Snow depth and snow density at Resolute Northwest Territories

Observations of the snow depth at 21 sites at Resolute were made twice weekly during the winter of 1957-58. As a result of these observations and of other observations on snow made for the National Research Council, it is shown that the snow depth and the water content of the snow did not continue t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Longley, Richmond, W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 1960
Subjects:
Online Access:https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/ft/?id=dd72bb22-8e6a-48f6-97ac-0e83f7553ff5
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Description
Summary:Observations of the snow depth at 21 sites at Resolute were made twice weekly during the winter of 1957-58. As a result of these observations and of other observations on snow made for the National Research Council, it is shown that the snow depth and the water content of the snow did not continue to increase during the winter as the snow fell. Rather the strong winds eroded the snow surface and the increase in depth was irregular and relatively slow. Furthermore, the observations on the density of the snow cover lead to the conclusion that attempts to measure the density in similar regions with accuracy greater than 0.05 g. c m.-3 are not warranted. Pendant l'hiver 1957-58 on a pris des mesures deux fois par semaine de l'épaisseur de laneige a 21 endroits a Resolute. Par suite de ces observations et d'autres observations de la neige faites pour le Conseil National de Recherches, on a pu montrer que l'épaisseur et la valeur en eau de la neige n'allaient pas croissant pendant l'hiver au fur et a mesure des précipitations. II semble plutôt que des vents forts ont érode la surface de la neige de sorte que l'épaisseur s'augmentait de manière irrégulière et relativement lente. De plus. des observations de la densité de la couche neigeuse laissent conclure qu'aucun essai de mesure de la densité dans les régions analogues a un degré de précision supérieur a 0,5 g cm-3 ne puisse être valable. Reprinted from Journal of Glaciology, vol. 3, no. 28, October 1960 pp. 733-738 Peer reviewed: Yes NRC publication: Yes