A Theory of the Consolidation of Snow

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Feldt, E. D., Ballard, G. E. H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1966
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000019134; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000019134

Abstract A consolidation theory is developed for an age-hardened snow under uniaxial stress in the porosity range of 35 to 55 per cent by considering one mechanism, viz. viscous flow of interparticle bonds. For a uniaxial stress σ the differential equation for porosity n in terms of time t is shown to be where a and ν are structural parameters and η is the coefficient of viscosity of ice. Comparison of this equation and the integrated form with existing data predicts consistent and reasonable values for a . The predicted values of η / ν range from 10 −2 to 10 2 times the published values for, η which may indicate that ν , and hence the consolidation rate, is greatly affected by the diagenetic history of the snow and the conditions of experimentation.