The stratigraphic complexes of a snowpack

Abstract

Snowpacks can be described as monogenetic rock, where ice is the basic mineral. They can thus be described in terms of a lithologic complex, that is a cluster of different rocks related by formation process or geological era. The stratigraphic complex of snow cover can be cast as a lithologic complex formed in a certain landscape, passing through stages of sedimentation and diagenesis in similar conditions and forming in the same winter a similar spectrum of stratigraphic columns. The stratigraphic complex possesses similar stratification, structure and texture alongside physical, chemical and mechanical characteristics. In landscapes of the same type located in different regions, the same type of stratigraphic complex is formed. The structural transformation of the snowpack is quantitatively described by coefficients of snowpack recrystallization, secondary stratification and texture. Landscape-indicative properties of snowpacks allow the construction of a unified taxonomic scale of stratigraphic complex with a hierarchy of levels: class, subclass, type, subtype and kind. © 2013 Publishing Technology.