Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A.
Abstract The transition from a dry, sub-freezing snow cover to isothermal snow freely conducting water was observed near timberline in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. Although there were few major stratigraphic boundaries in the snowpacks observed, minor textural discontinuities were sufficien...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1999
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300000126x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300000126X |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s002214300000126x 2024-10-13T14:08:39+00:00 Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. Kattelmann, Richard Dozier, Jeff 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300000126x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300000126X en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 151, page 409-416 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 1999 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s002214300000126x 2024-09-18T04:03:58Z Abstract The transition from a dry, sub-freezing snow cover to isothermal snow freely conducting water was observed near timberline in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. Although there were few major stratigraphic boundaries in the snowpacks observed, minor textural discontinuities were sufficient to both route water laterally downslope and later create ice layers at these strata. During the first few days of snowmelt, downslope movement of water parallel to the strata allowed water to bypass lower layers of the snow cover on slopes and converge in microtopographic depressions on level terrain, creating isolated drains through the snowpack. In addition to these drains, flow fingers associated with holes in the ice sheets delivered water to the base of the snow several days prior to the thorough wetting of the snowpack. Formation of a series of ice lenses just below the snow surface every night released much more latent heat than did ice-layer development within the bulk of the snowpack or at its base. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 45 151 409 416 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract The transition from a dry, sub-freezing snow cover to isothermal snow freely conducting water was observed near timberline in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. Although there were few major stratigraphic boundaries in the snowpacks observed, minor textural discontinuities were sufficient to both route water laterally downslope and later create ice layers at these strata. During the first few days of snowmelt, downslope movement of water parallel to the strata allowed water to bypass lower layers of the snow cover on slopes and converge in microtopographic depressions on level terrain, creating isolated drains through the snowpack. In addition to these drains, flow fingers associated with holes in the ice sheets delivered water to the base of the snow several days prior to the thorough wetting of the snowpack. Formation of a series of ice lenses just below the snow surface every night released much more latent heat than did ice-layer development within the bulk of the snowpack or at its base. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kattelmann, Richard Dozier, Jeff |
spellingShingle |
Kattelmann, Richard Dozier, Jeff Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. |
author_facet |
Kattelmann, Richard Dozier, Jeff |
author_sort |
Kattelmann, Richard |
title |
Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. |
title_short |
Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. |
title_full |
Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. |
title_fullStr |
Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations of snowpack ripening in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A. |
title_sort |
observations of snowpack ripening in the sierra nevada, california, u.s.a. |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002214300000126x https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002214300000126X |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 151, page 409-416 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s002214300000126x |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
151 |
container_start_page |
409 |
op_container_end_page |
416 |
_version_ |
1812815371618484224 |