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The accumulation zone is found at the highest altitude of the glacier, where accumulation of material is greater than ablation. On a glacier , the accumulation zone is the area above the firn line, where snowfall accumulates and exceeds the losses from ablation , ( melting , evaporation , and sublimation ).
The boundary between the accumulation zone and the ablation zone on glaciers is called the "annual snow line". The glacier region below this snow line was subject to melting in the previous season. The term "orographic snow line" is used to describe the snow boundary on surfaces other than glaciers.
[1] [2] These zones include the dry snow zone, in which the ice entirely retains subfreezing temperatures and no melting occurs. Dry snow zones only occur within the interior regions of the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets. [3] [4] Below the dry snow zone is the percolation zone, where some meltwater penetrates down into the glacier where it ...
Snowpack is an accumulation of snow that compresses with time and melts seasonally, often at high elevation or high latitude. [1] [2] Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt, sometimes leading to flooding. Snowpacks provide water to down-slope communities for drinking and agriculture. [3]
Extreme snow accumulation on building roofs. Snow is an important consideration for loads on structures. To address these, European countries employ Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-3: General actions - Snow loads. [85] In North America, ASCE Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures gives guidance on snow loads. [86]
This definition means that the accumulation rate is greater than the ablation rate during the accumulation season, and during the ablation season the reverse is true. [11] A "balance year" is defined as the time between two consecutive minima in the glaciers mass—that is, from the start of one accumulation season through to the start of the next.
Snow water equivalent (SWE) is the depth of water that would result if the snow mass melted completely, whether over a given region or a confined snow plot, calculated as the product of the snow height in meters times the vertically-integrated density in kilograms per cubic meter.
Snow Depth-This is a measurement from the snow surface to the ground in meters. It is commonly does over a large time span using immobile graduated stakes. Snow Water Equivalency- A measuring tool which represents the vertical depth of water that would accumulate in an area, if all the snow and ice were melted in that given area.