Becoming an ISOSCAN’er means joining the many people – professional scientists and citizens of all ages and backgrounds – who are helping to make rain, snow and flood forecasts better.
All you have to do is pick up a sampling kit and follow some simple instructions (3 steps) to collect a snow sample during a day in the snow (the more remote the better!) and return the kit with the sample to one of the designated locations.
Are you ready to take part? Check out here how to get started!
Water is essential to life. We drink water to survive, we use it to clean ourselves and to prepare food. We use water to irrigate fields and grow crops, and to harness its energy to produce electricity. We depend on water in many ways. Too much water can cause floods, resulting in damage and loss of life, while too little can lead to drought, food shortages and even famine.
How and when water moves, when we get it and how it is replenished depends on the water cycle – the natural flow of water in its different states – liquid, gas and solid – around the globe. Understanding the water cycle is essential to maintaining a better quality of life.
The water cycle is complex and scientists do not yet fully understand all its aspects. However, as the climate changes and extreme weather and water events such as floods and droughts become more frequent and unpredictable, we urgently need better scientific forecasting tools. Northern Europe and Scandinavia are expected to be particularly affected by climate change. That is why a group of weather and water scientists – hydrologists and meteorologists – from Norway, Sweden and Finland are working to improve water forecasting, which could lead to better preparation for extreme floods and droughts in Scandinavia. To do this, the scientists rely on real water samples from all over Scandinavia – from snow cover, weather stations, soil or groundwater, lakes and rivers. Both scientists and citizens are involved, for example in Sweden and Finland.
With thousands of such samples over time and across the region at different times of the year, scientists can analyse the water samples for their isotopic composition. Water isotopes can be seen as ‘fingerprints’ of the water molecules, to better understand the movement of water and thus build better forecasting tools.
One type of much-needed data that is still lacking is snow samples from the Tromsø area in Norway. As these areas are regularly visited by both locals and tourists for skiing, winter hiking or just to enjoy the winter landscapes and Northern Lights, people regardless of their scientific background have the opportunity to be part of doing science!