How Citizen Science snow sampling evolved over the years
We have been collecting snow samples from citizen science for a number of years. Already in spring 2018, we made a very first attempt within the project SNOWPACE. Then, we were simply asking a handful of office colleagues to bring back some snow from their Easter vacation in the Norwegian mountains. We got 16 samples returned, from a quite large geographical area. The conclusion after we analysed the samples was clear: citizen science works both for us and the participants! Our colleagues reported they had fun collecting the snow, and later took pride in finding their samples again on a map. We had to do more of this!
For the second attempt in 2019, we made everything bigger and nicer. We put together standardised sampling kits with instructions. A video explained how to collect the snow samples. This time, we asked around at the University of Oslo and Bergen. More than 100 participants from both sides of Langfjella contributed with their time and collected snow all over southern Norway. While there was only old snow in the mountains that Easter, we found clear geographical differences of the heavy water from west to east in the returned samples. As a small group of scientists, we could never have collected snow over such a large region within such a short time.
The next time we tried again to collect snow from citizen science was after the pandemic, in 2022. In that spring, we were doing field measurements in Northern Norway as part of the ISLAS project. So we asked people in Tromsø to bring back some snow from Easter vacation. The outcome was impressive, in particular in terms of the range of samples, reaching into Finland, and almost to Nordkapp. Since most samples were collected closer to the coast, the measurements in the lab showed as expected that more heavy water was in the samples than further east, in Kiruna.
In 2023, we kept collecting a handful of samples in Tromsø, and in 2024 we got involved with the non-profit WildLabProjects and tour operator Wandering Owl. With the help of these partners, tourists could experience a more regenerative nature experience, and contribute to science by taking a snow sample during organised trips. These sampling activities opened our view towards involving recreational nature users more systematically. This is what we are now exploring in the Water4All project ISOSCAN.