Early formation of preferential flow in a homogeneous snowpack observed by micro‐CT

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