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Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers pp 66–75Cite as

Atmosphere-Snow/Ice Interactions

Part of the Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series book series (EESS)

Definition

Interactions between the atmosphere and snow/ice are due to exchange of heat, mass, and momentum at the air-snow/ice interface. Through the exchange, interactive dynamic and thermodynamic processes take place at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales in the atmosphere and snow/ice.

Introduction

The atmosphere-snow/ice heat exchange includes solar shortwave and thermal longwave radiation, as well as turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat, the latter related to sublimation/condensation. The heat exchange processes modify the heat content of snow/ice and the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), defined as the air layer, typically 0.1–1 km high, where the direct effects of the earth surface are felt at time scales of hours. The changes in the heat content result in metamorphosis, melt, freeze, or transport of liquid water or water vapor in snow/ice and in buoyant or stabilizing dynamic forces in the ABL. Cooling of sloping snow/ice surfaces commonly results in generation...

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Atmosphere-Snow/Ice Interactions, Figure 1
Atmosphere-Snow/Ice Interactions, Figure 2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Finnish Meteorological Institute, Erik Palménin aukio 1, P.O. Box 503, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland

    Timo Vihma

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  1. Timo Vihma
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Correspondence to Timo Vihma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Vijay P. Singh

  2. New Delhi, India

    Pratap Singh

  3. University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA

    Umesh K. Haritashya

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Vihma, T. (2011). Atmosphere-Snow/Ice Interactions. In: Singh, V.P., Singh, P., Haritashya, U.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_31

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