Articles | Volume 10, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2069-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.Special issue:
Brief communication: Improved measurement of ice layer density in seasonal snowpacks
Abstract. The microstructure and density of ice layers in snowpacks is poorly quantified. Here we present a new field method for measuring the density of ice layers caused by melt or rain-on-snow events. The method was used on 87 ice layer samples taken from natural and artificial ice layers in the Canadian Arctic and mid-latitudes. Mean measured ice layer density was 909 ± 28 kg m−3 with a standard deviation of 23 kg m−3, significantly higher than values typically used in the literature.