The Goal
To assess the state of the science related to space-based snowfall measurements and to recommend future directions in research and technology development.

Topics of Interest
Include instrument development, retrieval techniques, assimilation systems, modeling of microwave radiative transfer within snow particles and snowy air, modeling of microphysical processes, surface snow measurement and ground validation.

Format
The workshop will focus around the five main topics identified in the outline below. A limited number of invited research presentations will set the stage for subsequent working group discussions where the state of the art will be discussed and future directions of research will be identified. Attendees will be asked to contribute to a workshop report that summarizes the findings of this workshop.

A tour of the Environmental Research Station "Schneefernerhaus", located in 2650 m ASL at the close-by Mt. Zugspitze, will be conducted during the meeting. It will comprise a demonstration of the ground based snow, water vapor, liquid water, temperature and aerosol measurement facilities, which are available for ground validation. Attendees are invited to demonstrate their own ground measurement systems where practical to transport or satellite–based measurements when overpasses are available. Assistance will be given to those interested in transporting their instruments up to and back down the research station if they wish to participate.

The workshop will be convened the morning of Wednesday, March 30, 2011 and end on the afternoon of Saturday, April 2, 2011. A registration fee of $300 will be charged. The workshop will be held at the Hotel am Badersee in Grainau, where a set of 50 rooms has been blocked for the conference. Single rooms are available at Euro 82,- per night.

The workshop is sponsored by the International Precipitation Working Group (IPWG), the GEWEX Radiation Panel (GRP), by NASA's CloudSat Mission, and by NASA's Precipitation Measurement Missions (PMM) Program on behalf of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission.

Program Committee
Ralf Bennartz (University of Wisconsin), Gail Skofronick Jackson (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Ulrich Löhnert (University of Cologne),Paul Joe (Environment Canada), Deborah Vane (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), and Jarkko Koskinen (Finnish Meteorological Institute)