Vertical MWT

As explained in Colbeck (1979) and Gray & Male (1981), the vertical flow of water through a snow pack is dominated by gravitational forces. Since capillary forces are typically ignored in vertical flow through a snow pack (Colbeck 1979; Gray and Male 1981; Colbeck and Anderson 1982), a gravity flow theory, such as used in the SNAP model (Albert & Krajeski, 1998) can be utilized. The hydraulic conductivity used within the SNAP model changes with saturation as seen in Equation 1. Vertical flow velocities ranging from 2 – 60 cm/min have been observed through a snow pack (Gray and Male 1981). For more information on the vertical flow equations used within the SNAP model the interested reader is encouraged to review Albert & Krajeski (1998).