Item: Spatial Variability of the Snowpack: Experiences with Measurements at a Wide Range of Length Scales With Several Different High Precision Instruments
-
-
Title: Spatial Variability of the Snowpack: Experiences with Measurements at a Wide Range of Length Scales With Several Different High Precision Instruments
Proceedings: Proceedings of the 2006 International Snow Science Workshop, Telluride, Colorado
Authors:
- Hans Peter Marshall [ Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder ] [ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory ]
- Gary Koh [ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory ]
- Matthew Sturm [ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory ]
- Jerome Johnson [ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory ]
- Mike Demuth [ Glaciology Section, Geological Survey of Canada ]
- Chris Landry [ Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies ]
- Jeff Deems [ Watershed Sciences, Colorado State University ]
- Andy Gleason [ Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming ]
Date: 2006
Abstract: Snow exhibits an extremely wide range of material properties over both short spatial as well as temporal scales compared with most other materials. Recent increases in resolution, precision, and speed of quantitative, state-of-the-art snow science instruments have made detailed measurements covering a wide range of length scales possible in a reasonable length of time. New automated unbiased measurements allow direct quantitative comparisons between measurements made by different observers, and allow 10-1000 times more data points to be collected when compared with manual measurements. This increase in data is necessary for understanding spatial variability at a wide range of length scales, due to the highly variable nature of snow. Data from three hi-tech snow science instruments (radar, penetrometer, and an automatic depth probe) collected in alpine, polar, and sea-ice snowpacks indicate that the degree of spatial variability varies widely depending on both environmental conditions and the resolution of the instrument used.
Object ID: issw-2006-359-364.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Unknown
Keywords: spatial variability, radar, penetrometer, snow depth, snow instrumentation
Page Number(s): 359-364
Subjects: spatial variability snow depth snowpack
-