We performed X‐ray microtomographic observations of wet‐snow metamorphism during controlled continuous melting and melt‐freeze events in the laboratory. Three blocks of snow were sieved into boxes and subjected to cyclic, superficial heating or heating‐cooling to reproduce vertical water infiltration patterns in snow similarly to natural conditions. Periodically, samples were taken at different heights and scanned. Results suggest that wet‐snow metamorphism dynamics are highly heterogeneous even in an initially homogeneous snowpack. Consistent with previous work, we observed an increase with time in the thickness of the ice structure, which is a measure of grain size. However, this was coupled with large temporal scatter between consecutive measurements of the specific surface area and of the statistical moments of grain thickness distributions. Because of marked differences in the right tail, grain thickness distributions did not show shape invariance with time, contrary to previous analyses. In our experiments, wet‐snow metamorphism showed two strikingly different patterns: homogeneous coarsening superimposed by faster heterogeneous coarsening in areas that were affected by preferential percolation of water. Liquid water movement in snow and fast structural evolution may be thus intrinsically coupled by early formation of preferential flow at local scale. These observations suggest that further experiments are highly needed to fully understand wet‐snow metamorphism and infiltration patterns in a natural snowpack.

Froth flotation is a separation process which plays a major role in the mining industry. It is essentially employed to recover a vast array of different valuable commodities such as rare earth minerals essential to the manufacture of high-tech products. Owing to its simplicity, the process is also widely used for de-inking recycled paper fibres and for waste water treatment. The flotation process essentially relies on the attachment of solid particles on the surface gas bubbles immersed in water. The present study seeks to investigate the effect of the particle shape on the attachment mechanism. Using an in-house optical micro-bubble sensor the approach, the sliding and the adhesion of micron milled glass fibres on the surface of a stationary air bubble immersed in stagnant water is thoroughly investigated. The translational and rotational velocities were measured for fibres of various aspect ratios. The results are compared with a theoretical model and with experimental data obtained with spherical glass beads. It is found that the fibre orientation during the sliding motion largely depends on the collision area. Upon collision near the upstream pole of the gas bubble the major axis of the fibre aligns with the local bubble surface (tangential fibre alignment). If collision occurs at least 30° further downstream only head of the fibre is in contact with the gas-liquid interface (radial fibre alignment).

No abstract