The concept of a Canada-United States prairie snow cover runoff study was formulated at a joint meeting of the Canadian and American National Committees on Hydrology in 1979. The Souris River basin was suggested as the study area. This paper outlines the general guidelines established for the study and reviews water management needs for the region. Seven areas of research and associated projects are then identified for which an improved knowledge of snow runoff could contribute to improved water management on the prairies.One specific research component is the "areal measurement of snow cover." During the 1981#x2013;82 winter a multi-agency research program was initiated to compare and assess ground, airborne and satellite data for the determination of areal snow cover, particularly snow water equivalent. An overview of the experiment, the data collection program and a comparative summary of spectrometer airborne gamma measurements of snow water equivalent and ground data are provided. On average, airborne gamma snow water equivalent measurements were greater than the ground measurements by 4#x2013;5#x2002;mm. Airborne and satellite microwave data are still being analyzed.There is a desire to have other experiments conducted as part of this program and researchers working on related topics in this region are encouraged to become part of the program.
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