Temperature sensitivity of snow viscoplasticity: Evidence from controlled creep experiments

Védrine, Louis; Brun, Marius; Bozon, Mathis; Laurent, Benoit; Hagenmuller, Pascal

doi:10.5194/tc-20-5813-2026

Articles | Volume 20, issue 10

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5813-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5813-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 10

Research article

|

12 Oct 2026

Research article |

| 12 Oct 2026

Temperature sensitivity of snow viscoplasticity: Evidence from controlled creep experiments

Louis Védrine, Marius Brun, Mathis Bozon, Benoit Laurent, and Pascal Hagenmuller

Data sets

Dataset for: Sensitivity of snow viscoplasticity to temperature: evidence from controlled creep experiments Louis Védrine et aL. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18824418

Video supplement

Dataset for: Sensitivity of snow viscoplasticity to temperature: evidence from controlled creep experiments Louis Védrine et aL. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18824418

Short summary

Snow slowly compacts under its own weight, and this process depends strongly on temperature, but past estimates vary widely. We developed a device to precisely control temperature and tested the same snow sample under different conditions. We found two distinct temperature regimes and a stronger sensitivity than assumed in existing snowpack models, improving how snow compaction is represented.