Numerical study on snow transport and drift formation

A three-dimensional, numerical simulation model for snow transport and drift formation is proposed in which saltation as well as suspension are considered as dynamic behavioral factors of moving snow particles. The procedure for simulation is as follows: (1) Air flow field is simulated solving the Reynolds equations and the continuity equation. (2) Using the result of the air field flow simulation, the blown-snow density field is simulated using the diffusion equations in which the fall velocity of blown snow particles is considered. In the boundary conditions, the particle movement of saltation is taken into consideration. (3) Finally, the snowdrift rate is computed based on the amount of snow particles not transported by saltation. This model was quantitatively tested for the phenomenon of snowdrift development. The computed results showed good agreement with observations.