Snowpack

Snowpack forms from layers of snow that accumulate in geographic regions and high altitudes where the climate includes cold weather for extended periods during the year. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt. Snowpacks are the drinking water source for many communities. Sudden melting can cause flooding.

Assessing the formation and stability of snowpacks is important in the study and prediction of avalanches. Scientists study differences between the snowpacks in polar and temperate regions, snowpack metamorphism and melting, and snowpacks impact on animal habitats and plant succession. There are differences in snowpack between taiga and tundra environments.

Snowpacks are also studied in relation to climate change and global warming.