Time-Lapse Snow Bedform Imagery from Niwot Ridge, Colorado, 2016-2017

Kelly Kochanski from the University of Colorado Boulder created a collection of time-lapse videos showing snow surface evolution on Niwot Ridge between March 2016 and April 2017. The videos capture the formation and movement of snow dunes, ripples, and sastrugi. This data was supported by fellowships from the Department of Energy and University of Colorado, and by the National Science Foundation.

Use Cases

• Analyzing modes of snow bedform movement based on time-lapse video sequences.
• Correlating bedform evolution with weather conditions using referenced climate station data.
• Studying the formation of specific features like sastrugi and snow ripples mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Time-lapse imagery captured every 10 seconds during daylight hours, providing high temporal resolution.
• Data collection is linked to a specific geographic location (-40.054307, -105.590764) and a long-term ecological research station for climate correlation.
• Videos are annotated with date, time, and temperature information directly in the frame.

Limitations

• Row count and total file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Some video timestamps are inaccurate, requiring reliance on filenames for correct dating.
• Temperature data embedded in videos is noted as generally colder than station records and may be unreliable.

Provenance

Source

University of Colorado Boulder

Collection Method

Time-lapse imagery captured by Day6 Plotwatcher Pro cameras.

Time Range

March 2016 to April 2017

Geography

Niwot Ridge, Colorado Front Range, USA