Densification and Accumulation Rate of Snow in the Stable Snow Cover Period in the Tianshan Mountains

A Snow Property Analyzer(Snow Fork) was used to measure the snow density in the Tianshan Station for Snow and Avalanche Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences,in the stable snow cover period from February 21 to 26,2009 and January 26 to 31,2010,the snow density profile and its variations with depth and time were analyzed.It is found that snow density at the upper and bottom layers was smaller than that at the middle layers;the increasing rate of the new-fallen snow density increased with time,but in other snow layers the increasing rate decreased with time;a certain pattern of snow density varying with depth was found.Thus an experiential equation with two simple variables(snow depth and snow sediment time) was established to describe the snow density profile.