Harvard Forest Research

Snow Pillow

Principal Investigator: Emery Boose
Harvard Forest: Oct 01 2008 - Jan 01 2030:

Abstract:
Water storage in snow pack is a key factor in the hydrological cycle of central New England. The Harvard Forest snow pillow will provide continuous, long-term measurements of such storage during the winter months. The proposed site is about 50 m north of the Nelson Brook Big Weir in a mature mixed hardwood stand. The site is on a level area at the top of a small ridge about 30 m from neighboring stream channels and close enough to the stream gage to use the existing enclosure and datalogger. The snow pillow will be rubber (3 m diameter), enclosed in hardware cloth and filled with 150 gallons of water and propylene glycol. The site was chosen to minimize environmental impacts of a major leak. Sandbags will be deployed to contain flow and further reduce risks. The snow pillow requires a small opening in the canopy which will be created by removing about a dozen live trees (mostly small). Leaf litter will be removed and the soil surface graded to create a level surface (5 m diameter) for the pillow. Installation will be completed by fall 2009.

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