Abstract
The quantitative assessment of snowstorm hazards is necessary for the effective implementation of blowing-snow control measures. Snow transport rate is used as a hazard index, but it is difficult to measure this rate directly. Thus, the snow transport rate has been estimated by using its correlation with wind velocity expressed by an empirical equation. However, that empirical equation does not account for snowfall intensity. In evaluating snow transport rates in Japan and in other regions with heavy snowfall, snowfall intensity needs to be taken into consideration. This paper describes a method for estimating snow transport rates during blowing snow with snowfall, and it examines the applicability of the method. The snow transport rate as a whole at a specific site is assumed to be a sum of the transport rates of snow particles in the suspension layer and in the saltation layer. For the suspension layer, the transport rate of snow particles is calculated by vertically integrating a product obtained by multiplying the spatial density of drifting snow, which consist of suspended particles and falling snow particles, by the wind velocity. For the saltation layer, an empirical equation of Kobayashi (1972) is used for calculating the transport rate of snow particles. The snow transport rates estimated by using the method described in this paper are largely consistent with the measured snow transport rate.
