Spatial variability of micropenetration resistance in snow layers on a small slope

The mechanisms leading to dry-snow slab release are influenced by the three-dimensional variability of the snow cover. We measured 113 profiles of penetration resistance with a snow micropenetrometer on an alpine snow slope. Seven distinct layers were visually identified in all snow micropenetrometer profiles. The penetration resistance of adjacent layers did not change abruptly, but gradually across layer boundaries that were typically 2 mm thick. In two layers, penetration resistance varied around 200% over the grid, possibly due to wind effects during or after layer deposition. Penetration resistance varied around 25%in five layers. Statistically significant slope-scale linear trends were found for all layers. The semivariogram was used to describe the spatial variation. Penetration resistance was autocorrelated, but the scale of variation was layer-specific. A buried layer of surface hoar was the most critical weak layer. It had little spatial variation. The layers in the slab above had higher spatial variation. The penetration resistance of each snow layer had distinct geostatistical properties, caused by the depositional processes

Formation processes in the Antarctic snow and superficial firn

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OG] 地圏11月16日（月）　国立極地研究所３階セミナー

Albedo of firn and bare ice near the Trans-Antarctic Mountains to represent sea-glaciers on the tropical ocean of Snowball Earth

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OM] 極域気水圏11月16日（月）　統計数理研究所 セミナー室2（D304

Effects of Bark Beetle Attacks on Forest Snowpack and Avalanche Formation – Implications for Protection Forest Management

Healthy, dense forests growing in avalanche terrain reduce the likelihood of slab avalanche release by inhibiting the formation of continuous snow layers and weaknesses in the snowpack. Driven by climate change, trends towards more frequent and severe bark beetle disturbances have already resulted in the death of millions of hectares of forest in North America and central Europe, affecting snowpack in mountain forests and potentially reducing their protective capacity against avalanches. We examined the spatial variability in snow stratigraphy, i.e., the characteristic layering of the snowpack, by repeatedly measuring vertical profiles of snow penetration resistance with a digital snow micro penetrometer (SMP) along 10- and 20-m transects in a spruce beetle-infested Engelmann spruce forest in Utah, USA. Three study plots were selected characterizing different stages within a spruce beetle outbreak cycle: non-infested/green, infested \u3e 3 years ago/gray stage, and salvage-logged. A fourth plot was installed in a non-forested meadow as the control. Based on our SMP measurements and a layer matching algorithm, we quantified the spatial variability in snow stratigraphy, and tested which forest, snow and/or meteorological conditions influenced differences between our plots using linear mixed effects models. Our results showed that spatial variability in snow stratigraphy was best explained by the percentage of canopy covering a transect (R2 = 0.71, p \u3c 0.001), and that only 14% of the variance was explained by the stage within the outbreak cycle. That is, differences between green and gray stage stands did not depend much on the reduction in needle mass, but spatial variability in snow stratigraphy increased significantly with increasing forest canopy cover. At both study plots, a more heterogeneous snow stratigraphy developed, which translates to disrupted and discontinuous snow layers and, therefore, reduced avalanche formation. We attribute this to the effect that small fine branches and twigs still present in the canopy of gray stage trees have on snow interception and unloading, and especially on canopy drip. In contrast, salvage logging that reduced the canopy cover to ∼25%, led to a spatially less variable and similar snow stratigraphy as observed in the meadow. At these two study plots, a homogeneous snow stratigraphy consisting of distinct vertical and continuous slope-parallel soft and hard snow layers including weak layers had formed, a condition which is generally more prone to avalanche release. Our findings therefore emphasize advantages of leaving dead trees in place, especially in protection forests where bark beetle populations have reached epidemic levels

Determination of the macroscopic optical properties of snow based on exact morphology and direct pore-level heat transfer modeling

[1] A multiscale methodology for the determination of the macroscopic optical properties of snow is presented. It consists of solving the coupled volume-averaged radiative transfer equations for two semi-transparent phases - ice and air - by Monte Carlo ray tracing in an infinite slab via direct pore-level simulations on the exact 3D microstructure obtained by computed tomography. The overall reflectance and transmittance are computed for slabs of five characteristic snow types subjected to collimated and diffuse incident radiative flux for wavelengths 0.3-3 μm. The effect of simplifying the snow microstructure and/or the radiative transfer model is elucidated by comparing our results to (i) a homogenized radiation model and considering a particulate medium made of optical equivalent grain size spheres (DISORT), or (ii) a multiphase radiation model considering a packed bed of identical overlapping semi-transparent spheres. The calculations are experimentally validated by transmittance measurements. Significant differences in the macroscopic optical properties are observed when simplifying the snow morphology and the heat transfer model (i.e., homogenized versus multiphase). The proposed approach allows - in addition to determine macroscopic optical properties based on the exact morphology and obtained by advanced heat transfer model - for detailed understanding of radiative heat transfer in snow layers at the pore-scale level. © 2012. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved