| definition |
- [Adapted from Snow Fork: A portable instrument for measuring the properties of
snow, "http://personal.inet.fi/business/toikka/ToikkaOy/snowfork.htm"]
Snow forks are explicitly designed for field use. They are designed to operate
in extreme conditions, ranging from rainy weather to as low as 40 °C below
zero. The sensor is a steel fork used as a microwave resonator. Snow forks
measure electrical parameters: resonant frequency, attenuation and 3-dB
bandwidth. The measuring results are used to calculate accurately the complex
dielectric constant of snow. Further, the liquid water content and density of
snow are calculated using semi-empirical equations. All data will be shown
immediately on the display and can be stored in a solid-state memory.
Measurements made by a snow fork are reliable because:
* there is no sampling
* the fork does not compress the snow pack
* the measurement is easily repeatable
* the instrument can be checked by calibration measurement in the air.
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