Self-Organized Snow In The Colorado Front Range
Kochanski, Kelly 1 ; Tucker, Gregory 2 ; Anderson, Robert S 3
1 University of Colorado at Boulder - Geological Sciences
2 University of Coloardo at Boulder - Geological Sciences
3 University of Colorado at Boulder - Geological Sciences
Snow surfaces are roughened and textured by the wind. These textures, collectively known as snow bedforms, are ubiquitous on tundra, on sea ice, and on alpine regions around the world. Each winter, they cover approximately 8% of the surface of the Earth. They are the bane of backcountry skiers, and have tugged at the sleds of polar explorers since men first set foot on Antarctica.
At present, major Earth system and avalanche forecasting models treat snow as a flat layer and do not account for the growth or effects of bedforms.
We present an inventory of snow bedforms in Colorado's Front Range. This data set is used for ongoing research [1] on the dynamics of snow bedform movement and growth.
Here, we present a classifier [2], drawn from 736 hours of time-lapse footage in the Colorado Front Range, that predicts bedform type as a function of windspeed, time, and temperature since snowfall. This will be immediately useful to Earth system modelers and interesting to anyone who travels in wind-swept snow.
[1] Kochanski, K., C. Herbertson, M. Yoder. Scaling Laws for Snow Dunes and Ripples. Abstract submitted to Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØHydrologic Sciences Symposium, Boulder, CO.
[2] Kochanski, K., R. S. Anderson, G. Tucker. Bedforms and Blizzards in the Colorado Front Range. Submitted to Geophysical Research Letters.