Snow supplies drinking water for one in six people and has major ecological and climate impacts on the temperate and polar regions. It's also beautiful. The surface of snow is covered by flutes, ripples and dunes that shift in the wind and alter the snow's accumulation rate and thermodynamics. Here, I present the most comprehensive description to date of these surface features, known as snow bedforms, and their effect on the climate. The results are drawn from a three-year field study in Colorado and computational modeling work conducted across three practicums at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. This talk is intended to teach you a little bit about climate science and bring a little more wonder to your winters.
