Snowmelt Increase Through Albedo Reduction

Abstract
Due to changing surface conditions, albedo decreases naturally as snow ages. The details of the melting processes have been investigated for some years and much is known about the effect of each process and the interactions among them. Albedo has attracted a lot of attention because of recent interest in snow-climate feedback, and the reduction in albedo by darkening agents has been studied and practiced extensively. Although much is known about albedo reduction, the optimum design for a field program to enhance snow melting requires too much information to be easily achievable. The relevant snow properties and processes are described here along with some field observations. Much research must still be done to provide guidelines for the use of snow darkening agents in any particular environment. Keywords: Ablation; Snow dusting.

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