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posted by mrpg on Saturday January 06 2018, @01:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the measure-the-depth-of-snow dept.

America's space agency wants you to head for the mountains with a smartphone and a measuring stick.

NASA's earth science arm is funding research that recruits citizen scientists on skis, snowshoes and snowmobiles to measure the depth of snow in backcountry locations in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

Their measurements will be incorporated into computer models that calculate how much water will end up in the region's rivers and reservoirs.

Early results have been promising.

"Our initial model runs show that citizen science measurements are doing an amazing job of improving our simulations," said David Hill, an Oregon State University professor of civil engineering, who is collaborating with Alaska and University of Washington researchers. They received one of 16 NASA citizen science grants for the project.

Be sure to ski in a grid pattern.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @02:14PM (11 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @02:14PM (#618750)

    We got 40% unemployment out here in flyover country, you elitist coastal eggheads. Instead of demanding free labor, you pay for it. That's how an economy functions, or did your big scientist brains fail economics class?

  • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday January 06 2018, @02:53PM

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Saturday January 06 2018, @02:53PM (#618757) Journal

    No, capitalism demands you take the cheapest offer that you can get. So if someone is willing to work for you for free, the only capitalist choice is to take that offer.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by deadstick on Saturday January 06 2018, @03:11PM (3 children)

    by deadstick (5110) on Saturday January 06 2018, @03:11PM (#618768)

    AC, pro bono isn't in your dictionary, is it?

    • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @03:22PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @03:22PM (#618773)

      Pro boner? A gigolo? Yeah, I saw some boy whores on my trip to New York City. And, some freak sang a song about a boy whore. Sounds like you been walking on the wild side to long!!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @04:33PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @04:33PM (#618810)

      Pro bono is all well and good when you have a job.

      Unemployment isn't in your vocabulary, is it? You're one of those oblivious idiots who claim full employment exists because you have a job, aren't you?

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by deadstick on Saturday January 06 2018, @05:41PM

        by deadstick (5110) on Saturday January 06 2018, @05:41PM (#618830)

        I don't think your average back-country snowshoer is out of work.

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @03:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @03:37PM (#618779)

    Yeah it's those egg-head SCIENTISTS making $65k who are crushing the little guy....

  • (Score: 2) by richtopia on Saturday January 06 2018, @05:09PM (1 child)

    by richtopia (3160) on Saturday January 06 2018, @05:09PM (#618824) Homepage Journal

    Or: I see you enjoy a hobby. If you need some additional justification for spending time with your hobby, why don't you help the scientific community?

    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday January 07 2018, @12:31AM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Sunday January 07 2018, @12:31AM (#618940)

      NASA's earth science arm is funding research that recruits citizen scientists on skis, snowshoes and snowmobiles

      Right -- if one's interest in science falls into the 'Fuck you, pay me' category, thank you for your time and sorry to have bothered you.

  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Saturday January 06 2018, @06:08PM

    by looorg (578) on Saturday January 06 2018, @06:08PM (#618835)

    I see that you are unfamiliar with how it works in academia. Professors are paid great, everyone below them are paid peanuts and are almost like indentured servants. Why pay you to do something when you can get some ph.d-slave to do your heavy lifting or a research assistant or a teaching assistant or someone in Alaska that likes to be out in the snow to make the work even cheaper.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @10:11PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 06 2018, @10:11PM (#618902)

    You see, the reason they have to resort to volunteers is because the US does not value science. If they could get the budget you bet they'd be paying for field techs. I'm guessing you're just a troll, but if not then you're waaay off base.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 07 2018, @01:02AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 07 2018, @01:02AM (#618952)

    Nobody in flyover country wants to give any funding to the evil big scientist brains. They're more interested in funding wars.