Analysis of Characteristics of Snow Accumulation and Its Meteorological Influencing Factors during a Snowstorm Process in Ulanqab City

Based on the data of national observation stations of CMISS system,artificial encrypted observation data of snow depth,ERA5 reanalysis data,the snowfall process in Ulanqab City from March 17 to 19,2022 was analyzed.It is found that the influencing system of the snowfall process was upper-air trough combined with ground inverted trough.Snowfall was not proportional to snow depth,and the relationship between the maximum snow depth and total snowfall varied in different value intervals.A large intensity of snowfall was a necessary condition for the formation of abundant accumulated snow when ground temperature was higher than 0℃.After the formation of accumulated snow,ground temperature changed less,and it was easy to produce accumulated snow as ground temperature was lower.The lower the temperature,the more conducive to the generation of accumulated snow.

Numerical Investigation of the Deposition Characteristics of Snow on the Bogie of a High-Speed Train

To investigate the deposition distribution of snow particles in the bogie surfaces of a high-speed train,a snow particle deposition model,based on the critical capture velocity and the critical shear velocity,was elaborated.Simulations based on the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)approach coupled with Discrete Phase Model(DPM)were used to analyze the motion of snow particles.The results show that the cross beam of the bogie frame,the anti-snake damper,the intermediate brake clamps in the rear wheels,the traction rod and the anti-rolling torsion bar are prone to accumulate snow.The accumulation mass relating to the vertical surface in the rear region,horizontal surface in the front region and the corner area of the bogie is high.The average snow accumulation mass for each component ordered from high to low is as follow:traction rod,frame,bolster,brake clamp 2,anti-rolling torsion bar,brake clamp 1,transverse damper,axle box 2,axle box 1,air spring,anti-snake damper,tread cleaning device.The snow accumulation mass on the front components of the bogie is more significant than that relating to the rear components.Particularly,the average snow accumulation mass of rear brake clamp 2 and axle box 2 is about twice as high as that of the front brake clamp 1 and axle box 1.

Mechanism and effects of snow accumulations and controls by lightweight snow fences

This paper investigates the snowdrifts caused by lightweight fences along the lines on the flatland through the computational fluid dynamics method. The characteristic ambient flows around the solid fences and the porous fences with varied heights and bottom wind gaps are simulated in the numerical model, and the working mechanism of ＂interception＂ and ＂scouring＂ of the lightweight fences are analyzed. Based on the friction velocities near the ground, two sets of criteria are proposed to evaluate the deposition and erosion effects of different fences. According to flow separation and reattachment, the simplified relationships between the most likely positions for snow accumulations and fence parameters are devel- oped. The study indicates that the capabilities for snow interception by the solid fence without wind gap and the distance from which to the second snow coverage center both increase with the fence height. Furthermore, it is found that the scouring range for snow surface increases significantly with the size of wind gap, and the snow accumulation rate on the leeward side decreases with the increasing fence porosity.

Impacts of snow accumulation on air temperature measured by automatic weather stations on the Antarctic ice sheet

The heights of automatic weather station （AWS） sensors over the Antarctic ice sheet are nominal and change with snow accumulation or ablation. Therefore, the measured data may not be used directly. In this study, we analyzed the impact of snow accumulation on AWS observations using continuous measurements from three AWS that were deployed on the traverse route from the Zhongshan Station to Dome A over East Antarctica. We then corrected the measured air temperature to account for changes in the sensor height relative to the snow surface to improve the authenticity and representativeness of the observation data from the AWS. The results show that （i） the annual mean snow accumulations at Dome A, Eagle and LGB69 were approximately O. 11 m, 0.30 m and 0.49 m, respectively, and the corresponding annual mean air temperature differences between the corrected and measured values at 1 m in height were 0.34℃, 0.29℃ and 0.35℃ （ii） the impact on air temperature from accumulation decreases with height from the surface; （iii） the air temperature difference between the corrected and measured values was not directly proportional to the snow accumulation but was related to the seasonal air temperature variations and the intensity of the local surface inversion; and （iv） the averaged corrected air temperature was higher than the measured values except during the summer when there were days without temperature inversion. The magnitude of the temperature difference between the corrected and measured was mainly determined by snow accumulation and the intensity of the local surface inversion.

Evaluation of the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System Based on Snow Accumulation Observations over the Ross Ice Shelf

Recent snow height measurements(2008–15) from nine automatic weather stations(AWSs) on the Ross Ice Shelf are used to examine the synoptic and seasonal variability in snow accumulation,and also to evaluate the performance of the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System(AMPS) for precipitation. The number of snow accumulation events varies from one station to another between 2008 and 2015,thus demonstrating geographic dependence. The interannual variability in snow accumulation is too high to determine its seasonality based on the current AWS observations with limited time coverage.Comparison between the AMPS and AWS snow height measurements show that approximately 28% of the AWS events are reproduced by AMPS. Furthermore,there are significant correlations between AMPS and AWS coincident event sizes at five stations(p < 0.05). This finding suggests that AMPS has a certain ability to represent actual precipitation events.

A GIS-based modeling of snow accumulation and melt processes in the Votkinsk reservoir basin

Coupled hydrological and atmospheric modeling is an efficient method for snowmelt runoff forecast in large basins. We use short-range precipitation forecasts of mesoscale at- mospheric Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） model combining them with ground-based and satellite observations for modeling snow accumulation and snowmelt processes in the Votkinsk reservoir basin （184,319 km2）. The method is tested during three winter seasons （2012-2015）. The MODIS-based vegetation map and leaf area index data are used to calculate the snowmelt intensity and snow evaporation in the studied basin. The GIS-based snow accumulation and snowmelt modeling provides a reliable and highly detailed spatial distribution for snow water equivalent （SWE） and snow-covered areas （SCA）. The modelling results are validated by comparing actual and estimated SWE and SCA data. The actual SCA results are derived from MODIS satellite data. The algorithm for assessing the SCA by MODIS data （ATBD-MOD 10） has been adapted to a forest zone. In general, the proposed method provides satisfactory results for maximum SWE calculations. The calculation accuracy is slightly degraded during snowmelt periods. The SCA data is simulated with a higher reliability than the SWE data. The differences between the simulated and actual SWE may be explained by the overestimation of the WRF-simulated total precipitation and the unrepresentativeness of the SWE measurements （snow survey）.

Surface mass balance and its climate significance from the coast to Dome A, East Antarctica

Based on stake measurements conducted along the Chinese Antarctic traverse since Jan.1999,we investigated the characteristics of surface mass balance(SMB)and related climate consequences from Zhongshan Station to Dome A,East Antarctica.Spatial analysis suggests that post-depositional processes have a great impact on surface morphology;thus,the representativeness of a single measurement should be discussed in conjunction with local climate features.The comparison among snow accumulation,ice sheet thickness,surface elevation,and ice velocity indicates that the bedrock topography has an indirect connection with the SMB patterns through controlling the surface topography and local climate.The observation reveals that the Lambert Glacier Basin has been experiencing increasing mass input(4.5%),whereas the inland area has experienced a 6%loss,since 2005.An overall estimation of the SMB along the route is 71.3±44.3 kg m?2 a?1,but the annual and regional variation is considerable.Tendency analysis shows that there are four sections with different SMB patterns as a result of three moisture sources and surface climatic discrepancy in the Antarctic inland.This study is the first to identify four SMB patterns from the coast to the Dome area and should provide a valuable contribution to modeling and remote sensing on a continental scale.