Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
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10.5194/acpd-7-10287-2007
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/10287/2007/
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http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/10287/2007/acpd-7-10287-2007.pdf
10287
10322
2007-07-17
Measuring the specific surface area of snow with X-ray tomography and gas adsorption: comparison and implications for surface smoothness
M. Kerbrat
B. Pinzer
T. Huthwelker
H. W. Gäggeler
M. Ammann
M. Schneebeli
schneebeli@slf.ch
WSL, Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
University of Berne, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Chemical and physical processes, such as heterogeneous chemical
reactions, light scattering, and metamorphism occur in the natural
snowpack. To model these processes in the snowpack, the specific
surface area (SSA) is a key parameter. In this study, two methods,
computed tomography and methane adsorption, which have intrinsically
different spatial resolutions –molecular and 30 μm,
respectively – were used to determine the SSA of identical natural
snow samples. The two methods give identical results, with an
uncertainty of 3%. This implies that the surface of natural snow is
smooth up to a scale of about 30 μm and that for optical
methods a voxel size of 10 μm is sufficient to capture
all structural features of natural snow. This smoothness can be
physically explained by calculating sublimation and surface
diffusion on the snow particles. The methane adsorption method is
superior to computed tomography for very fresh snow, but thin layers
typical for natural snowpacks can not be resolved. Computed
tomography can measure SSA in layers of less than 1 mm thickness,
and is therefore advantageous in layered snowpacks.
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