Snowfall to Water Flow, SWE in the Boulder Watershed Boulder Watershed Snowpack–Streamflow Project Overview
This project explores how snowpack contributes to streamflow in the Boulder watershed in Colorado. The goal is to understand how changes in snow water equivalent (SWE) impact river discharge and overall water availability.
This project is about understanding how snowpack affects streamflow in the Boulder watershed in Colorado. The main idea is to see how snow water equivalent (SWE) relates to how much water is flowing in the river, especially during the spring when the snow starts to melt. This matters because a lot of the water in this region comes from snowpack, so changes in snow levels can directly impact water supply and even flooding.
To do this, I used a few different types of data. I looked at snowpack data from SNOTEL stations, streamflow data from USGS gages along Boulder Creek, and watershed boundary data to define the study area. First, I gathered and cleaned the data by fixing dates, dealing with missing values, and making sure everything lined up over time. Then I compared snowpack and streamflow to look for patterns, especially how increases in snowmelt affect river flow. I also made simple graphs to visualize these trends.
Overall, this project shows how closely connected snowpack and streamflow are in the Boulder watershed. It gives a better understanding of how water moves through the system and why snowpack is so important. In the future, this could be improved by adding more data like temperature and precipitation, or by building an interactive dashboard to explore the results more easily.
I can improve this project by adding temperature and precipitation data to better understand what is driving changes in streamflow. Right now, I am mainly comparing snowpack and streamflow, but including these additional variables would help me explain why those changes are happening, not just show the relationship.
I can also strengthen my analysis by using basic statistics, such as calculating the correlation between snow water equivalent and streamflow or looking at the time lag between peak snowpack and peak river flow. This would make my results clearer and supported by data.
I can improve my visualizations by creating clearer and more detailed graphs. For example, I could overlay snowpack and streamflow on the same plot or highlight key periods like peak snowmelt. This would make my results easier to understand.
Finally, I could expand this project by applying the same workflow to other watersheds in Colorado. This would help me see if the patterns I found in the Boulder watershed are consistent in other areas and make the project more meaningful overall.