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Show WATER CONTENT 0FS1WHELGS i Nearly All Scientific Apparatus Appar-atus in United States to Measure Sierra Nevada Snowfall. SACRAMENTO, Cat, Oct, 22. The water contonl of a number of snow-fields snow-fields in the Sierra Nevada mountains will be measured ihs winter under supervision of tho California State Engineering En-gineering department. To do this the state has obtained virtually all of the scientific apparatus available in the United Stales for such observations. It is the first time such work has been attempted in the pubilic interest anywhere any-where In the world, except as a scientific scien-tific experiment according to Mayor P. M. Norboe, assistant state engineer. engi-neer. Some of the information gained it is expected, will be of value to the federal fed-eral government when it proparcs to lay out a transcontinental aerial route. The object of the work is two -fold, the information will be used to warn pcoplo In tho valleys of California and Nevada of the possibility of floods in the spring when the snow begins to melL And to determine whether there is danger of a drought in the summer season, and that irrigators may be warned of tho need for conserving water. The information also will be avail able to guide managers of reservoirs in choosing times to use them to shut off the peaks of freshets, or when to store water to guard against drought After each heavy storm in the mountains this winter the engineer department's men will go forth, armed with "samplers" and other scientific apparatus and equipped as for arctic expeditions. They will travel on snow-shoes snow-shoes and will carry their own provisions provis-ions and sleeping bags. To make 'the measurements needed, each worker will take sections from tho snowfiolds at numerous points with his sampler. With this instrument it Is possible to obtain portions of snow from each layer of the winter's fall. The samples will be weighed to ascertain the water content. The figurcsbrought back by the Observers, Ob-servers, with other data, will enable the state to announce how much water may be expected from the snowfiolds in the spring. Other information to be gathered will provide an accurate estimate of the probable amount of water the soil will pour into the headwaters of various var-ious streams to bo carried down' into the valleys. Much of this information will be obtained ob-tained from three meteorgraphs. said to be tho only such instruments available avail-able for public use in 'the United States. These will furnish rlailv con tinuous records of the temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, precipitation pre-cipitation and velocity and direction of the winds. It is their records which are expected to aid in mapping the aerial aer-ial route. Observations are to be made in tho snowfields at the headquarters of the South Luba, American, Mokelumne, and Tuolumne rivers. on the California slopes of the mountains, and in these feeding the Truckee, Carson and Wal-kee Wal-kee rivers on the Nevada side of the range. The federal government and the state of Nevada will co-operate in tho observations. Major Norboe said. "The value of these observations, was demonstrated this year by Prof. J. I E. Church of the University of Nevada, who has collected an immense amount of data," Major Norboe said. "With this data, Professor Church, who is a pioneer in the work, was able to forecast fore-cast a drought along the Walker river in Nevada this year. This prognostication prognostica-tion was verified. As soon as more instruments are available probably after the war, thei observations will be extended to the1 snowfields in all the mountains of California. Major Norboe said. He predicted pre-dicted similar methods would be adopted throughout the uorld in years to come. |