Data Collection

Environmental Monitoring Classroom Kits

Shown: Tablet with Esri's Collector app for field data collection, rain gauges, outdoor thermometer, measuring tape, binoculars

For our winter season, we will include snow gauges, snow boards, snow swatters and flags.

SPRING / BLOOMING OF THE EARTH / SUMMER

Trash Trackers

Fall

Coming Soon

Freezing Up / Winter

Measuring Total Depth of Snow (New and Old) and Water Content of Snow (SWE)

This video explains how to measure the total depth of snow (including old snow and ice, and new snow on the ground at observation time). Note that in Canada, we measure snow using the metric system. The unit of measurement will be cm and not inches. You'll learn how to take averages of a few measurements too. This is where a weather app will come in handy, so you know when snowfall is coming. If you don't have a signal or data to use, you can also adopt some traditional ways of knowing when precipitation will hit by speaking with an Elder in your community!

Weather observers measure the water content of snow - this is called the Snow-Water Equivalent, or SWE. The actual water content of snow is important for many applications such as flood forecasting. They also track 2 other types of snowfall measurements: the amount of newly fallen snow and the total depth of all the snow on the ground. Both are measured in centimeters the old-fashioned way, with a meter-stick or ruler (excerpt from: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/sky-watchers/weather-instruments-tour.html)

When there are multiple snow events in a day...

Graphic from: https://weatherworksinc.com/how-to-measure-snow

Ice Core Sampling

Watch the video to see how to take an ice core sample. For more information on the stories ice core samples tell, click here.

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