SPARK is articulated around three main objectives:
1. Design and realization of the novel portable probe optimized for field measurements in cold environments, leveraging the architecture and operating principle of the two probes already validated by the Instrumental Optics laboratory. This could offer the research community a cost-effective and user-friendly instrument that is not currently available.
2. Field testing, calibration and validation on the Italian Alps and Svalbard in diverse snowpacks, taking advantage of the uniquely diverse conditions these areas are exposed to.
3. Study the relationship between radiative transfer in snow, the snowpack stratigraphy, and the morphological properties of snow crystals, by conducting measurements in the polar snowpack and integrating meteorological data from local research stations. A systematic analysis based on radiative transfer models such as the “SNow, Ice and Aerosol Radiative” (SNICAR) model will also be performed to this end.
In pursuing these objectives, the project will endeavor to answer the following open questions:
1. How do snow metamorphism processes impact the penetration depth of light in the snowpack and the time scales of its evolution.
2. How do light propagation, layer density and compactness, and ice crystals size correlate to each other.
3. Are there exploitable proxies for critical fragile layers or weakening metamorphisms that can provide early warnings for instability or avalanches
1. Design and realization of the novel portable probe optimized for field measurements in cold environments, leveraging the architecture and operating principle of the two probes already validated by the Instrumental Optics laboratory. This could offer the research community a cost-effective and user-friendly instrument that is not currently available.
2. Field testing, calibration and validation on the Italian Alps and Svalbard in diverse snowpacks, taking advantage of the uniquely diverse conditions these areas are exposed to.
3. Study the relationship between radiative transfer in snow, the snowpack stratigraphy, and the morphological properties of snow crystals, by conducting measurements in the polar snowpack and integrating meteorological data from local research stations. A systematic analysis based on radiative transfer models such as the “SNow, Ice and Aerosol Radiative” (SNICAR) model will also be performed to this end.
In pursuing these objectives, the project will endeavor to answer the following open questions:
1. How do snow metamorphism processes impact the penetration depth of light in the snowpack and the time scales of its evolution.
2. How do light propagation, layer density and compactness, and ice crystals size correlate to each other.
3. Are there exploitable proxies for critical fragile layers or weakening metamorphisms that can provide early warnings for instability or avalanches