The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

On the saltation of fresh snow in a wind tunnel: profile characterization and single particle statistics

On the saltation of fresh snow in a wind tunnel: profile characterization and single particle statistics
On the saltation of fresh snow in a wind tunnel: profile characterization and single particle statistics
We present experimental results on the snow drift in a turbulent boundary layer over a flat fresh snow-covered surface. Vertical profiles of mass flux and of the distribution of particle diameters were obtained by means of a pair of Snow Particle Counters parallel with measurements of the stream-wise velocity profile. The aim of the paper is to discuss current parameterizations of the vertical mass flux profile for fresh snow and to investigate the range of timescales involved in a developing saltation layer occurring in a turbulent boundary layer. The novelty of the work consists of using an intact fresh snow cover as an erodible surface able to provide realistic snow crystals as drifting particles. Results show that (1) the parameters scaling the vertical mass flux profiles of fresh snow can significantly differ from those given in the literature for ice or compacted snow particles; (2) though drifting snow covers an extremely wide range of temporal scales, the mean time interval between saltating particles ??t ? is the key timescale of the saltation process; (3) ??t ? allows for the optimal reconstruction of the mass flux as a continuous signal and for neglecting the effects related to the heterogeneous distribution of particle size on the mass flux. Implications on the modeling of snow drift and on the processing of field observations are discussed
0148-0227
F03024-[13pp]
Guala, M.
f5c0d890-4ebc-419e-8fad-00f765277195
Manes, C.
7d9d5123-4d1b-4760-beff-d82fe0bd0acf
Clifton, A.
33cd3a38-e433-47f3-aadf-d57c19f7255d
Lehning, M.
72ba397f-301c-476f-83b0-d37f7620731e
Guala, M.
f5c0d890-4ebc-419e-8fad-00f765277195
Manes, C.
7d9d5123-4d1b-4760-beff-d82fe0bd0acf
Clifton, A.
33cd3a38-e433-47f3-aadf-d57c19f7255d
Lehning, M.
72ba397f-301c-476f-83b0-d37f7620731e

Guala, M., Manes, C., Clifton, A. and Lehning, M. (2008) On the saltation of fresh snow in a wind tunnel: profile characterization and single particle statistics. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, F03024-[13pp]. (doi:10.1029/2007JF000975).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We present experimental results on the snow drift in a turbulent boundary layer over a flat fresh snow-covered surface. Vertical profiles of mass flux and of the distribution of particle diameters were obtained by means of a pair of Snow Particle Counters parallel with measurements of the stream-wise velocity profile. The aim of the paper is to discuss current parameterizations of the vertical mass flux profile for fresh snow and to investigate the range of timescales involved in a developing saltation layer occurring in a turbulent boundary layer. The novelty of the work consists of using an intact fresh snow cover as an erodible surface able to provide realistic snow crystals as drifting particles. Results show that (1) the parameters scaling the vertical mass flux profiles of fresh snow can significantly differ from those given in the literature for ice or compacted snow particles; (2) though drifting snow covers an extremely wide range of temporal scales, the mean time interval between saltating particles ??t ? is the key timescale of the saltation process; (3) ??t ? allows for the optimal reconstruction of the mass flux as a continuous signal and for neglecting the effects related to the heterogeneous distribution of particle size on the mass flux. Implications on the modeling of snow drift and on the processing of field observations are discussed

Text
Guala_et_al_2008.pdf - Version of Record
Download (1MB)

More information

Published date: 11 September 2008
Organisations: Energy & Climate Change Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 204107
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/204107
ISSN: 0148-0227
PURE UUID: 6655f54a-0193-47db-a8da-991531bafe77

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 24 Nov 2011 12:16
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:29

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: M. Guala
Author: C. Manes
Author: A. Clifton
Author: M. Lehning

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×