INSTAAR: Noah Molotch

Fellow of INSTAAR; Assistant Professor of Geograpy, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder.

PhD: 2004, University of Arizona.

Noah.Molotch@colorado.edu
(303) 492-6151

Specialty: Surface water and snow hydrology; remote sensing; ecohydrology.

Research Interests: My research and teaching interests are focused on the processes controlling hydrologic fluxes in cold regions and within the greater Earth system. 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. 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.

Outstanding Awards: Director’s Fellowship, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (2008). Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Visiting Fellowship, (2004-2006). Arizona Floodplain Management Association Scholarship (2003-2004). Best Paper, Western Snow Conference (2003). Dr. James E. Church Memorial Award, Best Student Paper, Western Snow Conference (2001).

Selected Publications:

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, doi: 10.1002/eco.48.
Veatch, W, P.D. Brooks, J. Gustafson, N. P Molotch. (2009), Quantifying the effects of forest canopy cover on net snow accumulation at a continental, mid-latitude site, Valles Caldera National Preserve, NM, USA, Ecohydrology, Vol. 2, doi: 10.1002/eco.45.
Durand, M., N.P. Molotch, and S. Margulis (2008), A bayesian approach to snow water equivalent reconstruction, Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, doi:10.1029/2008JD009894.
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 S.A. Margulis (2008), Estimating the distribution of snow water equivalent using remotely sensed snow cover data and a spatially distributed snowmelt model: a multi-resolution, multi-sensor comparison, Advances in Water Resources, 31.
Musselman, K., N.P. Molotch, and P.D. Brooks (2008), Effects of vegetation on snow accumulation and ablation in a mid-latitude sub-alpine forest, Hydrological Processes, Vol 22.
Molotch, N.P., P.D. Blanken, M.W. Williams, A.A. Turnipseed, R.K. Monson, and S.A. Margulis (2007), Estimating sublimation of intercepted and sub-canopy snow using eddy covariance systems, Hydrological Processes, 21, doi: 10.1002/hyp.6719.
Painter, T.H., N.P. Molotch, and M. Cassidy (2007), Contact spectroscopy for determination of stratigraphy of snow grain size, Journal of Glaciology , 53(180).
Molotch, N.P. , and R.C. Bales (2006), Comparison of ground-based and airborne snow-surface albedo parameterizations in an alpine watershed: impact on snowpack mass balance, Water Resources Research, VOL. 42, doi:10.1029/2005WR004522.
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, 2005.
Molotch, N. P., T.H. Painter, R.C. Bales, and J. Dozier (2004), Incorporating remotely sensed snow albedo into spatially distributed snowmelt modeling, Geophysical Research Letters, VOL. 31, doi:10.1029/2003GL019063, 2004.

See Also:

Noah P. Molotch