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If the accumulated snow survives one melt season, it forms a denser, more compressed layer called firn. The snow and firn are further compressed by overlying snowfall, and the buried layers slowly grow together to form a thickened mass of ice.
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Gradually, the grains grow larger and the air pockets...
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When the ground has a thick layer of fresh, fluffy snow, sound waves are readily absorbed into the snow surface, dampening sound. However, time and weather conditions may change the snow surface. If the surface melts and refreezes, the snow becomes smooth and hard.
Mar 16, 2020 · It was two stories tall; in the 1999 experiment, it had been covered by thirteen feet of snow. To reach the observers buried inside, a crew had to cut a vertical tunnel with a chainsaw.
In permafrost regions, however, the organic matter gets buried by sediment before it decays and becomes frozen into permafrost. Once frozen, the decay of organic matter stops, and the mercury remains trapped for thousands of years unless liberated by permafrost thaw.
The snow layer from each year is covered and compacted by subsequent snow, and it is gradually compressed and turned into firn within which the snowflakes lose their delicate shapes and become granules. With more compression, the granules are pushed together and air is squeezed out.
- Steven Earle
- 2015
As the old snow gets buried by more new snow, the older snow layers compact into firn, or névé, a granular mass of ice crystals. As the firn continues to be buried, compressed, and recrystallizes, the void spaces become smaller and the ice becomes less porous, eventually turning into glacier ice.
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As the old snow gets buried by more new snow, the older snow layers compact into firn, or névé, a granular mass of ice crystals. As the firn continues to be buried, compressed, and recrystallizes, the void spaces become smaller and the ice becomes less porous, eventually turning into glacier ice.
