NOHRSC Science and Technology

Mission Statement

The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) provides remotely-sensed and modeled hydrology products for the coterminous U.S. and Alaska for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy.

NOHRSC airborne, satellite, and modeled snow data and products are used by NWS, other government agencies, the private sector, and the public to support operational and research hydrology programs across the nation. The NOHRSC produces snow products and information that include estimates of: snow water equivalent, snow depth, snow pack temperatures, snow sublimation, snow evaporation, estimates of blowing snow, modeled and observed snow information, airborne snow data, satellite snow cover, historic snow data, and time-series for selected modeled snow products.

Overview

The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) ingests daily ground-based, airborne, and satellite snow observations from all available electronic sources for the coterminous U.S. These data are used along with estimates of snowpack characteristics generated by a physically-based snow model to generate the operational, daily NOAA National Snow Analyses (NSA) for the coterminous U.S. The NOHRSC snow model is an energy-and-mass-balance, spatially-uncoupled, vertically-distributed, multi-layer snow model run operationally at 1-km² spatial resolution and hourly temporal resolution for the nation. Ground-based and remotely-sensed snow observations are assimilated daily into the simulated snow-model state variables. NOHRSC NSA output products are distributed in a variety of interactive map, text discussion, alphanumeric, time-series, and gridded formats. NSA product formats include: (1) daily national and regional maps for nine snowpack characteristics, (2) seasonal, two-week, and 24 hour movie-loop animations for nine snowpack characteristics, (3) text summaries, (4) a suite of interactive maps, text, and timeseries products, and (5) selected gridded snow products for the CONUS. The NSA provide information about snow water equivalent, snow depth, surface and profile snowpack temperatures, snowmelt, surface and blowing snow sublimation, snow-surface energy exchanges, precipitation, and weather forcings in multiple formats.

NOHRSC Overview A recorded teleconference presented by Carrie Olheiser Length: 50:11 (56.3 MB) Date: 2012-12-18 Audio only (12 MB)

NWS NOHRSC Policy and Snow Requirements

• NOHRSC Abbreviations and Acronyms
• NOAA's Hydrology Program Snow Science Steering Team Charter
• NWS Instruction 10-931: National Operational Hydrologic Remote
  Sensing Center; 2005 March 16
• Requirements for snow data, products, and information in the
  hydrologic services program, NWS, NOAA; 2001 February 23
• Recommendations For Making Snow Observations
• Recommendations For Making Snow Observations: Number 2

NOAA's National Snow Analyses (NSA)

• National Snow Analysis: 13 Years of Operations
• NOAA's National Snow Analyses: Western Snow Conference, 2006 April
• NOHRSC Operations and the Simulation of Snow Cover Properties for the Coterminous U.S.: Western Snow Conference, 2001 April
• SNOW-INFO: (Snow Information System) Draft Development and Implementation Plan
• Snow Board: a look at the importance of snow information - An overview of SNODAS

Airborne Gamma Snow Survey Program

• Airborne soil moisture measurement using natural terrestrial gamma radiation: 1981
• Airborne Snow Survey Program User's Guide: 2001 March 1

National Snowfall Analysis

• National Gridded Snowfall Analysis Product Description Document
• Proposal for National Snowfall Analysis, Version 2 - June 2015
• Soliciting Comments on the Proposal Implementation of the National Gridded Snowfall Analysis until February 23, 2022

Satellite Snow Cover Mapping Program

• An Assessment of the Differences Between Three Satellite Snow Cover Mapping Techniques
• Operational Automated Production of Daily, High-resolution,
  Cloud-free Snow Cover Maps of the Continental U.S.
• Snow Cover Mapping using the theta Image Classifier
• NOAA-KLM 1.7 micron channel 3a testing

Operational Product Generation

• NOHRSC Product Identifiers, Descriptions, and Distribution
• Problem and Solution with Viewing NOHRSC Snow Products on AWIPS D2D
• NOHRSC SHEF Products and Your SHEFPARM File
• How to Obtain Gridded NOHRSC Products from NSIDC
• NOHRSC Interactive Snowfall Maps
• NOHRSC 2011-2012 expansion Product Description Document

Public Presentations

• Introduction to the National Gridded Snowfall Analysis available from the NWS Warning Decision Training Division
• NOAA's Cryosphere Initiative
• NOAA's National Snow Analyses
• Snow Economics and the United States Snow Information System
• COMET Training Course: Snow Hydrology
• National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference
  -- Snow Hydrology Breakout Session: 2002 December 7
  -- Snow Hydrology Breakout Session: 2004 December 9
• NOHRSC 2-Page Color Brochure and Fact Sheet
• NOHRSC Presentation Given by Tom Carroll at the 2004 NHPM Conference
• Snow Data Issues and NSA Model Assimilation by Carrie Olheiser
• NOHRSC overview (2015)

NOHRSC Publications

• NRC Decadal Study on Snow
• Snow-Induced Debris Flows
• Bibliography

NOHRSC GIS Applications and Documentation

• IHABBS and Unit Hydrograph

National Weather Service National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center Office of Water Prediction 1735 Lake Drive W. Chanhassen, MN 55317
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