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Phoenix666 writes:

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.

Original Submission