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Chaotic pattern dynamics on sun-melted snow

This thesis describes the comparison of time-lapse field observations of suncups on alpine snow with numerical simulations. The simulations consist of solutions to a nonlinear partial differential equation which exhibits spontaneous pattern formation from a low amplitude, random initial surface. Both the field observations and the numerical solutions are found to saturate at a characteristic height and fluctuate chaotically with time. The timescale of these fluctuations is found to be instrumental in determining the full set of parameters for the numerical model such that it mimics the nonlinear dynamics of suncups. These parameters in turn are related to the change in albedo of the snow surface caused by the presence of suncups. This suggests the more general importance of dynamical behaviour in gaining an understanding of pattern formation phenomena. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/2611
Date11 1900
CreatorsMitchell, Kevin A.
PublisherUniversity of British Columbia
Source SetsUniversity of British Columbia
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, Thesis/Dissertation
Format1842170 bytes, application/pdf
RightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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