The Electrical Properties and Snow Melting of Graphite Slurry Infiltrated Steel Fiber Concrete

The conductivity property of graphite slurry infiltrated steel fiber concrete （GSIFCON） was investigated by the four-probe method. The experimental results show that the electrical resistivity of GSIFCON decreases significantly at a specific concentration of graphite, i e, the percolation concentration. A model was accordingly developed to explain its conductive mechanism, where graphite particles could be served as bridge for conductive network between unconnected fiber chains. For an application, snow melting test of GSIFCON was carried out and a simple heating power analysis was performed. The results reveal that the thermal energy produced by GSIFCON makes snow melting effectively and the electrothermal efficiency can reach approximately 20%.

Numerical Simulation of Sensitivities of Snow Melting to Spectral Composition of the Incoming Solar Radiation

Snow albedo is an important factor influencing the snow surface energy budget and snow melting, yet uncertainties remain in the calculation of spectrally resolved snow surface albedo because the spectral composition （visible versus near infrared） of the incident solar radiation is seldom available. The influence of the spectral composition of the incoming solar radiation on the snow surface albedo, snow surface energy budget, and final snow ablation is investigated through sensitivity experiments of four snow seasons at two open sites in the Alps by using a multi-layer Snow-Atmosphere-Soil-Transfer scheme （SAST）. Since the snow albedo in the near infrared （NIR） spectral band is significantly lower than that in the visible （VIS） band, and almost the entire NIR part of the solar radiation is absorbed in the top layer of the snow pack, given a fixed amount of incoming solar radiation, a lower VIS/NIR ratio implies that more NIR radiation is reaching the ground surface and more is absorbed by the top layer of the snow pack, therefore, speeding up the snow melting and increasing the surface runoff, although a lesser part of the solar radiation in the visible band is transmitted into and trapped by the sub-layer of the snow pack. The above VIS/NIR ratio effect of the incoming solar radiation can result in a couple of days difference in the timing of snow ablation and it becomes more significant in late spring when the total solar radiation is intensified with seasonal evolution. Snow aging also slightly intensifies this VIS/NIR ratio effect.

Assessment of the Mechanical Properties of Carbon-Fiber Heating Cables in Snow and Ice Melting Applications

The use of carbon-fiber heating cables(CFHC)to achieve effective melting of snow and ice deposited on roads is a method used worldwide.In this study,tensile and compressive tests have been conducted to analyze the mechan-ical properties of the CFHC and assess whether the maximum tensile and compressive strengths can meet the pavement design specifications.In order to study the aging produced by multiple cycles of heating and cooling,in particular,the CFHC was repeatedly heated in a cold chamber with an ambient temperature ranging between-20℃ and+40℃.Moreover,to evaluate how the strength of the pavement is affected by its presence,the CFHC was embedded at different depths and concrete blocks with different curing ages were subjected to relevant com-pression and splitting tensile tests.Numerical simulations based on the ANSYS software have also been performed and compared with the outcomes of the static loading tests.The results show that the CFHC embedded in the concrete does not affect the compressive splitting tensile strengths of the pavement.Overall,the CFHC meets the conditions required for continued use in road ice melting applications.

Hydrological processes of glacier and snow melting and runoff in the Urumqi River source region, eastern Tianshan Mountains, China

Hydrological processes were compared, with and without the influence of precipita- tion on discharge, to identify the differences between glacierized and non-glacierized catchments in the Urumqi River source region, on the northern slope of the eastern Tianshan Mountains, during the melting season （May-September） in 2011. The study was based on hydrological data observed at 10-min intervals, meteorological data observed at 15-min intervals, and glacier melting and snow observations from the Empty Cirque, Zongkong, and Urumqi Glacier No.1 gauging stations. The results indicated that the discharge differed markedly among the three gauging stations. The daily discharge was more than the nightly discharge at the Glacier No.1 gauging station, which contrasted with the patterns observed at the Zongkong and Empty Cirque gauging stations. There was a clear daily variation in the discharge at the three gauging stations, with differences in the magnitude and duration of the peak discharge. When precipitation was not considered, the time-lags between the maximum discharge and the highest temperature were 1-3 h, 10-16 h, and 5-11 h at the Glacier No.l, Empty Cirque, and Zongkong gauging stations, respectively. When precipitation was taken into consideration, the corresponding time-lags were 0-1 h, 13 h, and 6-7 h, respectively. Therefore, the duration from the generation of discharge to confluence was the shortest in the glacierized catchment and the longest in the catchment where was mainly covered by snow. It was also shown that the hydrological process from the generation of discharge to confluence shortened when precipitation was considered. The factors influencing changes in the discharge among the three gauging stations were different. For Glacier No.1 station, the discharge was mainly controlled by heat conditions in the glacierized region, and the discharge displayed an accelerated growth when the temperature exceeded 5℃ in the melt season. It was found that the englacial and subglacial drainage channel of Glacier No.1 had become simpler during the past 20 years. Its weaker retardance and storage of glacier melting water resulted in rapid discharge confluence. It was also shown that the discharge curve and the time-lag between the maximum discharge and the highest temperature could be used to reveal the evolution of the drainage system and the process of glacier and snow melting at different levels of glacier coverage.

Black Carbon Size in Snow of Chinese Altai Mountain in Central Asia

Black carbon(BC)in snow plays an important role to accelerate snow melting.However,current studies mostly focused on BC concentrations,few on their size distributions in snow which affected BC’s effect on albedo changes.Here we presented refractory BC(rBC)concentrations and size distributions in snow collected from Chinese Altai Mountains in Central Asia from November 2016 to April 2017.The results revealed that the average rBC concentrations were 5.77 and2.82 ng g-1for the surface snow and sub-surface snow,which were relatively higher in the melting season(April)than that in winter(November-January).The mass median volume-equivalent diameter of rBC size in surface snow was approximately at 120-150 nm,which was typically smaller than that in the atmosphere(about 200 nm for urban atmosphere).However,there existed no specific mass median volume-equivalent diameter of BC size for sub-surface snow in winter.While during the melting season,the median mass size of rBC in sub-surface snow was similar to that in surface snow.Backward trajectories indicated that anthropogenic sourced BC dominated rBC in snow(70%-85%).This study will promote our understanding on BC size distributions in snow,and highlight the possible impact of BC size on climate effect.

Large spread across AeroCom Phase II models in simulating black carbon in melting snow over Arctic sea ice

Over two dozen global atmospheric chemistry models contributing to the Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models(AeroCom)project were used in this study to drive the Los Alamos sea ice model to simulate the black carbon(BC)concentration in melting snow on Arctic sea ice.Measurements of BC during the melting season show concentrations in the range 2.8–41.6 ng·g−1(average:15.3 ng·g−1)in the central Arctic Ocean and Canada Basin.Most results from models contributing to the Phase I project were within the 25th and 75th percentiles of the observations,and the multimodel mean was slightly lower than that of the observations.In contrast,there was larger divergence among the Phase II model simulations and the mean value of BC was overestimated.The multimodel mean bias was−3.1(−11.2 to+6.7)ng·g−1 for Phase I models and+3.9(−9.5 to+21.3)ng·g−1 for Phase II models.The differences between the models of the two phases were probably attributable to the updated aerosol scheme in the new contributions,in which removal processes are parameterized by considering the actual dimensions and chemical compositions of the particles.This means the removal mechanism acts in a way that is more selective and leads to more BC particles being transported to the Arctic.In addition,higher spatial resolution could be another important reason for overestimation of BC concentration in snow in Phase II models.

Densification and grain coarsening of melting snow

A field work was conducted at Moshiri in Japan. The work included intensive snow pit work, taking snow grain photos, recording snow and air temperatures, as well as measuring snow water content. By treating the snow as a viscous fluid, it is found that the snow compactive viscosity decreases as the density increases, which is opposite to the relation for dry snow. Based on the measurements of snow grain size, it is shown that, similar to the watersaturated snow, the frequency distributions of grain size at different times almost have the same shape. This reveals that the waterunsaturated melting snow holds the same graincoarsening behavior as the watersaturated snow does. It is also shown that the waterunsaturated melting snow coarsens much more slowly than the watersaturated snow. The C value, which is the viscosity when the snow density is zero, is related to the mean grain size and found to decrease with increasing grain size. The decreasing rate of C value increases with decreasing graincoarsening rate.

面向未来低碳道路养护的超薄罩面功能性研究综述

Highway maintenance mileage reached 5.25 million kilometers in China by 2021.Ultra-thin overlay is one of the most commonly used maintenance technologies,which can significantly enhance the economic and environmental benefits of pavements.To promote the low-carbon development of ultrathin overlays,this paper mainly studied the mechanism and influencing factors of several ultra-thin overlay functions.Firstly,the skid resistance,noise reduction,rutting resistance,and crack resistance of ultrathin overlays were evaluated.The results indicated that the high-quality aggregates improved the skid and rutting resistance of ultra-thin overlay by 5%-20%.The optimized gradations and modified binders reduced noise of ultra-thin overlay by 0.4-6.0 dB.The high viscosity modified binders improved the rutting resistance of ultra-thin overlay by about 10%-130%.Basalt fiber improved the cracking resistance of ultra-thin overlay by more than 20%.Due to the thinner thickness and better road performance,the performance-based engineering cost of ultra-thin overlay was reduced by about 30%-40%compared with conventional overlays.Secondly,several environmentally friendly functions of ultra-thin overlay were investigated,including snow melting and deicing,exhaust gas purification and pavement cooling.The lower thickness of ultra-thin overlay was conducive to the diffusion of chloride-based materials to the pavement surface.Therefore,the snow melting effect of self-ice-melting was better.In addition,the ultra-thin overlay mixture containing photocatalytic materials could decompose 20%-50%of the exhaust gas.The colored ultra-thin overlay was able to reduce the temperature of the pavement by up to 8.1℃.The temperature difference between the upper and lower surfaces of the ultra-thin overlay containing thermal resistance materials could reach up to 12.8℃.In addition,numerous typical global engineering applications of functional ultra-thin overlay were summarized.This review can help better understand the functionality of ultra-thin overlays and promote the realization of future multi-functional and low-carbon road maintenance.

Preparation and Analysis of Carbon Fiber-Silicon Carbide Thermally Conductive Asphalt Concrete

An experimental investigation into the thermal conductivity of CF-SiC two-phase composite asphalt concrete is presented.The main objective of this study was to verify the possibility of using SiC powder instead of mineral powder as the thermal conductive filler to prepare a new type of asphalt concrete and improve the efficiency of electrothermal snow and ice melting systems accordingly.The thermal conductivity of asphalt concrete prepared with different thermally conductive fillers was tested by a transient plane source method,and the related performances were measured.Then the temperature rise rate and surface temperature were studied through field heating tests.Finally,the actual ice melting efficiency of the thermally conductive asphalt concrete was evaluated using an effective electrothermal system.As shown by the experimental results,the composite made of SiC powder and carbon fiber has a high thermal conductivity.When SiC replaces mineral powder,the thermal conductivity of the asphalt mixture increases first and then decreases with the increase of carbon fiber content.In the present study,in particular,the thermal conductivity attained a peak when the carbon fiber content was 0.2%of the aggregate mass.

Significant Variations of Surface Albedo during a Snowy Period at Xianghe Observatory,China

Surface albedo over typical types of surfaces in the North China Plain was observed using a Multi-field Albedo Observation System before and after several snowfalls from 13 to 27 February 2005. Dramatic variations of the surface albedos of bare land, a frozen pond, and withered grassland during that period were analyzed. Under cloudy sky, the mean surface albedo of bare land was about 0.23, but it immediately rose to 0.85 when the surface was covered by fresh snow. The albedo decreased gradually to normal levels afterwards. The melting processes were different depending on the characteristics of the underlying surfaces. For example, over grassland the surface albedo was relatively lower after snowfall, and as a result, more solar energy could be absorbed and consequently the snow melting process was accelerated. Significant variations of surface albedo cannot be easily captured by satellite observations; therefore, detailed measurements of surface albedo and related parameters are essential for determining the impact of snow on the energy budget of the Earth.

Snow Cover Variation and Streamflow Simulation in a Snow-fed River Basin of the Northwest Himalaya

Snowmelt is an important component of any snow-fed river system.The Jhelum River is one such transnational mountain river flowing through India and Pakistan.The basin is minimally glacierized and its discharge is largely governed by seasonal snow cover and snowmelt.Therefore,accurate estimation of seasonal snow cover dynamics and snowmeltinduced runoff is important for sustainable water resource management in the region.The present study looks into spatio-temporal variations of snow cover for past decade and stream flow simulation in the Jhelum River basin.Snow cover extent(SCE) was estimated using MODIS(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) sensor imageries.Normalized Difference Snow Index(NDSI) algorithm was used to generate multi-temporal time series snow cover maps.The results indicate large variation in snow cover distribution pattern and decreasing trend in different sub-basins of the Jhelum River.The relationship between SCE-temperature,SCE-discharge and discharge-precipitation was analyzed for different seasons and shows strong correlation.For streamflow simulation of the entire Jhelum basin Snow melt Runoff Model(SRM) used.A good correlation was observed between simulated stream flow and in-situ discharge.The monthly discharge contribution from different sub-basins to the total discharge of the Jhelum River was estimated using a modified version of runoff model based on temperature-index approach developed for small watersheds.Stream power - an indicator of the erosive capability of streams was also calculated for different sub-basins.

Observation and modelling of snow and sea ice mass balance and its sensitivity to atmospheric forcing during spring and summer 2007 in the Central Arctic

Snow depth and sea ice thickness were observed applying an ice mass balance buoy(IMB)in the drifting ice station Tara during the International Polar Year in 2007.Detailed in situ observations on meteorological variables and surface fluxes were taken during May to August.For this study,the operational analyses and short-term forecasts from two numerical weather prediction(NWP)models(ECMWF and HIRLAM)were extracted for the Tara drift trajectory.We compared the IMB,meteorological and surface flux observations against the NWP products,also applying a one-dimensional thermodynamic sea ice model(HIGHTSI)to calculate the snow and ice mass balance and its sensitivity to atmospheric forcing.The modelled snow depth time series,controlled by NWP-based precipitation,was in line with the observed one.HIGHTSI reproduced well the snowmelt onset,the progress of the melt,and the first date of snow-free conditions.HIGHTSI performed well also in the late August freezing season.Challenges remain to model the“false bottom”observed during the melting season.The evolution of the vertical temperature profiles in snow and ice was better simulated when the model was forced by in situ observations instead of NWP results.During the melting period,the nonlinear ice temperature profile was successfully modelled with both forcing options.During spring and the melting season,total sea ice mass balance was most sensitive to uncertainties in NWP results for the downward longwave radiation,followed by the downward shortwave radiation,air temperature,and wind speed.

The Variability of the Snow and Ice Melt in Alpine Rivers in Northwestern China

The study of snow and ice melt （SIM） is important in water-scarce arid regions for the assessment of water supply and quality. These studies involve unique difficulties, especially in the calibration of hydro-models because there is no direct way to continuously measure the SIM at hydrostations. The recursive digital filter （RDF） and the isotopic hydro-geochemical method （IHM） were coupled to separate the SIM from eight observed series of alpine streamflows in northwestern China. Validation of the calibrated methods suggested a good capture of the SIM characteristics with fair accuracy in both space and time. Applications of the coupled methods in the upper reaches of the Hei River Basin （HRB） suggested a double peak curve of the SIM fraction to streamflow for the multi-component recharged （MCR） rivers, while a single peak curve was suggested for the rainfall-dominant recharged （RDR） rivers. Given inter-annual statistics of the separation, both types of the alpine rivers have experienced an obvious decrease of SIM since 196os. In the past 10 years, the SIM in the two types of rivers has risen to the levels of the 1970s, but has remained lower than the level of the 1960s. The study provided a considerable evidence to quantify the alpine SIMbased on the separation of observed data series at gauge stations. Application of the coupled method could be helpful in the calibration and validation of SIM-related hydro-models in alpine regions.

Snow effects on alpine vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Understanding the relationships between snow and vegetation is important for interpretation of the responses of alpine ecosystems to climate changes.The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is regarded as an ideal area due to its undisturbed features with low population and relatively high snow cover.We used 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)datasets during 2001–2010 to examine the snow–vegetation relationships,specifically,(1)the influence of snow melting date on vegetation green-up date and(2)the effects of snow cover duration on vegetation greenness.The results showed that the alpine vegetation responded strongly to snow phenology(i.e.,snow melting date and snow cover duration)over large areas of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.Snow melting date and vegetation green-up date were significantly correlated(p<0.1)in 39.9% of meadow areas(accounting for 26.2% of vegetated areas)and 36.7% of steppe areas(28.1% of vegetated areas).Vegetation growth was influenced by different seasonal snow cover durations(SCDs)in different regions.Generally,the December–February and March–May SCDs played a significantly role in vegetation growth,both positively and negatively,depending on different water source regions.Snow’s positive impact on vegetation was larger than the negative impact.

Increasing chloride concentration causes retention of mercury in melted Arctic snow due to changes in photoreduction kinetics

Mercury（Hg） in the Arctic is a significant concern due to its bioaccumulative and neurotoxic properties, and the sensitivity of Arctic environments. Previous research has found high levels of Hg in snowpacks with high chloride（Cl-） concentrations. We hypothesised that Cl- would increase Hg retention by decreasing Hg photoreduction to Hg（0） in melted Arctic snow. To test this, changes in Hg photoreduction kinetics in melted Alert, NU snow were quantified with changing Cl- concentration and UV intensity. Snow was collected and melted in Teflon bottles in May 2014, spiked with 0–10 μg/g Cl-, and irradiated with 3.52–5.78 W·m-2 UV（280–400 nm）radiation in a Luz Chem photoreactor. Photoreduction rate constants（k）（0.14–0.59 hr-1） had positive linear relationships with [Cl-], while photoreduced Hg amounts（Hg（Ⅱ）red） had negative linear relationships with [Cl-]（1287–64 pg in 200 g melted snow）. Varying UV and[Cl-] both altered Hg（Ⅱ）red amounts, with more efficient Hg stabilisation by Cl- at higher UV intensity, while k can be predicted by Cl- concentration and/or UV intensity, depending on experimental parameters. Overall, with future projections for greater snowpack Cl- loading,our experimental results suggest that more Hg could be delivered to Arctic aquatic ecosystems by melted snow（smaller Hg（Ⅱ）red expected）, but the Hg in the melted snow that is photoreduced may do so more quickly（larger k expected）.