Introducing SnowViz - Data Visualization for the Snow Scope App
In building the Snow Scope App, we’ve always been focused on making recording observations easy. While data input is a big piece of the puzzle, the output - making sense of the data - is what we really care about.
To that end, we’re introducing a new module in the app called”SnowViz”. SnowViz is a set of data visualization tools that allow you to find trends in your data across time, space, aspect, and elevation.
The SnowViz tool consists of three main plots: a map, an aspect/elevation rose, and a time plot. On top of these views, you can layer all kinds of data - from simple displays of recorded data like snow depths or ski penetration, to test result values like fracture character or ECT results, to algorithmically calculated values like Grom Score , Yellow Flags, depth to most critical weak layer, or temperature gradient. By being able to view all of this data in a simplified way on different plots, we’re hoping that the SnowViz tool allows you to better spot patterns and trends in your snowpack.
Grom Score visualization for public data from the Snow Scope App in the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains last winter clearly shows areas with lower scores (more unstable snow).
The algorithmic stability indices (Grom Score, Yellow Flags, etc) are particularly interesting as they are complex enough to calculate by hand that they have not really seen widespread adoption despite promising research suggesting they are correlated quite well with stability. In the SnowViz tool, these values are calculated automatically and plotted - giving you a quick summary of stability of pits and weak layers.
Additionally, a few of these calculated values can be shown on the profiles themselves, giving you a quick read of the stability of a pit (Grom Score), where the likeliest problematic weak layer is located (max yellow flag layer), and how the snowpack might change over time (highlighted faceting threshold on temperature gradient). Examples of these “on profile” visualizations are shown on the mobile app below (all features available on both web and mobile).
SnowViz is now available with a “Pro” or “Enterprise” subscription, with a limited selection available on free accounts. If you want to try everything out for free, you can get a free trial of “Pro” (click “upgrade to pro” in the main app menu) and start playing around with visualizations and the other pro features.
You can learn more about SnowViz by visiting our documentation site here.
As always, we love hearing feedback about any aspect of the App, and we anticipate adding more visualization types in the future - if you have any ideas for other visualizations you’d like to see, let us know!
