Measuring snow in 3-D using X-ray tomography: assessment of visualization techniques

Abstract

Abstarct Snow hides its true structure from easy visual observation. One reason is that ice is transparent, so the three-dimensional (3-D) structure is impossible to disentangle. 3-D reconstruction is essential to understand the physical and mechanical properties of snow. In recent years, the techniques to measure and visualize snow in 3-D have improved tremendously. X-ray microtomography is much more user-friendly than the older microtome sectioning techniques. We show different techniques to measure cast and natural snow samples and the steps necessary to produce high-quality data. The simplest way is 3-D renderings. Imaging snow in 3-D definitively challenges our previous view of a snowpack consisting of particles as traditionally seen on a crystal card.