Heat and Mass Transfer in Snow

Snow and firn (snow that is more than one year old) are dynamic and complicated media, and feedbacks in heat and mass transfer mechanisms affect both the nature of the snow microstructure itself and the very processes of change. Snow microstructure plays a key role in snow and firn behavior on many scales. Often the large-scale behavior or appearance of snow is due to its small-scale properties. For example, avalanches are launched because of weak hoar layers, and remotely sensed data from satellites orbiting the planet are sensitive to snow crystal type and size.

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Scientist sampling snow in Antarctica