Department of Earth Science
Snow Science

Faculty

Snow science has been a part of the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University since the early days of the Department.  Professors Charles Bradley and John Montagne undertook early avalanche studies on the Bridger Ridge and Arlin Super and James Heimbach investigated the meteorology of snow and snow augmentation.  Today, Professors Steve Custer, Kathy Hansen, and Bill Locke carry on the tradition.

• Steve Custer is interested in water (which of course usually begins as snow).  He has investigated groundwater, surface water, and bedload transport.  He has supervised theses in snow and avalanches (most recently Gleason, John A., 1996. Terrain parameters of avalanche starting zones and their effect on avalanche frequency, 64 pp.) and would like to know more about snow distribution, hydrology and runoff.  He is also interested in snow metamorphism and factors that influence density and hardness as they relate to avalanches and to winter movement of animals. 
• Kathy Hansen is interested in alpine biogeography.  She has investigated ecotone change, paleoclimate and effects of grazing on vegetative patterns and regeneration.  She has supervised theses in snow distribution (most prominently Birkeland, Karl, W. 1990. The spatial variability of snow resistance on potential avalanche slopes. 99p.) and would like to know more about the interaction of snow and the biosphere.
• Bill Locke is interested in glaciers and glaciation.  He has investigated modern montane climates and paleoclimates, fluvial systems, and weathering and soil development.  He too has supervised theses in snow and ice (most recently Pipp, Michael J., 1997. Seasonal and storm snow distributions in the Bridger Range, Montana, 124 pp.) and would like to know more about snow distribution at high elevations and the geomorphic effects of snow.
• We have a formal course on snow (ESCI 450 - Snow Dynamics and Accumulation). This course is offered alternate (odd-numbered) Spring semesters and is commonly taught by Dr. Custer.   Depending on back ground and experience you may or may not be advised into this course. 

Together with our collaborators (below) we offer a program in snow science that is nationally unparalleled.  Feel free to contact any of us for additional information or read on.

Collaborators

Alone, we would represent a program of marginal strength.  Together with our collaborators, we offer tremendous opportunities.

• In the Department of Civil Engineering at MSU, Ed Adams, Bob Brown, Jim Dent and Ted Lang investigate the mechanics of snow and ice, both stationary and in motion.  For students with a quantitative background and bent, world-class research into the properties and processes of snow takes place here.  The Department of Civil Engineering recently (October 2000) hosted the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) at nearby Big Sky Ski Resort.
• The US Forest Service National Avalanche Center and the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center include personnel in Bozeman (including MSU ESCI alumni Karl Birkeland and Ron Johnson!).  They have a professional interest in real-time snow and avalanche processes and hazards as exemplified by their (seasonal) daily advisories of local and regional avalanche danger.
• Our local ski areas - Bridger Bowl and Big Sky - have inspired, hosted, and supported the work of a two generations of theoretical and applied snow researchers.
• The Natural Resources Conservation Service Snow Survey Unit is located in Bozeman and provides interesting data from the SNOTEL network. 

These organizations and individuals and the broad national support we and our students have earned have enabled a dozen or more students to earn a Master of Science degree in Earth Sciences with research into snow science.

Students

In the last dozen years, six students have earned M.S. diplomas in the Department of Earth Sciences (and more in Civil Engineering) with snow and ice-related research:

• Birkeland, Karl, W. 1990. The spatial variability of snow resistance on potential avalanche slopes. 99p.
• Gleason, John A., 1996. Terrain parameters of avalanche starting zones and their effect on avalanche frequency, 64 pp.
• Moore, Chadwick A., 1997, Snow accumulation under various successional stages of lodgepole pine, 91 pp.
• Murray, Donald R., 1989. Late Pleistocene glacier dynamics of southwestern Montana and adjacent Idaho and
  paleoclimatic implications, 160 pp.
• Pipp, Michael J., 1997. Seasonal and storm snow distributions in the Bridger Range, Montana, 124 pp.
• Skidmore, Peter, 1994. Snow accumulation and ablation in fire-altered lodgepole pine stands.

We presently have two students working towards their degrees.

Expectations

We have a wondrous natural laboratory in the local Bangtail, Bridger, Gallatin, and Madison ranges, and excellent logistics relating to the roads, ski areas, and snowshoe, ski and snow machine access.  Successful snow research usually requires advanced winter backcountry skills and teamwork.  Those skills alone are insufficient, however.  A successful snow scientist can recognize anomalous observations, postulate multiple working hypotheses, devise workable tests for those hypotheses and collect adequate data for appropriate statistical analyses.  Because snow/ice is a mineral (a naturally occurring, inorganic, solid of predictable chemical composition and crystalline form) and a rock (sediment when it falls, sedimentary as it indurates, metamorphic when it recrystallizes to ice, and igneous if ice forms from a melt), a snow scientist may benefit from mineralogy, sedimentology and structural geology.  Because its physical behavior is often critically important, physics and mechanics are often critical to understanding snow/ice dynamics.  And, recognition of significant trends in material behavior require an understanding of basic (and possibly advanced) statistics and spatial analysis.  Snow also has important implications for plants and animals, is generated by meteorological phenomena and modified relative to local slope and aspect, so knowledge of biogeography, climatology, and physical geography/ geomorphology provide valuable background. If you do not bring these tools with you, you will be expected to acquire many of them during your tenure with the Department!  Individual program requirements are developed in consultation with a graduate committee which should be formed early so that requirements can be identified early.  Remember - your first field season may begin only a month after classes begin, so it is important to develop (with our assistance) a preliminary thesis problem and proposal before Fall semester begins!

Admissions

Applicants to the College of Graduate Studies at Montana State University must be capable of making continued progress towards their degree program - defined in the most basic sense as maintaining a 3.0 or better GPA.  Therefore, undergraduate GPAs below 3.0 are viewed as a danger sign which makes acceptance to the program unlikely.  GRE verbal scores below 500 suggest a writing weakness (a great handicap in thesis completion!) - again lowering the potential for acceptance.  We require an undergraduate major in the sciences and a willingness to make up whatever weaknesses (see "Expectations" above) may exist in undergraduate preparation.  We expect clear motivation to perform under pressure as indicated by both undergraduate GPA and letters of recommendation.  And, we require a written statement of interest which shows both skill in written presentation and an explanation by the applicant of why the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University is the optimal place for them to continue their academic career.

If at this point you still have questions, feel free to contact one of the faculty members linked above.  Or, you may wish to contact the Department office to request application materials.  In any event - good luck with your interest in Snow Science!