Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow
Increasing production of artificial snow in ski resorts is controversially discussed, but only few investigations have been carried out systematically to specify the environmental impacts. We measured snow depth and density from groomed ski pistes (runs) with compacted snow and their effects on grou...
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Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado
2004
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ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:62845 2024-06-23T07:48:03+00:00 Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow Rixen, C Haeberli, W Stoeckli, V 2004-11 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/62845/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/62845/1/Ground_Temperatures.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-62845 https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0419:GTUSPW]2.0.CO;2 eng eng Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/62845/1/Ground_Temperatures.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-62845 doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0419:GTUSPW]2.0.CO;2 urn:issn:1523-0430 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Rixen, C; Haeberli, W; Stoeckli, V (2004). Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 36(4):419-427. Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2004 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-6284510.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0419:GTUSPW]2.0.CO;2 2024-06-12T00:22:39Z Increasing production of artificial snow in ski resorts is controversially discussed, but only few investigations have been carried out systematically to specify the environmental impacts. We measured snow depth and density from groomed ski pistes (runs) with compacted snow and their effects on ground temperatures and timing of snowmelt. We analyzed groomed pistes with and without artificial snow (10 each) as well as adjacent ungroomed off-piste control plots beside the piste. On pistes with natural snow, the thin and compacted snow cover led to severe and long lasting seasonal soil frost. On pistes with artificial snow, soil frost occurred less frequently because of increased insulation due to the greater snow depth. However, due to the greater snow mass, the beginning of the snow-free season was delayed by more than 2 wk. Average winter ground temperatures under a continuous snow cover were decreased by approximately 1°C on both piste types compared with off-piste control plots. The results suggest that the heat balance of alpine soils is changed by both piste types, either by an extensive heat loss on pistes with natural snow or by prolonged snow cover on pistes with artificial snow. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel |
spellingShingle |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Rixen, C Haeberli, W Stoeckli, V Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow |
topic_facet |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel |
description |
Increasing production of artificial snow in ski resorts is controversially discussed, but only few investigations have been carried out systematically to specify the environmental impacts. We measured snow depth and density from groomed ski pistes (runs) with compacted snow and their effects on ground temperatures and timing of snowmelt. We analyzed groomed pistes with and without artificial snow (10 each) as well as adjacent ungroomed off-piste control plots beside the piste. On pistes with natural snow, the thin and compacted snow cover led to severe and long lasting seasonal soil frost. On pistes with artificial snow, soil frost occurred less frequently because of increased insulation due to the greater snow depth. However, due to the greater snow mass, the beginning of the snow-free season was delayed by more than 2 wk. Average winter ground temperatures under a continuous snow cover were decreased by approximately 1°C on both piste types compared with off-piste control plots. The results suggest that the heat balance of alpine soils is changed by both piste types, either by an extensive heat loss on pistes with natural snow or by prolonged snow cover on pistes with artificial snow. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rixen, C Haeberli, W Stoeckli, V |
author_facet |
Rixen, C Haeberli, W Stoeckli, V |
author_sort |
Rixen, C |
title |
Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow |
title_short |
Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow |
title_full |
Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow |
title_fullStr |
Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow |
title_sort |
ground temperatures under ski pistes with artificial and natural snow |
publisher |
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/62845/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/62845/1/Ground_Temperatures.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-62845 https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0419:GTUSPW]2.0.CO;2 |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic |
op_source |
Rixen, C; Haeberli, W; Stoeckli, V (2004). Ground Temperatures under Ski Pistes with Artificial and Natural Snow. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 36(4):419-427. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/62845/1/Ground_Temperatures.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-62845 doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0419:GTUSPW]2.0.CO;2 urn:issn:1523-0430 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-6284510.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0419:GTUSPW]2.0.CO;2 |
_version_ |
1802638444086689792 |