Abstract
Snowfall in the Tianshan Mountains in China is frequent during winter; thus, avalanches have become a severe issue in snow-covered areas. Accumulation and metamorphosis, as well as hydrothermal exchanges with the environment, considerably affect the stability of snow on slopes. Therefore, a hydrothermal model of snow cover and its underlying surfaces must be developed on the basis of meteorological data to predict and help manage avalanches. This study adopted the conceptual model of snow as a porous medium and quantitatively analysed its internal physical processes on the basis of the thermal exchanges amongst its components. The effects of local meteorological factors on snow structure and the redistribution of energy and mass inside the snow cover in the Tianshan Mountains were simulated. Simulation results showed that deformation as a result of overlying snow and sublimation of snow cover at the bottom is the main cause of density variation in the vertical profile of snow cover. Temperature drives water movement in snow. The low-density area of the bottom snow is the result of temperature gradient. The simulation results of the long-term snow internal mass distribution obtained by the method established in this study are highly consistent with the actual observed trend of variation. Such consistency indicates an accurate simulation of the physical characteristics of snow cover in small and microscale metamorphism in the Tianshan Mountains during the stable period.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the 13th Five-year Informatization Plan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Grant No. XXH13506 and XXH13505-220 and Data sharing fundamental program for Construction of the National Science and Technology Infrastructure Platform (Grant No. Y719H71006). We are grateful to the supports in field and laboratory work from the Tianshan Station for Snow Cover and Avalanche Research. Data support was provided by the National Cryosphere and Desert Scientific Data Center of China. Technical and instrument support was provided by the Technology Service Center, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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Ren, Yr., Zhang, Yn., Hao, Js. et al. Numerical simulation of seasonal snow in Tianshan Mountains. J. Mt. Sci. 18, 338–356 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-020-6118-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-020-6118-y