Near-surface faceted crystals and their effect on snow stability, Red Mountain Pass Corridor, Colorado
Title | Near-surface faceted crystals and their effect on snow stability, Red Mountain Pass Corridor, Colorado |
Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
Year of Conference | 1998 |
Authors | Stock, J., Elder K., and Birkeland K. |
Conference Name | 66th Annual Western Snow Conference |
Series Title | Proceedings of the 66th Annual Western Snow Conference |
Date Published | April 1998 |
Publisher | Western Snow Conference |
Conference Location | Snowbird, Utah |
Keywords | Avalanche forecasting, Snow crystals |
Abstract | Avalanches may be important hydrologically if avalanche deposits alter the timing and volume of runoff. Avalanches often fail from a weak layer such as surface hoar. graupel. or faceted crystals. One important type of faceted crystal. called near-surface faceted crystals. form in the near-surface layers. During the 1997/98 winter. A study of near-surface faceted crystals was conducted along the Red Mountain Pass corridor, Colorado. Six types of near-surface faceted crystals were differentiated: small faceted crystals, radiation recrystallization grains. Faceted precipitation crystals, near-surface hoar, faceted partly-decomposed precipitation crystals and needles. A particularly well-developed near-surface facet layer that evolved in December acted as the dominant weak layer in the study area for seven weeks. Observation of 14 avalanches showed that 79% of the failures occurred on near-surface faceted layers. The majority of stability test failures occurred on near-surface faceted layers. Understanding the growth of near-surface faceted crystals and their effect on snow stability is important for avalanche forecasting. |
URL | sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1998Stock.pdf |