Snow drifting and the use of snow fences

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Authors: Pugh, H. Li. D., Price, W. I. J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1954
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400042753; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400042753

In regions periodically subjected to falls of snow, major obstacles to the movement of men and vehicles are caused rather by the formation of drifts than by the uniform deposition of snow. Even in countries where snow-fall is not heavy, drifting can occasionally cause a breakdown of transport over a large area. Drifts form when snow-bearing winds meet obstacles which cause eddies in the wind stream and a local reduction in wind speed. The snow is deposited out of the wind stream into these regions of comparative calm, and the process continues for as long as an obstacle is effective in reducing wind speed.