Depth hoar
Form of snow
Depth hoar, also called sugar snow or temperature gradient snow (or TG snow), are large snow-crystals occurring at the base of a snowpack that form when uprising water vapor deposits, or desublimates, onto existing snow crystals. Depth hoar crystals are large, sparkly grains with facets that can be cup-shaped and that are up to 10 mm in diameter. Depth hoar crystals bond poorly to each other, increasing the risk for avalanches.
The formation of depth hoar in Arctic or Antarctic firn can cause isotopic changes in the accumulating ice. This can influence analysis of ice cores in scientific research.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Depth hoar”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Schwimmschnee.jpg by Longstag, CC BY-SA 3.0
- LightLTSEM.jpg by Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit, Public domain
- Sugar snow - panoramio.jpg by James Ryen, CC BY 3.0
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