Sustainability Leadership Fellow Cohort: 2023-2024

Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geosciences

Research Summary: I evaluate methods for mapping snow water resources from radar satellites. Snow provides water for >1.3 billion people, but its sustainable management is challenged by increasing demands and climate change. Current methods for mapping snow storage are inaccurate in mountain environments, where the majority of snow accumulates. Radar satellites have high spatial resolution and an established theoretical framework for mapping snow storage. If these methods are well-validated, future radar satellites will map snow storage in remote regions, such as the Himalayas, for the first time, providing invaluable snow metrics to water resource managers across the globe.

Advisor: Dan McGrath