| Term: | Sintering |
| Definition: |
The bonding together of ice crystals. NSIDCCryosphere
The process by which intergranular bonds form in a powder or porous material such as snow dry or wet, decreasing thereby the surface energy of the material. In dry snow, direct deposition of water vapour diffusing through the pore space is usually the dominant bond growth mechanism, but several other mechanisms may contribute depending on the prevailing conditions surface, volume, and grain boundary diffusion as well as plastic flow. Externally applied pressures, e.g., overburden by snow or ice, assist the sintering process by so-called pressure sintering. IACSSnow Sintering is the process whereby ice crystals adhere through the diffusion of water vapor from regions of positive curvature to regions of negative curvature, such as the boundary between the two crystals. AMSglossary GCW |