Student Water Resources Group (SWRG) :: PSU-ESR AWRA Student Chapter

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Site sponsored by the Environmental Sciences and Resources Program

Past Activities

2004 Snow Hydrology field trip:

On Friday, Feb. 27th, members of SWRG and ESR went on a field trip to visit the NRCS SNOTEL site with Jon Lea. Jon is responsible for modeling most of the regional snowpack. He will be showing us how the SNOTEL system works and demonstrating field snow core sampling technique.

March 3 - 4, 2004: The WSU Phosphorous Workshop was attended by some members. The focus of this workshop was to explore current understanding of the effects of P on water quality, and P management alternatives.

River rafting on the Clackamas River, June 7th, 2003.

	We took a trip out to the Clackamas River to get an up close and personal look at water resources. The trip was a nice reward for all the hard work everyone put in getting SWRG off the ground while also working on school and our own research projects. With gear from the PSU Outdoor Program, a paddle captain named Isaac, and a couple of safety boats manned by Clint and Theron our motley crew pushed off for a day of friends and fun. We started out just below Three Lynx Bridge because flow conditions had receded to much to make the rapids near the power station possible.
The river was angry that day my friends, and the thanks that I received for helping to put the trip together were not one, but two dumpings into the cold, cold water. I am still not sure if someone was trying to take over my position in the group by knocking me off, but all they really had to do was ask. We came together as a team and charged through the rapids. A couple of the rapids highlights were Rock'n'Roll, Toilet Bowl, and Hole in the Wall
	The one moment we all wish we had taken pictures of was during the lunch break when Isaac was trying to teach Laura and Jordan how to safely flip a raft over in an emergency. I can't do this justice with words but let's just say he wasn't receiving very much help from them and the "coordinated effort" resulted in a couple big splashes, lots of screaming, and a whole lot of laughter from the gallery on the bank. All in all we had a great trip, we learned a little about river ecology and hydrology from each other, had a ton of fun together, and experienced a fine day of Oregon water resources recreation. Thanks to Isaac, Clint and Theron for their help on the trip, to the SOC for providing some funds to help get the trip together, and to Tod from the Outdoor Program for working with us on the gear. For More Photos visit our photo gallery

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Field Trip to Mt. Hood SNOTEL Site, March 8th, 2003.

For our winter field trip we joined forces with the OSU Hydrophiles, the Beavers version of SWRG, and took a tour of the Mt. Hood SNOTEL site where snow surveys and snowpack analysis are conducted. John Lea and Melissa Clark of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service guided us through the SNOTEL site and snow survey process. The objective of the SNOTEL system is to measure snowpack in the mountains and forecast the water supply. The snow surveys determine the water equivalent of the snowpack by measuring the depth of the snow and weighing a snow core taken with a hollow metal tube of a known diameter. The snow surveys are conducted on a monthly basis to provide a manual check of the remote automated equipment employed throughout the SNOTEL network. We finished the trip by sharing a meal and good conversation with the Hydrophiles at the Mt. Hood Brewery. Thanks to John and Melissa and the Hydrophiles group, we had a great time!

For More Photos visit our photo gallery

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