an argumentative know it all, escpecially when your paying them.

---------

Good morning.

You posted the following on this BB yesterday. Not me.

=====

Snowpack doesn't matter, we don't live in the Rockies or high mountains where they get real snow and have an actual runoff season. What matters here is temperature and precipitation in whatever form it comes.

=====

I hope you'll read the article from PSU.
Contacts are also included if you dispute their findings.

Kind regards and tight lines.
TR

The link to the PSU article:

Forests Blanketed in Snow - A Good Sign for Groundwater Aquifers — Forest Resources — Penn State Extension
 
beatingdeadhorse-1.gif
 

I was wondering who was right and who was incorrect about snow pack in the east......
I guess it does protect the ground from freezing, therefore allow the aquifers to replenish themselves properly....well done TR, and thanks for the education....:applauditit makes complete sense....


hate to be like FF, but THAT is beating a dead horse.....:)
 
I was wondering who was right and who was incorrect about snow pack in the east......
I guess it does protect the ground from freezing, therefore allow the aquifers to replenish themselves properly....well done TR, and thanks for the education....:applauditit makes complete sense....


hate to be like FF, but THAT is beating a dead horse.....:)



Ahhh who cares. It's all a result of climate change (or is it global warming?) anyways.

Hot Summer = climate change/ Global warming
Cold Winter = climate change/ Global warming
Snowy Winter = climate change/ Global warming
Wet Summer = climate change/ Global warming
It's sunny out = climate change/ Global warming
The wind is blowing = climate change/ Global warming
Cold Summer = climate change/ Global warming
Warm Winter = climate change/ Global warming
 
I wonder if the early low freezing temps we had will have an affect on how permeable the soil is under the snow pack around here. If the ground is frozen prior to the snow, the snow should insulate the frozen soil and I would think that when the snow begins to melt it will go mostly to run-off.
 
I wonder if the early low freezing temps we had will have an affect on how permeable the soil is under the snow pack around here. If the ground is frozen prior to the snow, the snow should insulate the frozen soil and I would think that when the snow begins to melt it will go mostly to run-off.
I shoveled down to a patch of ground. ...by me...Glen Gardner NJ..the ground is soft and permeable, allowing for absorption. ...
 
I wonder if the early low freezing temps we had will have an affect on how permeable the soil is under the snow pack around here. If the ground is frozen prior to the snow, the snow should insulate the frozen soil and I would think that when the snow begins to melt it will go mostly to run-off.

What about the ambient heat from under ground warming the soil under the snow.
 
I shoveled down to a patch of ground. ...by me...Glen Gardner NJ..the ground is soft and permeable, allowing for absorption. ... LU


Thats because all the chemical waste and mafia bodies buried in New Jersey creates and underground thermal blanket.
 
Try digging down a foot in the soil and see if it's frozen. The snow reflects the sun, it doesn't absorb it. It is hot in the air above the snow because of the reflection. If the snow was black, it would absorb the heat and melt what was under it.
 
Try digging down a foot in the soil and see if it's frozen. The snow reflects the sun, it doesn't absorb it. It is hot in the air above the snow because of the reflection. If the snow was black, it would absorb the heat and melt what was under it.

Really? Then it should melt slower in the sun....come on..you are a smart person...it doesn't reflect it all...and does warm it some....your reaching now....
 
Still beating the dead horse here? It must have gone zombie and rose from the dead. Maybe I should break out the old zombie gun and put it down. (see how tie 2 threads together here? Yea me!)

So since we're still here, how many times a winter are we in a situation where the ground is frozen but we're getting sustained and substantial rain?, doesn't happen quite that way around here. People I know from out west who are following this thread are laughing their asses off by the way. Plus everyone knows the exploding frack wells are keeping the ground warm (on a roll here)

Give me a rainy May any day over snow pack, that way I can float the upper East and fish the big river well into June, kind of like last year.
 
Back
Top