Climate change is affecting the weather we experience day-to-day and annually as we experience more severe and wackier weather patterns with a warmer global temperature. It affects our weather and affects the winter elements. Scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are investigating these effects of climate change on snowflakes. Snow is essential in reflecting sunlight, the very energy of the sun that continues to heat the world’s average temperature with aid from the ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The warmer temperatures in the atmosphere make snowflakes clump together, therefore absorbing more energy because their edges are not as sharp to refract the light’s energy. As the snowflakes absorb more energy it melts faster, leading to dark patches of the earth’s surface which absorb this same energy. This leads to a continuous cycle of melting and warming.

X-Snow is an experiment for any environmental enthusiasts eager to help. Interested environmental citizens and winter lovers will collect and measure snowflake size to share their collected data with these scientists.

Visit http://www.cryocity.org/snowflake-procedure.html for steps and you can share your collected data on http://www.cryocity.org/x-snow.html.

“…Every citizen has the superpower to help…”

~Marc Tedesco from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

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