Item: QUANTITATIVE AND FAST SNOWPACK STRATIGRAPHY: THE SNOW LIGHT OPTICAL PROBE (SLOPE)
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Title: QUANTITATIVE AND FAST SNOWPACK STRATIGRAPHY: THE SNOW LIGHT OPTICAL PROBE (SLOPE)
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2024, Tromsø, Norway
Authors:
- Marco Potenza [ Department of Physics - University of Milano ] [ CIMaINa - University of Milano ]
- Claudio Artoni [ EuroCold Lab., Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano – Bicocca ]
- Valter Maggi [ EuroCold Lab., Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano – Bicocca ]
Date: 2024-09-23
Abstract: The snowpack is a mixture of ice crystals, liquid water, water vapor, air, and other compounds and particles. To understand the metamorphic processes and to evaluate the avalanche danger a stratigraphic study is usually carried out. Each layer is characterized by parameters like shape and size of the grains, hardness and water content. Characterizing the stratigraphy of the snowpack is time-consuming, exposes the operator to danger and the results are influenced by knowledge and skills of the operator. In order to meet the need of rapid and quantitative analyses of the snowpack we developed a specific method and device based on the statistical information contained within the time fluctuations of the backscattered light from the snow illuminated by a light source passing through. The probe aims to become an easy and fast method to characterize snow coverage. It has been custom-made at the Instrumental Optics Laboratory of the University of Milan, validated at the EuroCold Lab of the University of Milano – Bicocca and preliminarily tested in alpine and arctic environments with different types of snow. The probe is inserted into the snowpack while a sensor measures the intensity fluctuations of the diffuse radiation coming from a limited range of directions after being scattered by the snow grains. Light is sent into and received from the snowpack through optical windows. The propagation of the radiation is affected by the inhomogeneities of the snowpack given by the size, shape and composition of snow. The analysis of time series of intensity and the corresponding fluctuations provides information about the inhomogeneities of the intensity within the snowpack, therefore a relation with the inhomogeneities of the snowpack. We believe that SLOPE will be important for future analyses of the snow coverage, allowing correlations among multiple sites, speeding up operations and reducing the risk exposure in both alpine and polar environments. In the EuroCold Lab a team of experts is ready to get into the field to carry on measurements in all conditions such as snowstorms, deposition of mineral dust, overheating of the snow cover or rain on snow phenomena.
Object ID: ISSW2024_O8.9.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Marco Potenza
Keywords: snowpack, snowpit, optical methods
Page Number(s): 1049 - 1053
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