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Settlement
Also: Settlement Rate, Settled Snow
The slope-perpendicular decrease in thickness due to gravity and metamorphism. Often misused to refer to a rapid collapse or "whumpf" of the snowpack. Significant settlement (25%) of new snow is generally favorable for the stability of that layer.
The rate at which snow settles, calculated from the ratio of new snow depth to change in total snow depth, is the settlement rate.
Deposited snow which has increased in density after deposition is called settled snow.
This glossary is a work in progress and is made possible by AlpenPro.
