Erica loves the outdoors and enjoys rock climbing, which she says is helping her learn to be "patient and persistent." She also enjoys swimming, skiing, and working with animals. She sings, plays the oboe, and is a member of the math club and the 4-H Club. Someday Erica would like to be a veterinarian as well as a rancher.
Her science hero is Robert Jairell, a hydrologist who has shared his 30 years of research and expertise with Erica and who has supported her in her studies.
In response to drought conditions in Wyoming and other western states, Erica is seeking ways to exploit the moisture produced by snowdrifts. Because snowdrifts melt more slowly than lesser snow accumulations, more moisture seeps into the water table as they melt. However, natural snowdrifts usually occur in undesirable locations such as roadways and livestock areas. Erica is experimenting with fencing to try to direct snow into drifts located in favorable places.
Last year, Erica determined that in small models. Cascade dishwasher detergent most closely replicated drifting snow. This year, she used Cascade to test six model snow fences of varying porosities and thicknesses. Using a wind tunnel, she measured the wind direction and speed and the resultant drifts. Her conclusions illustrate three points of her hypothesis: decreasing fence porosity and increasing board thickness causes the wind pattern to change, the speed to decrease and the deepest points of the drift to occur further upwind. She also determined that as board thickness increased, drift volume increased. Erica has already begun next year's project by building full-size fences to further test her theories this coming winter.
