PERMEABILITY MEASUREMENTS ON NEW AND EQUITEMPERATURE SNOW

Measurements of the air permeability were performed on snow from six h orizons within a snowpack at the Glacier Lakes Ecosystems Experiment S ite in southeastern Wyoming. The snow was new or equitemperature snow, with densities (rho(s)) ranging between 0.134 and 0.367 Mg m-3. The s pecific surface area of ice in each sample was measured stereologicall y. Intrinsic permeabilities (K0) calculated from these data ranged fro m 3.0 x 10(-10) to 3.1 x 10(-9) m2. The data fitted the equation K0 = 1.096 x 10(-8)e9.57rho(s), with a standard deviation of 2.8 x 10(-10) m2 . A dimensionally correct relationship between permeability and spe cific surface area did not fit our data as well as a simple density re lationship. The small scatter reported is attributed to careful select ion of undamaged samples and the prevention of sample sublimation duri ng the measurements.