Topic: Wind Blowing Snow in Mountains – Theory and Applications

Prof. Ning Huang is in Lanzhou University and is the Director of the Key Laboratory of Mechanics on Disaster and Environment, the dean of the College of Civil Engineering & Mechanics, and the Superintendent of Institute of Engineering Mechanics of Lanzhou University. He is an internationally well-known fluid physicist with focus on environment two-phase flows and aeolian mechanics. He applies mathematical and fluid-mechanical techniques to investigate Earth surface processes and to establish the science basis for climate and natural environment protection. His studies in these research areas, especially on sand, dust and snow-particle motion in atmospheric turbulent flows contributed significantly to the establishment and progress of environment fluid mechanics. His research interests cover a range of fundamental science problems as well as engineering challenges in the protection of the desert ecological environment, control of desertification and prevention of damage of cultural heritages and infrastructures from natural disasters, such as sand/dust storms and snow drift. Prof. Huang is a widely respected science leader, both internationally and in China. He is author or co-author of over 100 academic papers, which are published on peer reviewed journals. His recent research interest focusing on the dynamic processes of snow drift  and its sublimation (both snow drifting near surface and snowfall), the temporal and spatial variation of snow distribution of the upper mountainous area, the effects of factors (for example, turbulence, bed slope, roughness, electrostatic force etc.) on the emission and transportation of sand (dust) and snow particles, and the development of stochastic models for predicting the atmospheric transport, the emission and deposition of sand (dust) and snow particles, the mechanism of the measures for controlling erosion in desertified areas, prevention and control measures of wind sand and snow disasters, especially prevention and control measures of wind sand and snow on railway transportation and their optimization.

Abstract: Wind blowing snow plays an important role on snow distribution by transporting the snow from erodible surface to accumulation surface and loss solid mass by enhanced sublimation, leading to a significant effect on radiation energy balance, hydrological cycle, and global climate system. However, the dynamic theory of blowing snow and its sublimation in mountains are still unknown, making a huge uncertainty in mountain snow distribution modeling. We applied Lagrangian particle model coupled with large eddy simulations, to well represent the blowing snow transport in mountainous areas in multi-scales. We also set up a field observation system, which combines point, area and body detecting together, by using an automatic weather station, a VZ-6000 terrain scanner, and a mobile Doppler weather radar. The field observations show a strong sublimation process during a snowfall event. We studied the growth mechanism and suitable environment of snow cornice in a cold wind tunnel, and find its growth depends on the net deposition of blowing snow events. A conceptual model is developed to predict the field snow cornice growth, for a preliminary research of cornice fall snow avalanche. We even studied the formation and release of snow avalanche by DEM model and CFD model, which show good potential for further understanding of how snow avalanche happens and transport.