The development and validation of a method to estimate visibility during snowfall and blowing snow

Matsuzawa, Masaru; Kajiya, Yasuhiko; Takeuchi, Masao

doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2004.08.002

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…However, his equation cannot be applied to weather conditions accompanied by snowfall. Toward solving this problem, the authors developed a method that estimates visibility in snowstorms by using weather data (8).…”

Section: Visibility Estimation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To assess the accuracy of the visibility estimation method, the authors compared visibility estimates calculated based on groundlevel weather observation data with visibility measurements determined at the same sites using visibility meters (8). Visibility was divided into five ranges (Table 1), and cases in which the estimated and measured visibilities agree or the estimated visibility is one range lower (i.e., on the safer side) than the measured visibility are classified as being in agreement (a hit).…”

Section: Visibility Estimation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Focusing on the close relationship between visibility in snowstorm and weather conditions, the authors developed a method that estimates visibility by using weather data (8). This paper reports on a system developed to provide drivers with wide-area snowstorm information on snowfall intensity and visibility (from now on, snowstorm information) that has been estimated by the researchers' visibility estimation method.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Effects of the Provision of Wide-Area Snowstorm Information on Winter Driving

Matsuzawa

Kajiya

Yamagiwa

2006

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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In Hokkaido, Japan, a system that provides road weather information to drivers is in operation and under further development. With regard to visibility in snowstorms, observation data collected at ground-level observation stations have been available, but not wide-area information on the distribution of visibilities. A method was developed to estimate visibility from the weather conditions, and it was applied to estimation of visibilities in a wide area. Such wide-area visibility information, together with snowfall information, was provided to road users on an experimental basis. Sixty percent of drivers who received this information changed their transportation behavior at some point, and more than 90% viewed the information as effective in increasing their sense of security. This finding confirmed that visibility information is valuable winter road information for drivers and that the visibility estimation method will be useful in providing wide-area visibility information.

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Section: Visibility Estimation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Visibility Estimation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of the Provision of Wide-Area Snowstorm Information on Winter Driving

Matsuzawa

Kajiya

Yamagiwa

2006

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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“…Snow redistribution due to drifting will also induce cascading effects on the socio-economic system and ecological environment. For example, drifting snow will worsen the traffic conditions, which may lead to traffic accidents due to reduced visibility [16]. Snow redistribution due to drifting snow may also lead to snow accumulation on roads, which will block traffic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of Drifting Snow Using FlowCapt Sensors in the Southern Altai Mountains, Central Asia

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2022

Water

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Drifting snow is a significant factor in snow redistribution and cascading snow incidents. However, field observations of drifting snow are relatively difficult due to limitations in observation technology, and drifting snow observation data are scarce. The FlowCapt sensor is a relatively stable sensor that has been widely used in recent years to obtain drifting snow observations. This study presents the results from two FlowCapt sensors that were employed to obtain field observations of drifting snow during the 2017–2018 snow season in the southern Altai Mountains, Central Asia, where the snow cover is widely distributed. The results demonstrate that the FlowCapt sensor can successfully acquire stable field observations of drifting snow. Drifting snow occurs mainly within the height range of 80-cm zone above the snow surface, which accounts for 97.73% of the total snow mass transport. There were three typical snowdrift events during the 2017–2018 observation period, and the total snowdrift flux caused during these key events accounted for 87.5% of the total snow mass transport. Wind speed controls the occurrence of drifting snow, and the threshold wind speed (friction velocity) for drifting snow is approximately 3.0 m/s (0.15 m/s); the potential for drifting snow increases rapidly above 3.0 m/s, with drifting snow essentially being inevitable for wind speeds above 7.0 m/s. Similarly, the snowdrift flux is also controlled by wind speed. The observed maximum snowdrift flux reaches 192.00 g/(m2·s) and the total snow transport is 584.9 kg/m during the snow season. Although drifting snow will lead to a redistribution of the snow mass, any accumulation or loss of the snow mass is also affected synergistically by other factors, such as topography and snow properties. This study provides a paradigm for establishing a field observation network for drifting snow monitoring in the southern Altai Mountains and bridges the gaps toward elucidating the mechanisms of drifting snow in the Altai Mountains of Central Asia. A broader network of drifting snow observations will provide key data for the prevention and control of drifting snow incidents, such as the design height of windbreak fences installed on both sides of highways.

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“…Zallen, 1988;Thiis and Gjessing, 1999), low visibility (e.g. Matsuzawa et al, 2005;Huang et al, 2008) and decreased road/railway safety (e.g. Naaim-Bouvet et al, 2002;Tabler, 2003;Liu et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CFD simulation of snow transport over flat, uniformly rough, open terrain: Impact of physical and computational parameters

Kang

Zhou

Hooff

et al. 2018

Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics

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In the past, Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been successfully applied for the prediction of snow drift around buildings and on building roofs. A literature study indicates that a wide range of influential computational and physical parameters exist for snow drifting predictions in CFD, while the impact of these parameters is unclear, resulting in a lack of available CFD simulation guidelines. Therefore, this study presents a systematic and generic analysis with emphasis on the fundamentals of snow transport prediction techniques. Snow transport over flat, uniformly rough, open terrain, including snow saltation and snow suspension is successfully simulated using CFD and the results are compared to field measurements of snow concentrations for validation. This paper investigates the impact of grid resolution, falling velocity of snow, turbulent Schmidt number, threshold friction velocity of snow and turbulence model on the CFD simulation results. The results show that the falling velocity and the turbulent Schmidt number have largest impact. A slight change in the falling velocity or the turbulent Schmidt number significantly impacts the predicted snow concentration in the air. In addition, the turbulence model mainly affect the turbulent kinetic energy, another key factor that influences the numerical predictions of snow transport.

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The development and validation of a method to estimate visibility during snowfall and blowing snow

Cited by 14 publications

References 4 publications

Effects of the Provision of Wide-Area Snowstorm Information on Winter Driving

Effects of the Provision of Wide-Area Snowstorm Information on Winter Driving

Observations of Drifting Snow Using FlowCapt Sensors in the Southern Altai Mountains, Central Asia

CFD simulation of snow transport over flat, uniformly rough, open terrain: Impact of physical and computational parameters

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