Snow Energy Exchanges
Heat Advected by Rain on Snow (Qp)
- Second Case
- Rainfall on a cold snow pack (ɘoC) where the water freezes and releases its latent heat of fusion (Lf)
- Freezing exerts a considerable influence on the thermal regime of the snow pack
- Lf of Water = 335 kJ/kg
- Specific Heat of Snow = 2.09 kJ/(kg.oC)
- For example:
- 10 mm of rain at 0oC uniformly distributed in a 1-m depth of snow cover having a density of 340 kg/m3
- Upon refreezing, would raise the average temperature of the snow pack from -5oC to 0oC.
- Distribution of heat released by refreezing is strongly affected by the way the water moves through the pack.