Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered Sites
Abstract Knowledge about orientation of falling snow is still poorly documented with field measurements despite its importance, for example, in the interpretation of remote sensing data. This study investigates the orientation of snow hydrometeors using data from a Multi‐Angle Snowflake Camera. We e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113042 |
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| author | J. Grazioli M. Condolf Y.‐A. Roulet F. Coletti A. Berne |
| author_facet | J. Grazioli M. Condolf Y.‐A. Roulet F. Coletti A. Berne |
| author_sort | J. Grazioli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Knowledge about orientation of falling snow is still poorly documented with field measurements despite its importance, for example, in the interpretation of remote sensing data. This study investigates the orientation of snow hydrometeors using data from a Multi‐Angle Snowflake Camera. We explore the impact of different observational setups (sheltered vs. unsheltered), wind speed, hydrometeor type, and axis ratio on the orientation distributions. Numerical simulations are used to select the best orientation estimator and to understand the reason behind contrasting results reported in past literature. We find that previously reported non‐zero median orientations are likely artifacts due to averaging absolute values of orientations from the three individual cameras. Observed orientations generally follow a symmetrical distribution around 0°, with broader distributions observed at unsheltered sites and/or high wind conditions. Observed distributions may vary significantly from those assumed in previous studies, highlighting the need for further research on hydrometeor orientations under varying environmental conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bb67d97323dd4606afb0efa8ea0c5fc9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-bb67d97323dd4606afb0efa8ea0c5fc92025-08-20T02:58:26ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-02-01524n/an/a10.1029/2024GL113042Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered SitesJ. Grazioli0M. Condolf1Y.‐A. Roulet2F. Coletti3A. Berne4Environmental Remote Sensing Laboratory École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne SwitzerlandDepartment of Mechanical and Process Engineering ETH Zürich SwitzerlandSwiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) Zurich SwitzerlandDepartment of Mechanical and Process Engineering ETH Zürich SwitzerlandEnvironmental Remote Sensing Laboratory École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne SwitzerlandAbstract Knowledge about orientation of falling snow is still poorly documented with field measurements despite its importance, for example, in the interpretation of remote sensing data. This study investigates the orientation of snow hydrometeors using data from a Multi‐Angle Snowflake Camera. We explore the impact of different observational setups (sheltered vs. unsheltered), wind speed, hydrometeor type, and axis ratio on the orientation distributions. Numerical simulations are used to select the best orientation estimator and to understand the reason behind contrasting results reported in past literature. We find that previously reported non‐zero median orientations are likely artifacts due to averaging absolute values of orientations from the three individual cameras. Observed orientations generally follow a symmetrical distribution around 0°, with broader distributions observed at unsheltered sites and/or high wind conditions. Observed distributions may vary significantly from those assumed in previous studies, highlighting the need for further research on hydrometeor orientations under varying environmental conditions.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113042snowfallice‐phase hydrometeorsprecipitationmicrophysicscryosphere |
| spellingShingle | J. Grazioli M. Condolf Y.‐A. Roulet F. Coletti A. Berne Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered Sites Geophysical Research Letters snowfall ice‐phase hydrometeors precipitation microphysics cryosphere |
| title | Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered Sites |
| title_full | Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered Sites |
| title_fullStr | Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered Sites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered Sites |
| title_short | Observation of the Orientation of Snow Hydrometeors at Sheltered and Unsheltered Sites |
| title_sort | observation of the orientation of snow hydrometeors at sheltered and unsheltered sites |
| topic | snowfall ice‐phase hydrometeors precipitation microphysics cryosphere |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113042 |
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