Metamorphism of Air Bubbles in a Snow Crystal

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Maeno, Norikazu, Kuroiwa, Daisuke
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1967
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000019778; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000019778

Résumé Observations have been made of the modification produced by a temperature gradient in the shape of air bubbles in natural snow crystals, and also of the shrinkage of the bubbles with time. The rate of shrinkage is governed by a constant which is strongly temperature dependent with an activation energy of about 15.1 kcal./mole, a value sufficiently similar to the activation energy for diffusion of tritium, dielectric relaxation and mechanical relaxation to suggest that atomic diffusion processes may be responsible for all of these phenomena.