SnowSource: A Mobile App Connecting Snow with Everyone

Abstract

A 2015 study estimates about 2 billion people’s drinking water rely heavily on snowmelt. The snow melts in the seasonal cycles are seeing worrisome signs due to global climate change in recent years, such as the past exceptional drought in the western U.S. The capability of closely and timely monitoring the timing, magnitude, and duration of the snowpack is vital to effectively evaluate the influences on the downstream water discharge. The purpose of our project is to provide an easily accessible mobile application that allows Americans to track where their snowmelt comes from. This could help farmers and those who rely on local freshwater to understand how their water supply will be affected. In building the app, we used Google’s Flutter framework, a data web service from the USGS, and NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover products. We adopted advice from various snow hydrologists from University of Washington, ESIP, and CUAHSI to guide the design and implementation of the client and server side. A working prototype application was successfully realized that can deliver locations of snowmelt sources for your current geographical location. We have already published SnowSource on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store for everyone to use free of charge.