29 March, 2002

SWE's calculations!!!! Let's figure out the actual snow water equivalence. How much water is in those snow samples?????

SWE = {(density of snow)/(density of water)} X (snow depth)

So first divide the density of snow into the density of water. Get that answer and multiply it by the snow depth. All we do is set up a simple ratio of the density of snow compared to the density of water and multiply it by the depth. This will give us the snow water equivalence.

Snow water equivalence allows us to actually see how much water is in the snow. So if all of this snow melted, how much of it would be water. In other words, kick off the big, bunny boots for the snow and kick on waders for sloshing through water. That is what we are calculating.

This snow will actually melt and end up flowing into the rivers and creeks? How much will go into the rivers? How will it affect the ecosystem of the Arctic?

Here are the snow depths again from the tundra site in case you have forgotten…… So, calculate SWE's.. If all of the snow that Mrs. Cheuvront was walking around in melted, how much water would there be?

Depth (cm)

1. 44

2. 28

3. 51

4. 40

5. 44

LET'S PLOT!!! WHERE IS MRS. CHEUVRONT????? Longitude: 65.70495 degrees North Latitude: 161.70492 degrees West

HIGH TEMP: -13 degrees Celsius

LOW TEMP: -30 degrees Celsius approx –22 degrees Fahrenheit

The full bright moon brought a cold, crisp morning, -22 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest morning of the trip thus far. Work started early and briskly. After digging 4 snow pits each approximately 60 cm, running 100 meter sprints in snowshoes, my feet finally warmed up. Bunny boots work amazingly well once the warm layer is trapped inside the boot. The trick is getting the inside of the boot warm when it stayed in a cold tent the previous night. The blood finally gushed into the toes and a painful but rejoice warmth was felt. The feet stayed warm for the remainder of the day regardless of how cold the wind blew. We worked hard today, 3 complete sites finished. We are moving into colder country the farther north we travel. The tundra site had very tough, hard, cold slabs of snow. The wind has performed it's magic of making hard crusts. Camp was set up late in an area called Hunter's Creek.

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April Cheuvront

7133 Rhododendron Drive

Newland, NC 28657

(828) 439-5737 ../tea_cheuvrontfrontpage.html aprilcheuv@yahoo.com

The condensation from your breath turns into ice onto hair that surrounds the face, in my case that is my braids! The temperature was -22 degrees F! I was warmed up after doing many sprints and digging snow pits! ===== April Cheuvront 7133 Rhododendron Drive Newland, NC 28657 (828) 439-5737 ../tea_cheuvrontfrontpage.html aprilcheuv@yahoo.com

Frosty Braids!