Environmental conditions for snow cornice formation in a wind tunnel

• Main Authors: Yu, H., Li, G., Walter, B., Michael, L., Zhang, J., Huang, N.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Gruvefjellet; Svalbard
• Online Access: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5016693

Snow cornices are common snow patterns in mountain ridge, which have potential to trigger snow avalanches. In this work, we present a series of wind tunnel experiments in a cold laboratory to simulate the formation processes of snow cornices. We quantitatively investigated the growth rates of snow cornice in length and in thickness, as well as the airborne particle concentration by using a COMOS camera. From a micro view, we also observed the snow particle trajectory that can stick on the edge and form the cornice through high-speed camera. Based on the experimental results, we explained the mechanism of the formation and development of snow cornices, and the effects of the environmental factors on the cornice growth such as air temperature, wind speed. A conceptual model that can predict the horizontal growth rate of snow cornice in field is established. Our predicted results are in good agreement with the field observation data from Gruvefjellet, Svalbard. Based on the physics of drifting snow, our results provide a new insight into snow cornice formation and improve the understanding of cornice processes that can influence avalanche activities. The experimental results and the conceptual model can be useful in future snow cornice simulation and prediction work for cornice-induced avalanches.