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Water managers getting a birds-eye view of Colorado’s historically bad snowpack

Denver7 · · 639 words · By Ryan Fish
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What to know about Water managers getting a birds-eye view of Colorado’s historically bad snowpack

DENVER — This winter and spring have produced Colorado’s worst snowpack on record, often measured via weather stations throughout the high country known as SNOpack TELemetry or SNOTEL stations.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
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Center100%
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6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

DENVER — This winter and spring have produced Colorado’s worst snowpack on record, often measured via weather stations throughout the high country known as SNOpack TELemetry or SNOTEL stations.

Why it matters

Over the last few years, a new kind of complimentary measurement has been taking off — literally.

Common ground

What started as a NASA Jet Propulsion Lab research project became Airborne Snow Observations (ASO), a company that flies small planes over the mountains to measure the snowpack.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.denver7.com/news/environment/water-managers-getting-a-birds-eye-view…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 3
verified Verified 3
check_circle Corroborated 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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Claim 1: “The planes use light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems to measure the depth of the snowpack across an entire basin”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that ASO uses LiDAR (light detection and ranging) to measure snow depth and snow water equivalent across basins.
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web search NEUTRAL — Lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, uses beams of light to measure distance. To determine snow depth, the plane flies over a watershed in the summer and uses lidar to scan the earth’s…
https://coyotegulch.blog/2025/06/05/scanning-the-snow-from-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — ASO, Inc. uses an airborne remote sensing system to measure snow properties, including snow depth, how much water is stored in the snowpack, and snow reflectivity.
https://www.publicpower.org/periodical/article/srp-asu-use-c…
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web search NEUTRAL — A new Lidar system, with its doubled laser power and high pulse frequency, will allow ASO Inc. to far more efficiently achieve its needs to uniquely measure snow water equivalent across extensive moun…
https://geo-matching.com/articles/airborne-dual-lidar-system…
info
Claim 2: “This winter and spring have produced Colorado’s worst snowpack on record”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for Colorado are general descriptions of the state's geography and tourism; none of the results provide data on snowpack records for the most recent winter and spring.
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web search NEUTRAL — Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert lands. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado
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web search NEUTRAL — From towering mountains and vibrant cities to rich cultural heritage, every part of Colorado offers a unique blend of experiences. Explore the cities below to enjoy the state's diverse activities, fla…
https://www.colorado.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — May 21, 2024 · Colorado is a landlocked state located in the central United States. It borders Kansas in the east, Utah in the west, Arizona in the southwest, Nebraska and Wyoming in the North, and Ne…
https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/united-states/colorado
verified
Claim 3: “as well as spectrometers that measure how reflective the snow is to determine how fast it is melting”
VERIFIED
A source explicitly states that ASO planes use an imaging spectrometer to measure how much solar energy is reflected by the snow to help determine how fast the snowpack will melt.
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web search NEUTRAL — ASO planes fly with two key pieces of technology and equipment onboard: a lidar and an imaging spectrometer. The spectrometer measures how much solar energy is reflected by the snow. This information …
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/scanning-the-snow-from-the-s…
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web search NEUTRAL — A melting snow layer on Arctic sea ice, as a composition of ice, liquid water, and air, supplies meltwater that may trigger the formation of melt ponds. As a result, surface reflection properties are …
https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/16/3915/2023/
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web search NEUTRAL — airborne measurements with imaging spectrometers to map. the transition phase of the Arctic sea ice surface, examining.The spectral melt pond reflectivity is mainly determined by. the pond ice bottom r…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373388077_Retrieval…
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Claim 4: “What started as a NASA Jet Propulsion Lab research project became Airborne Snow Observations (ASO)”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm that the Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) is a project/collaboration involving NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
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web search NEUTRAL — Information on NASA's Airborne Snow Observatory, or ASO, instrument studying Earth.The Airborne Snow Observatory is a collaboration between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Departme…
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/airborne-snow-observatory-…
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web search NEUTRAL — ASO was a collaboration between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Department of Water Resources, and other state and local entities.
https://nsidc.org/data/aso
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web search NEUTRAL — The Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) is a project of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). ASO gathers snow pack data that can be applied to critical water availability questions in hydrologic resear…
https://earthzine.org/the-airborne-snow-observatory-is-chang…
verified
Claim 5: “SNOpack TELemetry or SNOTEL stations are weather stations throughout the high country used to measure snowpack”
VERIFIED
Web search results explicitly state that SNOTEL stations are the 'backbone of monitoring the mountain snowpack in the West' and are used to measure snowpack.
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web search NEUTRAL — SNOTEL stations remain the backbone of monitoring the mountain snowpack in the West and may have decades of data to analyze, but they’re fixed in space and don’t register how wind, shade and other fac…
https://waterdesk.org/2025/04/scientists-use-cosmic-rays-to-…
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web search NEUTRAL — High Country News. A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West.Taking water’s measure. A three-day trip to measure Montana’s sn…
https://www.hcn.org/issues/48-10/taking-waters-measure/
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web search NEUTRAL — Measuring Colorado’s snowpack can be complicated, but it’s crucial — and not just for skiers. Water managers rely on snowpack measurements to decide how to change reservoir levels to optimize the amou…
https://www.denver7.com/news/mountains/airborne-lasers-are-m…
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Claim 6: “Just last year, a brand new program within the Colorado Water Conservation Board really takes that stakeholder-led effort and creates a state program”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results regarding a new program within the Colorado Water Conservation Board established last year.
info
Claim 7: “ASO’s flights cover 16 watersheds in Colorado”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results discuss ASO flights in California and general flights in Colorado, but do not specify that exactly 16 watersheds are covered in Colorado.
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web search NEUTRAL — ASO will conduct three flights over the Kern River watershed this winter and spring, all paid for by DWR. Meanwhile, further up the valley in the Kings River watershed, river interests there are all i…
https://sjvwater.org/high-tech-snow-flights-to-cover-most-of…
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web search NEUTRAL — The view of the Rocky Mountains from an airplane is majestic, but flying here is a little different than in the Midwest. In this three-part video, Martin shares some of the gorgeous views from his sum…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p_OjtpNJ4o
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web search NEUTRAL — Students label major rivers and outline watersheds on a world map. They compare the shapes of various watersheds and discuss how topography influences their shapes.
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/mapping-th…
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Claim 8: “ASO did 18 survey flights in just one week in March”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results regarding the number of flights conducted in a specific week in March.
verified
Claim 9: “Through the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement (CASM) program, ASO works with more than 100 water management partners”
VERIFIED
A source directly confirms that through the CASM program, ASO works with more than 100 water management partners, including irrigation districts and utilities like Denver Water.
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web search NEUTRAL — Through the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement (CASM) program, ASO works with more than 100 water management partners ranging from small irrigation districts to large utilities like Denver Water.
https://www.denver7.com/news/environment/water-managers-gett…
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web search NEUTRAL — Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement Program (CASM).Since its launch, CASM has pioneered the use of Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) lidar snowpack measurement flights in the state as an operational wa…
https://coloradosnow.org/casm-benefits
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web search NEUTRAL — ASO flew over eight regions in 2023 as part of the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement, or CASM, program. Two rounds of flights were conducted in April, May and June.
https://coyotegulch.blog/2025/06/05/scanning-the-snow-from-t…
info
Claim 10: “Starting in 2015, a joint effort with the state began to deploy the technology and put it to work”
SINGLE SOURCE
While evidence mentions the CASM workgroup in 2021-2023, there is no specific evidence in the provided results confirming a joint effort starting specifically in 2015.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Project builds upon the efforts of the Colorado Airborne Snow Measurement (“CASM”) workgroup conducted throughout 2021, 2022, and 2023 to increase the amount of ASO flights flow across Colorado.
https://svlh.gov/our-plan-in-action/airborne-snow-measuremen…
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web search NEUTRAL — Note: Colorado River natural flows are estimated from measurements at Lee’s Ferry, Ariz. Values for 2021 through 2023 are provisional.Monitoring sites across the Colorado River basin report snow measu…
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/climate/colorado-river-ne…
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web search NEUTRAL — Snow melt-generated water supply provides around 70% of the western United States’ water supply, and it’s a prized commodity that is expected to decrease this century, NASA said. In recent years, Nort…
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/04/01/nasa-tests-snow-cov…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.