Wind changes climate information in snowflakes
Published: Monday, Dec 16th 2024, 12:40
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Snowflakes change their composition in the wind. This new finding by Swiss researchers could force climate scientists to adapt their models, the Snow and Avalanche Research Institute SLF announced on Monday.
The scientists at the research institute in Davos GR used an experiment in a wind tunnel to prove that the ratio of heavy and light water isotopes in ice crystals changes when they are swirled back and forth by the wind.
According to the researchers, this change occurs because in strong winds, some of the snowflakes turn into water vapor in a process known as sublimation. At the same time, resublimation can occur, in which the ice crystals absorb water vapor from the environment and grow again.
Integration into climate models
This change in the snow in the wind therefore has the potential to change the climate data stored in the isotopes of the ice cores, the researchers write in their study, which was published in the scientific journal "The Cryosphere". In order to obtain information about past temperatures, climate researchers analyze precisely this composition of isotopes in ice cores.
The researchers are therefore now planning to investigate the newly discovered phenomenon in more detail and integrate it into climate models, as the SLF wrote in the press release. The new findings could thus help to improve predictions about water exchange and therefore the climate in polar regions.
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