A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow
Abstract A theory is developed to describe the vertical percolation of water in isothermal snow. The general theory of Darcian flow is reviewed to establish a reasonable physical basis for the construction of a model. It is shown that in simple gravity drainage, capillarity is negligible compared wi...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1972
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000022346 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000022346 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000022346 2024-10-13T14:08:39+00:00 A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow Colbeck, S. C. 1972 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000022346 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000022346 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 11, issue 63, page 369-385 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 1972 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000022346 2024-09-25T04:01:26Z Abstract A theory is developed to describe the vertical percolation of water in isothermal snow. The general theory of Darcian flow is reviewed to establish a reasonable physical basis for the construction of a model. It is shown that in simple gravity drainage, capillarity is negligible compared with gravity since values of water saturation are generally in the “mid-range”. It is postulated that the permeability to the water phase increases as a certain function of the water saturation, and porosity is assumed to decrease linearly with depth. Ice layers and other inhomogeneities are treated in the theory by considering the permeability of the snow with the inhomogeneities included. A method by which this value of permeability can be calculated is presented using the method of characteristics. The theory is applied to the Seward Glacier firn where Sharp measured water fluxes at various depths. A periodic surface flux is assumed and the particular solution for water flux at any depth is given. From this solution the wave forms passing each depth are constructed and compared with the measured ones. Although the experimental data are affected by the presence of ice layers, the comparison between theory and experiment is favorable and the theory is thought to be essentially correct. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Seward Glacier ENVELOPE(-140.304,-140.304,60.266,60.266) Journal of Glaciology 11 63 369 385 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract A theory is developed to describe the vertical percolation of water in isothermal snow. The general theory of Darcian flow is reviewed to establish a reasonable physical basis for the construction of a model. It is shown that in simple gravity drainage, capillarity is negligible compared with gravity since values of water saturation are generally in the “mid-range”. It is postulated that the permeability to the water phase increases as a certain function of the water saturation, and porosity is assumed to decrease linearly with depth. Ice layers and other inhomogeneities are treated in the theory by considering the permeability of the snow with the inhomogeneities included. A method by which this value of permeability can be calculated is presented using the method of characteristics. The theory is applied to the Seward Glacier firn where Sharp measured water fluxes at various depths. A periodic surface flux is assumed and the particular solution for water flux at any depth is given. From this solution the wave forms passing each depth are constructed and compared with the measured ones. Although the experimental data are affected by the presence of ice layers, the comparison between theory and experiment is favorable and the theory is thought to be essentially correct. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Colbeck, S. C. |
spellingShingle |
Colbeck, S. C. A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow |
author_facet |
Colbeck, S. C. |
author_sort |
Colbeck, S. C. |
title |
A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow |
title_short |
A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow |
title_full |
A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow |
title_fullStr |
A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Theory of Water Percolation in Snow |
title_sort |
theory of water percolation in snow |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1972 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000022346 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000022346 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-140.304,-140.304,60.266,60.266) |
geographic |
Seward Glacier |
geographic_facet |
Seward Glacier |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 11, issue 63, page 369-385 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000022346 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
63 |
container_start_page |
369 |
op_container_end_page |
385 |
_version_ |
1812815372484608000 |