A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography
Abstract Liquid water at the ground–snow interface is thought to play a crucial role in the release of glide-snow avalanches, which can be massive and threaten infrastructure in alpine regions. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain the formation of this interfacial water. However, these...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/aog.2023.65 2024-06-09T07:38:26+00:00 A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography Lombardo, Michael Lehmann, Peter Kaestner, Anders Fees, Amelie Van Herwijnen, Alec Schweizer, Jürg 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305523000654 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Annals of Glaciology page 1-10 ISSN 0260-3055 1727-5644 journal-article 2023 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.65 2024-05-15T13:09:21Z Abstract Liquid water at the ground–snow interface is thought to play a crucial role in the release of glide-snow avalanches, which can be massive and threaten infrastructure in alpine regions. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain the formation of this interfacial water. However, these mechanisms remain poorly understood, in part because suitable measurement techniques are lacking. Here, we demonstrate the use of neutron radiography for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems. Columns of sand, gravel and snow were used to simulate the capillary forces of the soil–vegetation–snow layering found in nature. The columns were connected to a water reservoir to maintain a constant-pressure boundary condition and placed in a climatic chamber within the neutron beam. We show that neutron radiography is capable of measuring changes in the optical density distribution (related to liquid water content) within all three layers of the model system. Results suggest that a porous interface between the sand and snow may induce the formation of a water layer in the basal snowpack. Improved understanding of the water transport in soil–snow systems should lead to better prediction of glide-snow avalanche release and could also benefit other fields such as snow hydrology. Article in Journal/Newspaper Annals of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Annals of Glaciology 1 10 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Abstract Liquid water at the ground–snow interface is thought to play a crucial role in the release of glide-snow avalanches, which can be massive and threaten infrastructure in alpine regions. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain the formation of this interfacial water. However, these mechanisms remain poorly understood, in part because suitable measurement techniques are lacking. Here, we demonstrate the use of neutron radiography for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems. Columns of sand, gravel and snow were used to simulate the capillary forces of the soil–vegetation–snow layering found in nature. The columns were connected to a water reservoir to maintain a constant-pressure boundary condition and placed in a climatic chamber within the neutron beam. We show that neutron radiography is capable of measuring changes in the optical density distribution (related to liquid water content) within all three layers of the model system. Results suggest that a porous interface between the sand and snow may induce the formation of a water layer in the basal snowpack. Improved understanding of the water transport in soil–snow systems should lead to better prediction of glide-snow avalanche release and could also benefit other fields such as snow hydrology. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lombardo, Michael Lehmann, Peter Kaestner, Anders Fees, Amelie Van Herwijnen, Alec Schweizer, Jürg |
spellingShingle |
Lombardo, Michael Lehmann, Peter Kaestner, Anders Fees, Amelie Van Herwijnen, Alec Schweizer, Jürg A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
author_facet |
Lombardo, Michael Lehmann, Peter Kaestner, Anders Fees, Amelie Van Herwijnen, Alec Schweizer, Jürg |
author_sort |
Lombardo, Michael |
title |
A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
title_short |
A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
title_full |
A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
title_fullStr |
A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
title_full_unstemmed |
A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
title_sort |
method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.65 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305523000654 |
genre |
Annals of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Annals of Glaciology |
op_source |
Annals of Glaciology page 1-10 ISSN 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.65 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
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1 |
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10 |
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1801372927522766848 |