DART - Data Acquisition Round Table - Aim for Accuracy

California Cooperative Snow Survey (CCSS) DART Event Schedule

Meetings: Every June and at the CCSS Meeting (Two per year)

Next Meeting: CCSS November 12–14, 2026

Reports: Pre-Snow Season Report, Post-Snow Season Report (Two per year)

Sky-to-Stream Measurement and Intercomparison System (CSSL)

Sky-to-Stream Measurement and Intercomparison System (CSSL)

Leveraging the well-developed historical measurements obtained at the Central Sierra Snow Lab and innovative new technologies, the Sky-to-Stream Measurement and Intercomparison System will enable snow, water, and atmospheric monitoring for years to come. Over 20 new instruments and monitoring systems will be installed on a new 25’ tall platform that will feed data live to the CSSL website for anyone to use. A camera system will be a part of this system and will allow for the monitoring of weather conditions at CSSL. This system will also enable the testing and comparison of new technologies with proven instruments, which will allow for the next generation of snow, water, and weather sensors to be developed and deployed in the field. This initiative is being funded generously by the California Department of Water Resources in cooperation with the CSSL.

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Snow Scale

This project, in cooperation with the University of California, Davis, focuses the design and validation of a new iteration of snow scale developed based on previous scale designs and extensive research into snow mechanics. Snow Water Equivalent, or SWE, is a measurement of the amount of water contained in a snow pack. The practice of measuring SWE has been present in California since 1940, and is conducted by the California Department of Water Resources or the DWR. The state government uses the measurements of SWE provided by the DWR to issue flood warnings as well as to monitor that amount of fresh water supply. Currently, the DWR utilizes three different measuring systems to determine the amount of SWE. The first, most reliable, but time intensive method, is a snow core. This requires members of the DWR to migrate to each snow location to take an in person measurement. Due to time constraints, the DWR has developed snow pillows. These devices consist of a metal encasement filled with antifreeze that utilizes a pressure transducer and will output a pressure measurement as snow compresses onto the snow pillow. These devices have proven to be hard to transport and harmful to the environment due to the amount of antifreeze necessary and thus the DWR has recently invested into developing a snow scale, a load-cell based device.

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Snow Scale