Item: Evolution of the early season snow cover in the colorado rockies
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Title: Evolution of the early season snow cover in the colorado rockies
Proceedings: Proceedings of the 2004 International Snow Science Workshop, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Authors: Hal Hartman, Snowmass, Colorado
Date: 2004
Abstract: Thirty years of empirical evidence gathered in the Colorado Rockies suggest the frequent development of three distinct layers embedded within the basal layer of the snow cover. Although these layers consist exclusively of depth hoar formed at high growth rates under the influence of strong temperature gradients, on occasion they have appeared independent of initial deposition characteristics. That is, despite the influence of atmospheric conditions on crystal structure during precipitation, a predictable snow cover stratigraphy evolves. In support of empirical evidence, a decade of ram resistance profiles recovered from a high elevation snow study site has been normalized such that a single composite ram resistance profile results. Furthermore, I consider the early season snow cover as a system in thermal and diffusive contact and construct a simple vapor transport model which mimics the aforementioned findings.
Presenters: Unknown
Keywords: predictable, normalized, composite ram profile, kinetic metamorphism
Subjects: seasonal snow cover metamorphism snow stratigraphy
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Digital Abstract Not Available
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