Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/20337
Title: Snow drift management : Summit Station, Greenland
Authors: Haehnel, Robert B.
Bigl, Matthew F.
Keywords: Snow
Winds--Speed
Snow surveys
Greenland
EPOLAR
Publisher: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers.
Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.)
National Science Foundation (U.S.). Division of Polar Programs.
Series/Report no.: ERDC/CRREL ; TR-16-6
Abstract: Abstract: At the request of the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory reviewed available snow survey data and conducted a drifting snow transport analysis for Summit Station, Greenland, to assess the nature of the drifting problems at this site. The severity of drifting during the winter was significantly greater than during summer months; therefore, snowdrift management strategies should focus on minimizing winter accumulations. The transport analysis showed that the snow is conveyed from two dominant directions, south-east and southwest, which satellite imagery of snowdrifts confirmed. Computing the elevation difference between fall and spring surveys al-lowed estimates of the accumulated drift volume during a winter at Summit. Comparing these computed volumes to the snow transport analysis showed that about 25% of the estimated snow that the wind transports to Summit each winter is deposited and forms drifts, mostly in close proximity to the structures. This analysis demonstrates that weather data (wind speed and direction) and a transport analysis can aid in estimating the volume of snowdrifts needing to be managed at Summit. Further work is required to determine the optimal station layout and building design at Summit to minimize drifting in the bi-modal transport environment present there.
Description: At head of title: "Engineering for Polar Operations, Logistics, and Research (EPOLAR)."
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11681/20337
Appears in Collections:Technical Report

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