Item: Red Snow: killer of the snowpack stability?
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Title: Red Snow: killer of the snowpack stability?
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2018, Innsbruck, Austria
Authors:
- Valt Mauro [ AINEVA, Trento Italy ] [ ARPAV -Avalanche Centre Arabba, Italy ]
- Maria Cristina Prola [ AINEVA, Trento Italy ] [ ARPA Piemonte. Torino, Italy ]
Date: 2018-10-07
Abstract: The presence of dusty sand from the Sahara desert in precipitations over Central- Southern Europe is a frequent phenomenon. These pockets of dust have also been found in the core samples taken from Alpine glaciers and they frequently give snow a red colour. At first sight, this colour may be confused with that produced by unicellular algae of type Chlamydococcus nivalis. The presence of dust on the surface of snowpack reduces the reflectance of snow, accelerating the process of melting and driving the formation of surface layers, made principally of melt forms that, with subsequent freezing, turn rapidly into crusts. These crusts, once incorporated in a snowpack, and under certain conditions, seem to facilitate the formation of thin, weak layers of faceted crystals, increasing snowpack instability. This article describes the historic events observed through the ages from a meteorological perspective, covering some of the important events involved in the formation of dust deposits in the Southern Alps and their effects upon snowpack stability.
Object ID: ISSW2018_P10.32.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s):
Keywords: Snow cover, Snow crystals, Chlamydococcus nivalis, stability, red snow
Page Number(s): 1006-1010
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