The term snow is usually restricted to material that fall during precipitation in the form of small white ice crystals formed directly from the water vapour of the air at a temperature of less than 0°C and has not changed much since it fell. A fall of snow on a glacier surface is the first step in the formation of glacier ice, a process that is often long and complex (Cuffey and Paterson, 2010). The transformation of snow to ice occurs in the top layers of the glaciers and the time of the transformation depends mostly on the temperature. Snow develops into ice much more rapidly on Temperate glaciers, where periods of melting alternate with periods when wet snow refreezes, than in Polar glaciers, where the temperature remains well below the freezing point throughout the year. The density of new snow as it falls on glacier surface depends mostly on the weather conditions. In clam conditions, the density of new snow is ρs ≈ 50 – 70 kg m-3 (Table 1.1). If it is windy, there is breaking of the corners of snowflakes, and the density is more like ρs ≈ 100 kg m-3. After the snow has fallen on the surface, there are three processes that are all active together and work to transform the snow to ice. …show more content…
These processes are - (i) Packing / Settling: The packing involves further breaking of snowflakes (wind-blown surface layer), and settling of snow crystals round. (ii) Thermodynamic Processes: The thermodynamic processes aim at minimizing the free energy by reducing the surface area of snowflake and these processes are highly dependent on temperature (as long as the temperature is below 0°C).
Since, a sphere has the smallest surface area for a given volume; this process makes the snow crystal round (Fig. 1.2 A). The higher the curvature is the less stable grain. In this process, the larger grains grow but smaller ones disappear. When these processes have acted on the snowpack, the grains are mostly sphere of nearly equal size, and the density is ρs ≈ 400 – 830 kg m-3 (Table 1.1). This stage of material refers to the intermediate stages of transformation as firn, wetted snow that has survived one summer without being transformed to
ice. (iii) Deformation Under Load: Under load conditions due to pressure, sintering process occurs (compressing particles into a coherent solid body). During this process, the spheres are bonded together where they touch and air is trapped inside bubbles (Fig. 1.2 B). In glacier ice, air is present as bubbles and compression of these bubbles largely accounts for further increases of density. This stage is known as glacier ice having the density ρi ≈ 830 -923 kg m-3 (Table 1.1). The difference between firn and ice is clear; firn becomes glacier ice when the interconnecting air- or water-filled passageways between the grains are sealed off, a process known as pore close off. (A grain may be a single crystal or an aggregate of several.) This occurs at a density of about 830 kg m-3. Under load there is continuous deformation, and ice slowly reaches ρi ~ 917 kg m-3. In this state, the bubbles change from triangular shape, at triple junctions, to spherical, but the flow of ice can make them elliptical.
A good description of a glacier is given by Jim Wickwire in his book “Addicted to Danger.” In it he says, “A glacier is not a fixed, solid thing. It flows like a river, with currents, some parts smooth, others rough” (Wickwire, 1998, p. 1). This happens to go along with Webster’s definition, in that a glacier must be moving, either because of gravity or because it’s spreading out underneath itself due to additional accumulations. (Meeriam-Webster, 2000, p. 493).
The concept of lake-effect snow is rather simple. It starts when cold arctic air from Canada moves southwest across the great lakes, which are warmer than the air. As the air moves across the lakes evaporation occurs. The moist air is cooled as it is lifted up and then turned into snow. This snow does not stop until the cold arctic winds stop drifting across the lakes. Hills and valleys on the shore of the lakes intensify the amount of snow an area receives. The shore of the lakes as well as, any hills or valleys, cause the masses of moist air to slow down and “pile up”.
Lake effect snow is a very interesting mesoscale convective phenomenon that occurs mostly during the heart of the winter season and adds greatly to the annual snowfall that areas
Blizzards are formed when the difference between the lower pressure in the storm and the higher pressure to the west creates a tight pressure gradient, or a difference in pressure in two locations, which in turn leads to very high winds. These strong winds pick up snow from the ground, or blow any snow that is falling, can then cause the significant drifting of snow (“Blizzards”).
- The snow compresses to become ice and flows through the glacier into the ablation zone where it is lost.
"Snow Storms: What's a Blizzard." Forces of Nature: TQ 2000. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .
In the movie Touching the Void, it starts off by two people named Joe Simpson and Simon Yates that go to Peru to climb the Siula Grande Mountains. The ranges of those mountains haven’t been climbed and those who have tried to climb them, failed. Simpson and Yates tried to climb the glacier even though they knew the risks. A glacier is made up of fallen snow that has been accumulated throughout the years and it forms into a large and thick ice masses. It’s where the snow remains that have been remained in a certain are for long periods of time and it transforms into ice. The type of glacier that they climbed was a confined glacier. The glacier was a depositional, because when Simpson was walking towards the campsite where Yates was, he had to pass through the moraines, where it’s a formed accumulation of glacial debris in which consist of soil and rocks.
...this information in a concise and understandable manner which can be used by resource managers and policy makers will be the challenge of scientists. The studies presented here illustrate the uncertainties that may arise when analyzing ice core data and the importance in adequately interpreting and analyzing information obtained from glacial deposits.
Love is seen as the greatest feeling of all; it brings people of all types and places together. Love is also a destructive force, wars have torn people apart all in the name of love. The book Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier is a story of two young lovers trying to get back to each other in the time of the Civil War, and the people and experiences they face. Love has an important role to play for many of these characters. It takes many forms in this story, from the love of a father to the love of a land; these types of passions define a character's life and its outcome. The love of three characters in particular is especially powerful, it is the type of love that sends someone on a journey and gives someone the resolution to wait and to hope.
Weather Modification (WM) began in the mid 1940s with three scientists at the General Electric Laboratory. Vincent Schaefer, Bernard Vonnegut, and Irving Langmuir conducted various experiments in precipitation management. Their studies showed that the use of dry ice and silver iodide in supercooled stratus clouds acted as “seeds” for rain and snow making. Simply put, seeding is the introduction of crystalline particles into a cloud to create ice crystals and water droplets that will become precipitation (Bridget, 51). These first series of experiments encouraged new rain enhancement and hail prevention projects throughout the world (List, 51).
My whole life, I have been presented to a single element called change. Change occurs in many different forms and is carried out in many different ways. However, just recently, I have come to the realization that change can be the deepest of all subjects. I always assumed that change occured when you moved to a new town or when you lost someone close to you. Those are elements to change, yes, but change doesn't have to occur over a single dramatic event. It can just happen overnight when your brain determines it's time to do something different.
Warm light peeks through the blinds on my window When I open my eyes. My feet hit the ground As I jump out of bed, And like the radiant sunlight, I peek through the window. I see white Everywhere.
I am the kind of person who likes to be in an environment that doesn’t change to often. I’m not a fan of jumping into something new. Adapting to change is one of the hardest things for me and it is the one thing that I need to work on the most. Change happens all around us every day and I need to learn how to deal with it. Change can be good. Change can be bad. It’s just what I’m going to have to work on to become a better leader.
Glaciers are more or less permanent bodies of ice and compacted snow that have become deep enough and heavy enough to flow under their own weight. Glaciers require very specific climatic conditions. Glaciers develop where the temperatures are cold enough to allow the snow to accumulate and compacted. Most are found in regions of high snowfall in winter and cool temperatures in summer. These conditions ensure that the snow that accumulates in the winter isn't lost (by melt, evaporation, or calving) during the summer. Such conditions typically prevail in polar and high alpine regions. There are two main types of glaciers: valley glaciers and continental glaciers (Armstrong).
There are many steps in this process. In the article "Air Temperature," Walker explains that water has to evaporate from earth and go up into the atmosphere. When the water is in the atmosphere, water vapor turns from gas to solid. Lastly, ice crystals form around dust particles. After that step they are ready to fall! Many different things have to happen for snowflakes to form, but they sure are worth