This special issue of Hydrological Processes is the result of a joint meeting of three scientiยฎc societies: the Canadian Geophysical Union Hydrology Section (CGU-HS), the Eastern Snow Conference (ESC), and the Western Snow Conference (WSC). The meeting was held in May 1997 in Ban, Canada. Ban has been the regular venue of the CGU and it was in 1997 that the CGU-HS played host to the ESC and the WSC. Both snow conferences have a history of holding highly successful joint conferences and the involvement of the CGU-HS in 1997 further added to the overall synergy and beneยฎt of such combined meetings.
The ESC is a joint U.S./Canadian organization that brings the research and operations communities together to discuss recent work on scientiยฎc, applied, and operational issues related to snow and ice. Topics of papers presented at ESC meetings include snow physics, icing of roadways, river ice, remote sensing of snow and ice, glacier processes, and snow ecology. Further information about the ESC and references for past proceedings can be obtained from its web site at: www.tor.ec.gc.ca/CRYSYS/esc/. Its 55th Annual Meeting will be held 3ยฑ5 June 1998 at Jackson, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
The WSC is an international organization whose primary aim is to advance the snow and hydrological sciences with a strong focus on western North America. Although its origin stems from the pioneering work in snow hydrology and runo forecasting of Dr James E. Church, issues at recent conferences have broadened to include, for example, snow loading onto structures, global climatic change, snow chemistry, environmental inยฏuences on snow microbes, and snow management for soil reclamation. Further information about the WSC can be obtained from its web site at: snobear. colorado.edu./WSC/WSC.html. Its 66th Annual Meeting will be held 20ยฑ23 April 1998 at Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.
The CGU-HS brings together scientists from all branches of hydrology with the following aims and objectives: promote hydrology as a geophysical science; advance the understanding and application of