wx.1028 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 When Mets and other posters discuss the snow growth region, where exactly is this located in the atmosphere.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocoAko Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 The main region for dendrites (the very best kind of snowflake! ) to grow is between -12 and -18C in the atmosphere, which can vary with height. Below is a random example from BUFKIT, with time on the x-axis and pressure level on the y-axis. You can see the "snowgrowth region" (outlined in purple) lay between -10C and -20C, wherever that may be in the atmosphere. I'm sure others can expound on this, but you would want the air there to be saturated with upward vertical motion (negative omega) within that zone for good snowflake growth... though of course there is a lot more to it than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wx.1028 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 ok i see what you mean. so if the temps. were higher and depending on the moisture content, the ice crystals would take on a different shape? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wx.1028 Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 The main region for dendrites (the very best kind of snowflake! ) to grow is between -12 and -18C in the atmosphere, which can vary with height. Below is a random example from BUFKIT, with time on the x-axis and pressure level on the y-axis. You can see the "snowgrowth region" (outlined in purple) lay between -10C and -20C, wherever that may be in the atmosphere. I'm sure others can expound on this, but you would want the air there to be saturated with upward vertical motion (negative omega) within that zone for good snowflake growth... though of course there is a lot more to it than that. Ok so is it safe too say that the snow growth region is somewhere between the 700MB. and 500MB. level but not always? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocoAko Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 ok i see what you mean. so if the temps. were higher and depending on the moisture content, the ice crystals would take on a different shape? In a nutshell (and based on my basic understanding), yes. As you can see by this graph it also depends on the degree of supersaturation within the volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wx.1028 Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 In a nutshell (and based on my basic understanding), yes. As you can see by this graph it also depends on the degree of supersaturation within the volume. excellent graph depiction locoAko thanks, you have been very helpful in describing this phenomenon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am19psu Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 In a nutshell (and based on my basic understanding), yes. As you can see by this graph it also depends on the degree of supersaturation within the volume. That's part of it. The other is the Bergeron process (ice/snow growing at the expense of liquid water) is rather effective at the same temperatures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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