Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time
International audience Snow on the ground impacts climate through its high albedo and affects atmospheric composition through its ability to adsorb chemical compounds. The quantification of these effects requires the knowledge of the specific surface area (SSA) of snow and its rate of change. All re...
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ftunivsavoie:oai:HAL:insu-00420409v1 2024-05-12T08:11:55+00:00 Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time Domine, F. Taillandier, A.-S. Cabanes, A. Douglas, T.A. Sturm, M. Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE) Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) ERDC Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) USACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Chapman Chair funds, kindly supplied by Norbert Untersteiner, a grant from the French Polar Institute (IPEV) 2009 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/file/tc-3-31-2009.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 en eng HAL CCSD Copernicus info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 insu-00420409 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/file/tc-3-31-2009.pdf doi:10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 1994-0424 EISSN: 1994-0416 The Cryosphere https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409 The Cryosphere, 2009, 3 (1), pp.31-39. ⟨10.5194/tc-3-31-2009⟩ [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2009 ftunivsavoie https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 2024-04-18T00:27:53Z International audience Snow on the ground impacts climate through its high albedo and affects atmospheric composition through its ability to adsorb chemical compounds. The quantification of these effects requires the knowledge of the specific surface area (SSA) of snow and its rate of change. All relevant studies indicate that snow SSA decreases over time. Here, we report for the first time three cases where the SSA of snow increased over time. These are (1) the transformation of a melt-freeze crust into depth hoar, producing an increase in SSA from 3.4 to 8.8 m2 kg−1. (2) The mobilization of surface snow by wind, which reduced the size of snow crystals by sublimation and fragmented them. This formed a surface snow layer with a SSA of 61 m2 kg−1 from layers whose SSAs were originally 42 and 50 m2 kg−1. (3) The sieving of blowing snow by a snow layer, which allowed the smallest crystals to penetrate into open spaces in the snow, leading to an SSA increase from 32 to 61 m2 kg−1. We discuss that other mechanisms for SSA increase are possible. Overall, SSA increases are probably not rare. They lead to enhanced uptake of chemical compounds and to increases in snow albedo, and their inclusion in relevant chemical and climate models deserves consideration. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Université Savoie Mont Blanc: HAL The Cryosphere 3 1 31 39 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université Savoie Mont Blanc: HAL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivsavoie |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology |
spellingShingle |
[SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology Domine, F. Taillandier, A.-S. Cabanes, A. Douglas, T.A. Sturm, M. Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time |
topic_facet |
[SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology |
description |
International audience Snow on the ground impacts climate through its high albedo and affects atmospheric composition through its ability to adsorb chemical compounds. The quantification of these effects requires the knowledge of the specific surface area (SSA) of snow and its rate of change. All relevant studies indicate that snow SSA decreases over time. Here, we report for the first time three cases where the SSA of snow increased over time. These are (1) the transformation of a melt-freeze crust into depth hoar, producing an increase in SSA from 3.4 to 8.8 m2 kg−1. (2) The mobilization of surface snow by wind, which reduced the size of snow crystals by sublimation and fragmented them. This formed a surface snow layer with a SSA of 61 m2 kg−1 from layers whose SSAs were originally 42 and 50 m2 kg−1. (3) The sieving of blowing snow by a snow layer, which allowed the smallest crystals to penetrate into open spaces in the snow, leading to an SSA increase from 32 to 61 m2 kg−1. We discuss that other mechanisms for SSA increase are possible. Overall, SSA increases are probably not rare. They lead to enhanced uptake of chemical compounds and to increases in snow albedo, and their inclusion in relevant chemical and climate models deserves consideration. |
author2 |
Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE) Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) ERDC Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) USACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Chapman Chair funds, kindly supplied by Norbert Untersteiner, a grant from the French Polar Institute (IPEV) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Domine, F. Taillandier, A.-S. Cabanes, A. Douglas, T.A. Sturm, M. |
author_facet |
Domine, F. Taillandier, A.-S. Cabanes, A. Douglas, T.A. Sturm, M. |
author_sort |
Domine, F. |
title |
Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time |
title_short |
Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time |
title_full |
Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time |
title_fullStr |
Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time |
title_full_unstemmed |
Three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time |
title_sort |
three examples where the specific surface area of snow increased over time |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/file/tc-3-31-2009.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
ISSN: 1994-0424 EISSN: 1994-0416 The Cryosphere https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409 The Cryosphere, 2009, 3 (1), pp.31-39. ⟨10.5194/tc-3-31-2009⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 insu-00420409 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-00420409/file/tc-3-31-2009.pdf doi:10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-3-31-2009 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
31 |
op_container_end_page |
39 |
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1798834154419257344 |