Névé on a glacier that survives the year's ablation season. With time much of the firn is transformed into glacial ice.
The granular edge of snowfield that has remained frozen through the summer but is not yet considered glacial.
A transitional stage between snow crystals and ice where the increasing weight of the overlying material causes the snow crystals to settle, deform and recrystallize, leading to an increase in unit density. Further increases in the overburden causes the firn to continue to increase in density as the air spaces in the crystals are reduced by mechanical packing and plastic deformation. The interconnected air passages are sealed off into individual air bubbles at a density of about 0.83 kg/m3, marking the transition into ice.
Material that is transitional between snow and glacier ice. It is formed from snow after passing through one summer melt season and becomes glacier ice after its permeability to liquid water falls to zero.
An intermediate stage in the conversion of snow to ice through accumulation
Compacted granular ice (derived from snow) that forms where snow is deeply buried; if buried more deeply, firn turns into glacial ice.
Granular snow that has endured a summer without melting and will transform into glacial ice. [Annals of glaciology; v18; 208; 1993.] [Cold regions Science and Technology; v21; 295; 1993.
granular old snow forming a surface layer of a glacier
Firmly packed snow that has survived a summer melting season. Firn has a density of about 0.4 gram per cubic centimeter. Ultimately, firn turns into glacial ice.
A transition form between snow and glacial ice resulting from a summer's consolidation, metamorphosis, and melt/refreeze. Densities commonly between 400 and 830 kg·m-3.
A material transitional between snow and glacial ice.
Snow, usually on a glacier, that has survived a complete season of ablation.
a frozen limbo, half way between glacier and snow
rounded, well-bonded snow that is older than one year
Granular, partially consolidated snow that has passed through one summer melt season but is not yet glacial ice
consolidated granular snow left over from the previous year. Closer to ice than snow in density, it may require the use of crampons.
Partially compacted snow that survives the summer melting season. more details...
Old snow on the top of glaciers, granular and compact but not yet converted into ice. It is a transitional stage between snow and ice. Also called ne've'.
glacial snow that has survived at least one season
Old snow that has become granular and compacted as a result of melting and refreezing.
The granular ice formed by the recrystallization of snow; also known as névé.
old snow which has survived at least one summer melt season, density in the range of 0.4 to 0.5 (see névé).
Old snow which has become granular and dense under the action of various processes of melting and refreezing, including sublimation.
is old snow that has been recrystalized into a more dense substance. Snowflakes are compressed under the weight of the overlying snowpack. Individual crystal near the melting point have slick liquid edges allowing them to glide along other crystal planes and to readjust the space between them. Where the crystals touch they bond together, squeezing the air between them to the surface or into bubbles. During summer we might see the crystal metamorphosis occur more rapidly because of water percolation between the crystals. By summer's end the result is firn -- a compacted snow with the appearance of wet sugar, but with a hardness that makes it resistant to all but the most dedicated snow shovelers! Firn has a density greater than 0.55.
Firn is partially-compacted névé, a type of snow that has been left over from past seasons and has been recrystallized into a substance denser than névé. It is ice that is at an intermediate stage between snow and glacial ice. Firn has the appearance of wet sugar, but has a hardness that makes it extremely resistant to shovelling.