Density of Seasonal Snow in the Mountainous Environment of Five Slovak Ski Centers
| Autor: | Michal Mikloš, Jaroslav Škvarenina, Jana Škvareninová, Martin Jančo |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
lcsh:Hydraulic engineering
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Geography Planning and Development Types of snow 0207 environmental engineering Climate change snow tube 02 engineering and technology Aquatic Science Seasonal development 01 natural sciences Biochemistry Water balance water balance lcsh:Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes lcsh:TC1-978 snow lances 020701 environmental engineering 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Water Science and Technology lcsh:TD201-500 artificial snow Piste snow density Snowpack piste Snow ski slope VS-43 technology Environmental science Spatial variability Physical geography snow depth |
| Zdroj: | Water, Vol 12, Iss 3563, p 3563 (2020) Water Volume 12 Issue 12 |
| ISSN: | 2073-4441 |
| Popis: | Climate change affects snowpack properties indirectly through the greater need for artificial snow production for ski centers. The seasonal snowpacks at five ski centers in Central Slovakia were examined over the course of three winter seasons to identify and compare the seasonal development and inter-seasonal and spatial variability of depth average snow density of ski piste snow and uncompacted natural snow. The spatial variability in the ski piste snow density was analyzed in relation to the snow depth and snow lances at the Ko&scaron ú tka ski center using GIS. A special snow tube for high-density snowpack sampling was developed (named the MM snow tube) and tested against the commonly used VS-43 snow tube. Measurements showed that the MM snow tube was constructed appropriately and had comparable precision. Significant differences in mean snow density were identified for the studied snow types. The similar rates of increase for the densities of the ski piste snow and uncompacted natural snow suggested that the key density differences stem from the artificial (machine-made) versus natural snow versus processes after and not densification due to snow grooming machines and skiers, which was relevant only for ski piste snow. The ski piste snow density increased on slope with decreasing snow depth (18 kg/m³ per each 10 cm), while snow depth decreased 2 cm per each meter from the center of snow lances. Mean three seasons maximal measured density of ski piste snow was 917 ± 58 kg/m³ the density of ice. This study increases the understanding of the snowpack development processes in a manipulated mountainous environment through examinations of temporal and spatial variability in snow densities and an investigation into the development of natural and ski piste snow densities over the winter season. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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