Airborne Snow Observatories

What Airborne Snow Observatories does

Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO), Inc. is a private geospatial services company founded in 2019 that delivers airborne snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements and snowmelt-runoff forecasts to water management agencies, utilities, and research institutions. The company operates dual-laser airborne LiDAR surveys (Riegl VQ-1560 II-S) and imaging spectrometer flights over mountain watersheds, processing raw retrievals through an exclusively licensed NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory data workflow to produce basin-wide snow depth, SWE, and albedo data products at 50-meter grid resolution. These primary measurements are assimilated into the iSNOBAL energy-balance snowpack model and the WRF-Hydro physically-based hydrologic model system, enabling daily-to-seasonal runoff forecasting with reported seasonal accuracies exceeding 98%.

ASO generates revenue through contracted professional services — multi-year enterprise agreements with state and federal water management entities — delivered primarily across the western United States (Sierra Nevada, Colorado River Basin, Rio Grande, Snake River Basin, Deschutes River Basin) and the Swiss Alps. The company's go-to-market relies on direct enterprise sales augmented by strategic partnerships with Esri (ArcGIS integration for distribution), NCAR (WRF-Hydro modeling backbone), and Dynamic Aviation (specialized flight operations). Headquartered in Mammoth Lakes, California, ASO operates with a small specialized team of 11–50 employees drawn largely from NASA JPL and NCAR alumni, including the original NASA Airborne Snow Observatory program scientists and the original developer of the WRF-Hydro modeling system.

The company's commercial offering is built on technology originally developed under a 7-year NASA JPL program (2010-2019), giving ASO an exclusive license to a mature, field-validated data processing workflow and a multi-year historical measurement archive across major US basins and the Swiss Alps. Customers access ASO products through a dedicated data login portal and integrate them into water supply, flood mitigation, and hydroelectric operations. The founders retain operating control; no institutional funding rounds have been disclosed.

Name

Airborne Snow Observatories

Legal name

Airborne Snow Observatories, Inc.

Website

https://airbornesnowobservatories.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Airborne Snow Observatories delivers airborne LiDAR and imaging spectrometer surveys plus physics-based snowmelt-runoff forecasting, serving government water management agencies in the western United States and the Swiss Alps with basin-scale SWE data products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mammoth Lakes

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Snow Survey Services: Airborne snow measurement and modeling services for water management entities. Contracted survey flights with proprietary data processing to deliver basin-scale snow water resource inventories.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Airborne Snow Observatories provides contracted airborne snowpack measurement and modeling services, flying scanning lidars and imaging spectrometers over mountain watersheds to deliver basin-wide snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and snow albedo data products. These measurements feed into the iSNOBAL snowpack model and WRF-Hydro hydrologic model to produce daily-to-seasonal snowmelt runoff forecasts for water management agencies, irrigation districts, and hydroelectric operators.

Product overview

Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) Inc. offers a suite of products centered on airborne lidar and imaging spectrometer surveys to provide basin-scale snow water resource measurements. The core offering consists of airborne snowpack measurement services generating snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and snow albedo data products. These primary measurements feed into two key modeling modules: the iSNOBAL energy-balance snowpack model and the WRF-Hydro physically-based hydrologic model for runoff forecasting. All data processing leverages the company's exclusively licensed JPL-developed workflow. Customers access data through a dedicated login portal. The company has formed a strategic technical partnership with Esri for ArcGIS Enterprise integration of ASO products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Airborne Snowpack Measurement Services Contracted aerial surveys using scanning lidars (Riegl VQ-1560 II-S) and imaging spectrometers flown over mountain watersheds to capture basin-wide snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and snow albedo measurements for water management agencies and government entities.
• Snow Depth Data Products High-resolution lidar-derived snow depth measurements across entire mountain basins, generated from exclusive JPL data processing workflows for water management decision support.
• Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) Mapping Distributed basin-scale SWE measurements providing accurate quantification of water stored in mountain snowpack, enabling water resource management decisions for water supply planning and reservoir optimization.
• Snow Albedo/Reflectivity Data Snow surface reflectivity measurements derived from imaging spectrometer data, used to assess snowpack energy balance and melt rates for hydrologic modeling inputs.
• iSNOBAL Snowpack Modeling Service Energy-balance snowpack modeling service that assimilates ASO primary data products to continuously track snowpack states including temperature, liquid water content, melt flux, and remaining snow mass in each 50m grid cell for water management customers.
• WRF-Hydro Runoff Forecasting Service Physically-based hydrologic modeling service that uses ASO snow measurements through the WRF-Hydro modeling system to generate snowmelt runoff forecasts at daily to seasonal scales for water management decision support.
• Data Login Portal Customer-facing online portal for ASO customers to access delivered snow measurement and modeling data products.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EsricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with global GIS leader Esri. Integration of ASO's unique snowpack measurement and runoff modeling with Esri's ArcGIS Enterprise software and global reach enables powerful and accessible forecasting, data analysis, visualization, and operational management throughout global mountain systems.
• Dynamic AviationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Dynamic Aviation supports safe, reliable, and precise airborne operations required for watershed-wide snowpack measurement and agile runoff forecasting. Dynamic Aviation's specialized aircraft operations, experienced flight crews, and mission-focused aviation capabilities enable ASO's data collection across complex and remote mountain environments.
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with WRF-Hydro team of NCAR couples ASO snowpack measurements and physical process modeling with cutting-edge weather and hydrological modeling to provide end-to-end streamflow forecasting for snow-dominated mountain basins.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Planet Labs: Planet operates a large commercial constellation of earth-observation satellites delivering daily, high-resolution imagery and analytics to government and commercial customers. Like ASO, it monetizes geospatial intelligence for environmental, agricultural, and government use cases, although Planet's primary sensor modality is satellite optical imagery rather than airborne LiDAR/spectrometer.
• BlackSky Holdings: BlackSky provides on-demand satellite imagery and geospatial analytics, including environmental and infrastructure monitoring, to government and commercial customers. Comparable to ASO in delivering time-sensitive, spatially distributed environmental intelligence for decision support.
• EagleView: EagleView captures ultra-high-resolution aerial imagery and produces derived analytics for government, insurance, and infrastructure customers. Comparable as an aerial geospatial data provider monetizing derived measurement products rather than raw imagery.

Broad incumbents

• Woolpert: Woolpert is a large architecture, engineering, geospatial, and remote sensing firm offering aerial LiDAR, surveying, and mapping services to public and private clients. Comparable as an airborne LiDAR/surveying services provider with overlapping enterprise/government customer base.
• Maxar Technologies: Maxar is a large, publicly traded provider of high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial analytics serving defense, intelligence, and commercial markets. Comparable as a broad incumbent in earth observation and geospatial data products, though it focuses on satellite optical/radar rather than airborne snow-specific sensing.

Emerging players

• Near Space Labs: Near Space Labs operates stratospheric balloon-based imaging to deliver high-resolution aerial imagery and analytics on a frequent cadence. Comparable to ASO as an aerial geospatial data provider focused on recurring, distributed imagery products for enterprise and government customers.
• Descartes Labs: Descartes Labs builds geospatial analytics platforms that fuse satellite imagery with scientific models to deliver insights across agriculture, energy, and sustainability. Comparable to ASO in combining remote sensing data with physical models to produce decision-grade forecasts for resource management.
• KISTERS: KISTERS provides water data management software, hydrological forecasting tools, and environmental monitoring platforms used by utilities, agencies, and research institutions. Comparable as a water intelligence vendor serving similar government water management customers, though focused on software/data platforms rather than airborne sensing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/airbornesnow
• Facebookfacebook.com/airbornesnow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/airborne-snow-observatories
• Instagraminstagram.com/airbornesnow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Airborne Snow Observatories