Noah Molotch

Research Interests

My research and teaching interests are focused on the processes controlling hydrologic fluxes in cold regions and within the greater Earth system. Improved understanding of these processes is essential for sustainable management of natural resources and for making informed environmental policy decisions. My research projects utilize ground-based observations, remote sensing, and computational modeling to obtain comprehensive understanding of hydrological processes; in particular the distribution of snow and ice. Additional projects aim at developing techniques for scaling hydrological processes and for designing ground-based observation networks tailored for integration with remote sensing and modeling. Studies relating fluxes of water, carbon, and nitrogen are also a focus of my current projects - in particular the feedbacks between water availability and carbon cycling in montane forests.

Selected Publications

Guan, B., N. P. Molotch, D. E. Waliser, E. J. Fetzer, and P. J. Neiman . (2010). Extreme snowfall events linked to atmospheric rivers and surface air temperature via satellite measurements. Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L20401 (http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/gl1020/2010GL044696/). doi:10.1029/2010GL044696

Molotch, N.P.,. (2009). Reconstructing snow water equivalent in the Rio Grande headwaters using remotely sensed snow cover data and a spatially distributed snowmelt model. Hydrological Processes, Vol. 23. doi:10.1002/hyp.7206

Molotch, N.P., P.D. Brooks, S.P. Burns, M. Litvak, J.R. McConnell, R.K. Monson, and K.Musselman. (2009). Ecohydrological controls on snowmelt partitioning in mixed-conifer sub-alpine forests. Ecohydrology, Vol. 2, 129 - 142. doi:10.1002/eco.48

Molotch, N.P., T. Meixner, and M.W. Williams. (2008). Estimating stream chemistry during the snowmelt pulse using a spatially distributed, coupled snowmelt and hydrochemical modeling approach. Water Resources Research, Vol. 44. doi:10.1029/2007WR006587

Molotch, N.P., and R.C. Bales. (2005). Scaling snow observations from the point to the grid element: implications for observation network design. Water Resources Research, VOL. 41. doi:10.1029/2005WR004229

Publications updated February 2011

Recent Courses Include

Spring 2012  GEOG 4093/5093 (4) Remote Sensing of the Environment LAB

Fall 2011  GEOG 4201 (3) Biometeorology

Graduate Students

	Leah Meromy	M.A.		Climate change; impacts on snowpack and glaciers
	Danielle Perrot	M.A.		Alpine processes; snow hydrology; remote sensing; modeling
	Dominik Schneider	Ph.D.		mountain and snow hydrology, interaction between vegetation and snowmelt runoff, water resources

What's New

A new NASA project focused on evaluating remotely sensed snow information from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer will begin this year. The 1.2 million dollar project is a collaboration between the University of California, Santa Barbara and CU-Boulder. Another new project includes a NASA Applications Program project focused on integrating NASA snow data products into water supply forecasts. Other news in Molotch’s research group includes new projects supported by the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory and the Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research Program.

"What's New" updated February 2011

More Info

For more information see Dr. Molotch’s Mountain Hydrology Group web page.