Marianne Cowherd

Department of Earth Sciences · Montana State University

We study climate science, the cryosphere, and hydrology.

Our group works on nonstationarity in snow and water systems, both the problems it causes and the potential solutions. Our work spans the drivers of snow droughts, post-fire hydrology, and machine learning for snow observation.

We are based in the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University and are friends of the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory.

CV

Research

Map of snow cover change around the Caldor Fire burn scar and Lake Tahoe
Ecohydrology · 2026

Snow after megafire

Observations across the 2021 Caldor Fire burn scar show how vegetation loss and topography control where snow accumulates and how fast it melts after a megafire.

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Snow pillow locations across the western United States with downscaled climate projections
Communications Earth & Environment · 2024

Climate-resilient snowpack estimation

Warming will erode the ability of today's snow stations to represent the western United States snowpack. Pairing stations with machine learning keeps snow estimates reliable through the end of the century.

Read the paper

News

Group

Current members

Marianne Cowherd, PhD

Assistant Professor

I study climate science and the cryosphere. Most of my work deals with nonstationarity in snow and water systems, both the problems this causes and the potential solutions. Specific topics include the atmospheric drivers of snow droughts, post-fire hydrology, and machine learning applications in snow pattern repeatability shift. I am generally interested in how nonstationarity impacts environmental observations and in particular our ability to understand change.

I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I earned undergraduate and masters degrees at Stanford University as part of the Bob & Norma Street Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, where I worked on oscillatory wave-current boundary layers. I earned my PhD from the UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, where I was a DOE Computational Sciences Graduate Fellow. I enjoy running, soccer, the outdoors, and word games.

Anna Verhaeghe

MS student

Anna is a Master's student in the department of earth sciences studying the effects of wildfire management policies on landscape scale snow retention and water availability. After growing up in North Idaho, they received their undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Montana State University in 2019. During their early career in project management, Anna spent their spare time ski instructing, volunteering at Stafford Animal Shelter, and leading youth crews with Idaho Trails Association. Anna is an avid skier, backpacker, home cook, and TTRPG player. They love hanging out with their two dogs Rook and Arlo and her cat Beans on Toast.

Prospective students and postdocs

I am not currently recruiting graduate students to join the group.

Prospective postdocs interested in developing funding applications together (e.g., Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Program), please email me with your CV and a one-page description of your research interests, your goals, and how your background relates to work done in the group.

Teaching

Publications

See Google Scholar for a complete list.