Articles | Volume 16, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-903-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-903-2022
Research article
 | 
11 Mar 2022
Research article |  | 11 Mar 2022

Elements of future snowpack modeling – Part 1: A physical instability arising from the nonlinear coupling of transport and phase changes

Konstantin Schürholt, Julia Kowalski, and Henning Löwe

Model code and software

A numerical solver for heat and mass transport in snow based on FEniCS Konstantin Schürholt, Julia Kowalski, and Henning Löwe https://doi.org/10.16904/envidat.298

Short summary
This companion paper deals with numerical particularities of partial differential equations underlying 1D snow models. In this first part we neglect mechanical settling and demonstrate that the nonlinear coupling between diffusive transport (heat and vapor), phase changes and ice mass conservation contains a wave instability that may be relevant for weak layer formation. Numerical requirements are discussed in view of the underlying homogenization scheme.