a 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.
(1) in general, the accumulation of snow on the ground surface (2) the areal extent of snow-covered ground, usually expressed as percent of total area in a given region.
precipitation in the form of very small, white opaque ice particles; they resemble snow pellets but are more flattened and elongated, with a diameter less than 1 mm; the solid equivalent of drizzle.
the 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.
an oligochaete worm that lives on temperate glaciers or perennial snow; there are several species that range in color from yellowish-brown to reddish-brown or black; they are usually less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inch) in diameter and average about 3 millimeters (0.1 inch) in length; some feed off red algae.
a bright white glare on the underside of clouds, produced by the reflection of light from a snow-covered surface; snowblink is lighter than ice blink, and much lighter than land sky or water sky.
an isolated, tongue-shaped solifluction feature, up to 25 meters (27 yards) wide and 150 meters (164 yards) or more long; formed by more rapid solifluction on certain sections of a slope showing variations in gradient.
the point in time when the vertical rays of the sun are striking either the Tropic of Cancer (23 degrees, 30 minutes N, the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere) or the Tropic of Capricorn (23 degrees, 30 minutes S, the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere); represents the longest or shortest day of the year; in the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice falls on or about 21 June, and the winter solstice on or about 22 December.
a patterned ground form that is equidimensional in several directions, with a dominantly circular outline, and a sorted appearance commonly due to a border of stones surrounding a central area of finer material.
a type of patterned ground with cells that are equidimensional in several directions, neither dominantly circular nor polygonal, with a sorted appearance commonly due to borders of stones surrounding central areas of finer material.