Articles | Volume 29, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2059-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2059-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 Apr 2025
Research article |
| 24 Apr 2025
| 24 Apr 2025
A local thermal non-equilibrium model for rain-on-snow events
Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Geophysics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Related authors
Julian Bauer, Sebastian Müller, Thomas Heinze, Homa Khanahmadi Bafghi, and Ivo Baselt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5473, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5473, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how rainwater infiltrates frozen slopes. Using large experiments on an artificial soil slope, we found that natural cracks and channels first speed up infiltration, but later refreeze and block the flow. These results explain when frozen slopes absorb or shed rainwater and help improve predictions of runoff and slope stability in cold regions.
Julian Bauer, Sebastian Müller, Thomas Heinze, Homa Khanahmadi Bafghi, and Ivo Baselt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5473, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5473, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how rainwater infiltrates frozen slopes. Using large experiments on an artificial soil slope, we found that natural cracks and channels first speed up infiltration, but later refreeze and block the flow. These results explain when frozen slopes absorb or shed rainwater and help improve predictions of runoff and slope stability in cold regions.
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Short summary
When water infiltrates into a snowpack, it alters the thermal state of the system. This work presents a first-of-its-kind multi-phase heat transfer model for local thermal non-equilibrium scenarios of water infiltration into an existing snowpack, such as during rain-on-snow events. The model can be used to calculate the formation of ice layers, as well as partial melting of the snow. Hence, it can support hazard assessment for flash floods and snow avalanches.
When water infiltrates into a snowpack, it alters the thermal state of the system. This work...
