Density Variations in Alpine Snow
Abstract Stratigraphic studies of the annual snow layer in the Beartooth Mountains of south-western Montana and on Mount Logan in the St. Elias Range have disclosed a similiar distribution of at least one physical property of the snow pack in the two areas. The average density of the pack, obtained...
Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1967
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000019717 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000019717 |
Summary: | Abstract Stratigraphic studies of the annual snow layer in the Beartooth Mountains of south-western Montana and on Mount Logan in the St. Elias Range have disclosed a similiar distribution of at least one physical property of the snow pack in the two areas. The average density of the pack, obtained by integrating a series of measurements taken at 5–10 cm. vertical intervals over the total thickness of the annual layer, reaches a maximum value near a mid-point of the total elevation covered by each traverse and decreases linearly toward the elevation extremes. A preliminary hypothesis, relating the distribution of average snow-density values along slopes to a semi-stable zonation of near-surface air temperatures, is presented. |
---|