Water Flow through Snow
Four Liquid Water Regimes
- Capillary: < 1% free water
- water doesn’t drain due to capillary tension
- Unsaturated: 1-14% free water
- water drains by gravity, but air spaces are continuous
- Pendular Regime
- Saturated: > 14% free water
- water drains by gravity, but air spaces are discontinuous
- Funicular Regime
- Melt/Freeze
- water melts and refreezes, possible several times, before it drains from the snow pack