Collection: Water equivalent

Water equivalent of snow cover:
Height of the water layer in mm that forms after the snow cover melts
would occur if the meltwater were to flow without infiltration or evaporation on a horizontal
area would remain. 1 mm water equivalent corresponds to 1 l meltwater / m²
Specific water equivalent:
Water equivalent of a snow cover per cm of snow cover height, expressed in mm / cm
Snow density:
Mass of fallen snow per unit volume in the state of natural
Storage, expressed in g/cm³.
Conversion of snow density and specific water equivalent:
1 g / cm³ = 10 mm / cm
1 mm / cm = 0.1 g / cm³

Specific water equivalent of each type of snow:

Type of snow specific water equivalent [mm/cm]
Fresh snow 0.5 to 1.5
powder snow 1.0 to 2.0
grainy snow 1.5 to 4.5
accumulated snow 3.5 to 6.0
Firn snow 5.0 to 8.5
Glacier ice 7.0 to 9.0
non-porous ice 9.17

The transitions between the individual snow types are not precisely defined!

Fresh snow: freshly fallen snow that has not been on the ground for more than 3 days
Powder snow: dry snow that does not stick together even under pressure
Firn snow: at least 1 year old