Research on the Evolution of Snow Crystal Necks and the Effect on Hardness during Snowpack Metamorphism

• Published in: Water (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 48
• Main Authors: Wei, Jie, Lu, Peng, Hu, Shengbo, Zhao, Qiuming, Yuan, Shunqi, Huo, Puzhen, Wang, Qingkai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2024
• Subjects: Climate change; Cold; Cryosphere; Crystals; Deformation; Growth models; hardness; Ice; Mechanical properties; Metamorphism; Metamorphism (Geology); microstructure; Morphology; neck growth; Physical properties; Radiation; Rocks, Metamorphic; Sensors; Snow; Snow crystals; Temperature; Winter; China; United States > US; Songhua River
• ISSN: 2073-4441; 2073-4441
• DOI: 10.3390/w16010048

To study the snow microstructure at various metamorphism times and extract the snow neck area, a constant density (200 kg/m3) snow metamorphism experiment was conducted. The findings show that the neck region is mostly influenced by temperature, sun radiation, snow density and specific humidity, with wind speed having little effect. Additionally, we developed a multiple linear regression equation for the neck area under atmospheric forcing: “S = 288T + 2E + 189ρ + 12,194V − 20,443RH − 42,729”. This equation accounts for solar radiation (E), temperature (T), snow density (ρ), specific humidity (RH) and wind speed (V). Notably, the above five factors can account for 84% of the factors affecting the neck area, making it a crucial factor. The relationship between snow hardness and neck area is correlated at 71%, and in later stages of metamorphism, the correlation may increase to 91%. Based on the neck area, the following hardness value prediction is made: “H = 0.002764S + 67.922837”. This study documents the growth variations in the neck region of the metamorphic snow cover and elucidates the process by which outside factors impact the microstructure and macroscopic physical characteristics of the snow cover.