Sublimation or Melting: Observations from the White Mountains, California and Nevada,U.S.A.

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Author: Beaty, Chester B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1975
• Subjects: Earth-Surface Processes; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000021766; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000021766

Study of the waning snow-pack along the crest of the White Mountains of California and Nevada in 1970 and 1974 indicates that a significant proportion of the high-altitude snow in the range sublimates and/or evaporates shortly after melting. Qualitative and limited quantitative evidence suggest that the amount of snow thus disposed of may be as much as 50-80% of the total springtime pack. Meteorological observations in the White Mountains demonstrate that atmospheric conditions particularly favorable for effective sublimation/evaporation are common in May and June, the main ablation period in the mountains. The general lack of evidence of surficial erosion on slopes above 3 500 m, often supposed to be wide-spread and caused by so-called "snow-melt" runoff, is therefore readily explained-there is little "snow-melt" erosion simply because there is only limited snow-melt.