The structure of blizzard transport and heat costs of sublimation of ice crystals in blizzards on the surface of the Elbrus Mountain glacier

Wind transport of snow and sublimation of ice crystals during blizzards have a significant impact on the accumulation of snow on the surface of a mountain glacier and, consequently, on river runoff. Automated meteorological measurements were organized on the Garabashi glacier during the accumulation season in February 2022. For the first time for glaciers of the Central Caucasus, estimates of blizzard transport based on automated measurements with high time discreteness were performed and a numerical algorithm of the rate of crystal sublimation during blizzards was applied. It has been shown that the sublimation of crystals could be comparable with the sensible and latent heat fluxes. In addition, the process of sublimation in blizzards can significantly affect the total evaporation and, consequently, the mass balance of the mountain glacier. Therefore, for a reliable assessment of the thermal balance of the surface and the mass balance of a mountain glacier in the numerical models of weather and climate, it is necessary to consider the process of sublimation of ice crystals during blizzards with the development of appropriate parameterizations.

Also, the method of measuring of the vertical blizzard transport distribution using “blizzard traps” was tested. It has been shown that exponential decrease of the vertical distribution of the intensity of horizontal snow transport is typical for deflationary blizzards. At the same time, in cases of general blizzards, the effect of increasing wind speed with height prevails and cases of "inversion" vertical distribution occur.