2022 Volume 84 Issue 2 Pages 155-166
To investigate the formative process of a spot pattern and the density of a new snow cover on a slope, experimental studies were performed on the accumulation of new snow on artificial wooden plates with various slope angles. The formative process of a spot pattern consists of four stages. In stage 1, a snowflake hits the slope, and then breaks into a few pieces, and each piece slips down while receiving resistance and stops on the slope. In stage 2, a relatively large piece becomes a stopper of other pieces slipping down from an upper part of the slope, and then grows into a large spot. In stage 3, the large spot glows into a taller lump (tall spot) together with snowflakes falling on it. In stage 4, adjacent tall spots join together at the upper part, forming a cavity between the tall spots and the slope. A negative correlation was observed between the spot center interval and snowfall intensity. It was confirmed that the larger the oblique angle of the slope is, the smaller the mean density of a new snow cover on the slope is. The density of lower layers of new snow cover on the slope can be explained by the model with cavities and snow lumps lining alternately.
