Molotch
Coloradans are experiencing climate change. Residents face challenges like fires, drought and poor water and air quality. The Colorado Arts Science Environment Program’s (CASE) is addressing critical environmental and social issues across Colorado through a collaborative exhibition that brings together Boulder scientists and artists from various parts of the state.
The Mountain Hydrology Group will be developing a new snowpack data set to inform water supply management in the western United States, thanks to grant funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Video interview with Noah Molotch about how remote sensing technology is helping forecast water availability in the Rocky Mountains. Watch this two-minute, well-edited interview, interspersed with clips of fieldwork and explanatory illustrations.
If there's a place that embodies climate extremes and their impacts on agriculture, it may be California. After years of drought, last spring devastating floods hit the state of the West Coast. Noah Molotch weighs in on the hydrology. (French language broadcast.)
Their collaborative art piece, part of a Boulder-sponsored exhibit, is one of several hanging in the Colorado State Capitol building.
Noah Molotch is quoted in this Los Angeles Times article about mapping the recent historic snowpack in California using laser pulses and spectrometers from the air. The flights are collecting data to estimate when and how fast the snow will melt, helping officials prepare for the runoff, manage water releases from dams, and asses areas at risk of flooding.
Snow is melting earlier, and more rain is falling instead of snow in the mountain ranges of the Western U.S. and Canada, leading to a leaner snowpack that could impact agriculture, wildfire risk and municipal water supplies come summer, according to a new Boulder analysis. Kate Hale and Noah Molotch are authors on the study.
An exhibit that just opened in the Colorado capitol building's rotunda features artwork made in the process of partnerships between artists from around Colorado, their communities, and Boulder scientists. Called “Coloradans and our Shared Environment in Times of Challenge and Change,” the art grapples with the climate and environmental challenges that are part of Coloradoans' lives: drought, decreasing groundwater, acid mine drainage, wildfire, pine beetle tree mortality, and more.
A collaborative exhibition tells the story of how Coloradans are experiencing interrelated challenges of fire, drought, and water and air quality in their communities. Artists (the CASE Fellows) partnered with scientists and communities to make visible the connections between Coloradans and their environment. Several INSTAARs acted as scientist partners. This website showcases the artwork, as well as quotes from the partners, explorations of the issues, and what you can do to act.
In Colorado, 83% of the state’s water supply comes from surface water fed by winter snowpack and spring runoff. Colorado’s snowmelt also flows downstream to millions of other users in the Colorado River Basin. Having the most accurate snowpack measurement possible is vital for water agencies, which use the data to figure out how much ends up in home faucets and on farms for irrigation. The search for new, more accurate ways to measure snowpack is on.