A portable profiling snow gauge - results of field tests on glaciers

During the past two years a 'Digiray' portable profiling snow gauge used in conjunction with a Mt. Rose sampler has been tested for accuracy, reliablity and convenience on glaciers in Western Canada. There have been several small mechanical failures, but the electronics have on the whole proven reliable. The instrument has to be back-packed and this can be done conveniently if three men are available. The most important single limitation to the effectiveness of the system lies not in the accuracy, reliability or convenience of the probe itself but in the difficulty of cutting through very compact snow and ice lenses at depths exceeding 6 m with a Mt. Rose sampler. Despite several reservations about the system it is still regarded as a practical alternative to digging deep snow pits.