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Snowfall

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Snow. Low-density ice particles. The density is typically in the order of 0.1 g/cm3. Individual snowflakes can exhibit a wide variety of different forms. Other frozen particles include graupel or hail. Graupel particles are medium-density ice particles with a density of about 0.4 g/m2. Graupel is produced when ice particles fall through extensive layers of supercooled cloud liquid water. Hail particles are of a very high density of about 0.9 g/m2. Hail fall is associated with intensive convection and is formed via a series of melting and refreezing processes.

Melting layer. The melting layer is the layer in which falling hydrometeors transition from the ice into the liquid phase. The top of the melting layer coincides with the 0° C isothermal.

Bright band. The bright band is a band of enhanced radar reflectivity associated with melting precipitation particles. It is typically found in stratiform precipitation. The bright band roughly coincides with the melting layer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Ralf Bennartz

Authors
  1. Ralf Bennartz
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

    Eni G. Njoku

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Bennartz, R. (2014). Snowfall. In: Njoku, E.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_172

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