Snow depth and water equivalence 2014-2025, Apex River watershed, Iqaluit, Nunavut

Snow accumulation and melt are critical components of arctic landscape hydrology and are also highly sensitive to weather and climate. With the rapid growth of the community of Iqaluit and reliance on a stable freshwater supply, sustained monitoring of the annual snow conditions provides critical information on the annual spring recharge to Iqaluit's primary and secondary community reservoirs (Lake Geraldine and Qiqiktalik Lake.The main purpose for collecting this dataset is to improve quantification of the annual, end-of-winter snow water equivalent in the Apex River watershed near Iqaluit, NU. A secondary purpose is to establish and continuously evolve an efficient, repeatable survey method that can be conducted each spring out of the community of Iqaluit, while providing experiential learning opportunities for Nunavut Arctic College (NAC) Environmental Technology Program (ETP) students. A final purpose is to use the resulting snow survey datasets to develop and test new methods to model the spatial distribution of snow using remote sensing, GIS-based statistical modelling and machine learning (ML) for use in Iqaluit and other Nunavut communities.