MEASUREMENT OF THE LIQUID WATER AND ICE WATER CONTENTS OF SNOW

AN INNOVATIVE NEW TECHNIQUE IS PROPOSED FOR MEASUREMENT OF LIQUID WATER AND ICE WATER CONTENTS, IN G/CM(3), OF SNOW OR ICE. THE TECHNIQUE CONSISTS OF MEASURING THE CAPACITIVE COMPONENT OF THE ELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE OF A SNOW SAMPLE AT FREQUENCIES OF 1 AND 50 KHZ. THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANTS OF LIQUID WATER AND ICE ARE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT AT THESE FREQUENCIES AND THIS DIFFERENCE CAN BE EXPLOITED TO YIELD AN ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF THE AMOUNT OF LIQUID WATER AND ICE PRESENT IN A SAMPLE. A DIRECT TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT OF THE SAMPLE WILL BE INCLUDED WITH THE INSTRUMENT SO THAT THE TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANTS COULD BE PROPERLY ACCOUNTED FOR. THE SENSOR WOULD BE SMALL, RUGGED, RELIABLE, RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE, AND LOW IN POWER REQUIREMENTS. IT COULD BE EASILY TRANSPORTED TO REMOTE SNOWFIELD OR SEA ICE SITES AND COULD BE ADAPTED FOR UNATTENDED USE AT REMOTE SITES.