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Glossary
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mass of snow which becomes detached and slides down a slope, often acquiring great bulk by fresh addition as it descends.
opening through a snow bridge into a crevasse or system of crevasses which are otherwise sealed by snow bridges; a snowdrift usuallly forms on the lee side.
blowing snowan ensemble of snow particles raised by the wind to moderate or great heights above the ground; the horizontal visibility at eye level is generally very poor.
cornicean overhanging accumulation of ice and wind-blown snow, characteristically found on the edge of a ridge or cliff face.
crusta hard snow surface lying upon a softer layer; crust may be formed by sun, rain or wind, and is described as breakable crust or unbreakable crust, depending upon whether it wil break under the weight of a turning skier.
dendritehexagonal ice crystals with complex and often fernlike branches.
graupelsnowflakes that become rounded pellets due to riming; typical sizes are 2 to 5 millimeters in diameter (0.1 to 0.2 inch); graupel is sometimes mistaken for hail.
metamorphismchanges in the structure and texture of snow grains which result from variations in temperature, migration of liquid water and water vapor, and pressure within the snow cover.
new snowa recent snow deposit in which the original form of the ice crystals can be recognized.
névé(1) young, granular snow that has been partially melted, refrozen and compacted; névé that survives a full season is called firn; firn becomes glacial ice; (2) also refers to the accumulation zone of a glacier.
old snowdeposited snow whose transformation into firn is so far advanced that the original form of the ice crystals can no longer be recognized.
perennial snowsnow that persists on the ground year after year.
polycrystala snowflake composed of many individual ice crystals.
powder snowa thin, dry snow surface which is composed of loose, fresh ice crystals.
ripple markscorrugation on a snow surface caused by wind (as on sand).
seasonal snow(1) snow that accumulates during one season (2) snow that lasts for only one season.
snow(1) an ice particle formed by sublimation of vapor in the atmosphere (2) a collection of loosely bonded ice crystals deposited from the atmosphere; high density snow (greater than 550 kilograms per cubic meter; 34 pounds per cubic foot) is called firn if it is older than one year.
snow barchanhorseshoe-shaped snowdrift, with the ends pointing down-wind.
snow boarda specially constructed board used to identify the surface of snow that has been recently covered by snowfall.
snow bridgean arch formed by snow which has drifted aross a crevasse, forming first a cornice, and ultimately a covering which may completely obscure the opening.
snow corea sample of snow, either just the freshly fallen snow or the combined old and new snow on the ground, obtained by pushing a cylinder down through the snow layer and extracting it.
snow densitythe mass of snow per unit volume which is equal to the water content of snow divided by its depth.
snow depththe combined total depth of both old and new snow on the ground.
snow extentthe total land area covered by some amount of snow; typically reported in square kilometers.
snow flurrysnow that falls for short durations and which often changes in intensity; flurries usually produce little accumulation.
snow layera layer of ice crystals with similar size and shape.
snow linethe minimum elevation of snow lying on the ground or glacier surface; the snow line at the end of an ablation season marks a glacier's current equilibrium line.
snow loadthe downward force on an object or structure caused by the weight of accumulated snow.
snow squalla brief, but intense fall of snow that greatly reduces visibility and which is often accompanied by strong winds.
snow water equivalentthe water content obtained from melting.
snowburstsvery intense showers of snow, often of short duration, that greatly restrict visibility and produce periods of rapid snow accumulation.
snowfallthe depth of new snow that has accumulated since the previous day or since the previous observation.
snowflakea cluster of ice crystals that falls from a cloud.
snowpackthe total snow and ice on the ground, including both new snow and the previous snow and ice which have not melted.
surface hoarthe deposition (sublimation) of ice crystals on a surface which occurs when the temperature of the surface is colder than the air above and colder than the frost point of that air.
a hard snow surface lying upon a softer layer; may be formed by sun, rain or wind, and is described as breakable crust or unbreakable crust, depending upon wether it will break under the weight of a turning skier.
watermelon snowsnow with red algae growing on it.
whiteouta condition in which daylight is diffused by multiple reflections between a snow surface and an overcast sky; contrasts vanish, and the observer is unable to distinguish the horizon or any snow surface feature.
References:
American Meteorological Society. "Glossary of Meteorology." http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary [Accessed August 16, 2006].
Beltz, Ellin. "Glossary of Glacier Terms." http://ebeltz.net/glacier/glacglos.html [Accessed August 16, 2006].
CO2 Science. "Global Change Dictionary." http://www.co2science.org/scripts/CO2ScienceB2C/education/dictionary/define.jsp [Accessed December 19, 2006].
Ferguson, Sue A., 1992. Glaciers of North America: A field guide. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing.
Huschke, Ralph E., ed. 1959. Glossary of Meteorology. Boston: American Meteorological Society.
Khromov, S. P. and L. A. Mamontova, 1974. Glossary of Meteorology. Lenningrad: Gidrometeoizdat.
Van Everdingen, ed. 1994. Multilanguage Glossary of Permafrost and Related Ground-Ice Terms. Alberta: Arctic Institute of North America.
"Wikipedia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page [Accessed August 16, 2006].
1992. International Meteorological Vocabulary. Geneva, Switzerland: World Meteorological Organization.
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