Snow Transport and Deposition

The dynamics of snow erosion, transport and deposition due to the action of wind is still a controversial topic. Experts do not all agree on the mechanisms involved in this process and the field remains rather empirical compared to other domain of science. We propose a new description of the phenomenon, based on a simple and intuitive model in which wind and snow "particles" are the basic components. Our approach follows the cellular automata modeling techniques and provides plausible scenarios about the physical mechanisms present in snow transport. Our numerical simulations reproduce correctly a wide range of deposition patterns, showing the importance of our method as a prediction tool or to test theoretical concepts. Snow transport by wind is still a domain where little understanding has been achieved. Many interesting phenomena occurs and give rise to diverse patterns of accumulation. For instance, when an obstacle is smaller than some characteristic sc..