Modelling thermomechanical properties of the snowpack

Abstract

Studying the structure inside an inhomogeneous stratified snowpack is very important for modelling of the snowpack stability on mountain slopes, and to approximate surfaces of weak zones, and boundaries with different properties These surfaces are often the sliding surfaces of avalanches. Weather conditions" windpumping, snow densification and mechanical and complex heat- and mass-transfer processes define the structural variations of snow and the strength characteristics. The main ventilation components in the snowpack during the snowstorm are the heat and mass exchange between the snow grains and bonds, vapor and heat transfer. The vapor diffusion due to windpumping through snowpack intensifies the metamorphic process We propose the current mathematical model using meteorological data to simulate the snowpack characteristics in order to clarify the changes of the structural and physical-mechanical properties in the stratified snowpack under changing weather conditions. The system of equations allows calculation of the temperature variation in the snowpack, as well as in melted or frozen soil, the snow density, the structural parameters and the snowpack strength on the mountain slope as a function of the heat- and mass-transfer parameters. A numerical finite-difference model for simulations has been used. This allows prediction of the disposition of the depth-hoar layers and the physical-mechanical snow properties. The model has potential to estimate the potential avalanche volume.