A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography
Liquid water at the ground–snow interface is thought to play a crucial role in the release of glide-snow avalanches, which can be massive and threaten infrastructure in alpine regions. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain the formation of this interfacial water. However, these mechanis...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Annals of Glaciology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000654/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1826585169367138304 |
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| author | Michael Lombardo Peter Lehmann Anders Kaestner Amelie Fees Alec Van Herwijnen Jürg Schweizer |
| author_facet | Michael Lombardo Peter Lehmann Anders Kaestner Amelie Fees Alec Van Herwijnen Jürg Schweizer |
| author_sort | Michael Lombardo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Liquid water at the ground–snow interface is thought to play a crucial role in the release of glide-snow avalanches, which can be massive and threaten infrastructure in alpine regions. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain the formation of this interfacial water. However, these mechanisms remain poorly understood, in part because suitable measurement techniques are lacking. Here, we demonstrate the use of neutron radiography for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems. Columns of sand, gravel and snow were used to simulate the capillary forces of the soil–vegetation–snow layering found in nature. The columns were connected to a water reservoir to maintain a constant-pressure boundary condition and placed in a climatic chamber within the neutron beam. We show that neutron radiography is capable of measuring changes in the optical density distribution (related to liquid water content) within all three layers of the model system. Results suggest that a porous interface between the sand and snow may induce the formation of a water layer in the basal snowpack. Improved understanding of the water transport in soil–snow systems should lead to better prediction of glide-snow avalanche release and could also benefit other fields such as snow hydrology. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T14:29:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b2458b75e55407fa5f372f3734528fe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-14T15:49:22Z |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b2458b75e55407fa5f372f3734528fe2025-02-24T08:03:53ZengCambridge University PressAnnals of Glaciology0260-30551727-56442025-01-016510.1017/aog.2023.65A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiographyMichael Lombardo0Peter Lehmann1Anders Kaestner2Amelie Fees3Alec Van Herwijnen4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5637-6486Jürg Schweizer5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5076-2968WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, SwitzerlandPhysics of Soils and Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandLaboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, SwitzerlandWSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, SwitzerlandWSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, SwitzerlandWSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, SwitzerlandLiquid water at the ground–snow interface is thought to play a crucial role in the release of glide-snow avalanches, which can be massive and threaten infrastructure in alpine regions. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain the formation of this interfacial water. However, these mechanisms remain poorly understood, in part because suitable measurement techniques are lacking. Here, we demonstrate the use of neutron radiography for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems. Columns of sand, gravel and snow were used to simulate the capillary forces of the soil–vegetation–snow layering found in nature. The columns were connected to a water reservoir to maintain a constant-pressure boundary condition and placed in a climatic chamber within the neutron beam. We show that neutron radiography is capable of measuring changes in the optical density distribution (related to liquid water content) within all three layers of the model system. Results suggest that a porous interface between the sand and snow may induce the formation of a water layer in the basal snowpack. Improved understanding of the water transport in soil–snow systems should lead to better prediction of glide-snow avalanche release and could also benefit other fields such as snow hydrology.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000654/type/journal_articleAvalanchessnowsnow physics |
| spellingShingle | Michael Lombardo Peter Lehmann Anders Kaestner Amelie Fees Alec Van Herwijnen Jürg Schweizer A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography Annals of Glaciology Avalanches snow snow physics |
| title | A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
| title_full | A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
| title_fullStr | A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
| title_full_unstemmed | A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
| title_short | A method for imaging water transport in soil–snow systems with neutron radiography |
| title_sort | method for imaging water transport in soil snow systems with neutron radiography |
| topic | Avalanches snow snow physics |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000654/type/journal_article |
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