Observations on the consistency and reliability of field data in snow survey measurements

Since the first decade of the 20th Century, snow surveys have been taken manually with some version of the Mt. Rose snow sampler. Although increasingly augmented or superseded by more sophisticated and modern techniques, much knowledge of an valuable insights into what is involved in acquiring consistent and reliable data in a dynamic environment can result from long experience with field measurements and winter travel to and from data sites. The author has spent 30 years in measuring snow courses at high elevations in the southern Sierra Nevada, as well as field seasons in Afghanistan and Chile establishing snow survey programs. From this experience, he offers observations on problems, difficulties, and constraints in data acquisition which can be of value to users and interpreters of snow course data whatever method of acquisition is used in North America or elsewhere.