For the first time ever, scientists have created a 3D model of melting snowflake
3D modelling coupled with new research about melting snowflake behavior
serve as one of the first steps for creating better precipitation models
used for weather forecasting and climate modeling in the future.
We’ve actually known how to measure the size and shape of snow particles for a while
But visualizing how a snowflake melts?
That was only achieved in the last couple years
Actually, by this guy – based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California
probably one of the least snowy places in the United States
Nobody else was really doing it and I kind of had a good hunch that it could be done
In the past, researchers have adopted some pretty creative methods to catch snowflakes
like using spider webs to net the delicate crystalline structures
in order to watch their melt behavior
But I don’t like the thought of writing this research proposal
where I ask for money to breed spiders
Understanding the microphysics of a melting snowflake has significant implications
About 66% of rain starts as snow higher in the atmosphere
And that layer of melting snow can, among other things
affect weather patterns, block radio signals, and be a hazard to aircraft
The hydrodynamics are actually particularly complex and completely different
from the characteristics of rain or even snow that hasn’t started melting yet
which is what prompted an entirely separate body of research
The team created mathematical models that simulate a melting snowflake in nature
allowing researchers to study its behavior in a controlled environment
It turns out that the degree of riming has a major influence on the melting process
Riming is the accumulation of super cold water vapor that freezes
instantly when it comes in contact with a snowflake
Heavily rimed snowflakes look more like hard, dense ice pellets
while lightly rimed, “fluffy”, snowflakes often maintain their light, delicate crystals
As you’ve probably already guessed, these fragile snowflakes melt pretty easily
whereas hail-like snowflakes are less prone to breaking up during the melting process
Now we have the techniques and we have the computer power
to actually make simulations of these things