The stratigraphic complexes of a snowpack

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Snowpacks can be described as monogenetic rock, where ice is the basic mineral. They can thus be described in terms of a lithologic complex, that is a cluster of different rocks related by formation process or geological era. The stratigraphic complex of snow cover can be cast as a lithologic complex formed in a certain landscape, passing through stages of sedimentation and diagenesis in similar conditions and forming in the same winter a similar spectrum of stratigraphic columns. The stratigraphic complex possesses similar stratification, structure and texture alongside physical, chemical and mechanical characteristics. In landscapes of the same type located in different regions, the same type of stratigraphic complex is formed. The structural transformation of the snowpack is quantitatively described by coefficients of snowpack recrystallization, secondary stratification and texture. Landscape-indicative properties of snowpacks allow the construction of a unified taxonomic scale of stratigraphic complex with a hierarchy of levels: class, subclass, type, subtype and kind.

Large-scale assessment of avalanche and debris flow hazards in the Sakhalin region, Russian Federation

“…Therefore, even a small impact on a slope such as additional snowfall, snowstorms redistributing snow mass, a person walking on a slope or a transport vehicle moving on a road at the slope foot may cause large-volume avalanches. At the beginning of March, snow cover becomes more stable as a result of destructive metamorphosis, and consequently the probability of largevolume avalanches is reduced (Drevilo 2003;Kazakov et al 2012).…”

“…Recrystallization of snow cover is one of the main factors influencing the occurrence of snow avalanches in the Sakhalin region (Drevilo 2003;Kazakov et al 2012), mainly by determining the frequency of avalanche release and the dynamic characteristics of avalanches. According to the observations of the avalanche conditions in Sakhalin between 1977 and 2013, the activity level of avalanche processes as well as volume and power of avalanches depends more on the degree of snow cover recrystallization than on morphometric characteristics of avalanche catchments.…”

Recrystallization of snowpack at sites with different degrees of humidity

“…In addition to internal conditions created in the snow cover, environmental factors strongly influence the processes of sublimation of metamorphism. The collection of environmental factors can distinguish stratigraphic complexes of snow cover (Troshkina, 1980; Kazakov and others, 2011), in which in certain landscapes the same type of spectra of the stratigraphic column are formed under similar conditions. Analysis of the rate of metamorphism in the the stratigraphic complexes of the south of Sakhalin island, Sea of Okhotsk, allows us to reveal the relation of change of speed with other things being equal.…”