International Classification for Seasonal Snow on the Ground

"Since 1990 our collective knowledge of snow and the techniques we use to observe its characteristics have evolved. Thus, in 2003, the current classification (Colbeck et al., 1990) needed an update, but the users of the 1990 classification felt that corrections and additions should be kept to a minimum. Following the spirit of the previous editions, the Working Group on Snow Classification took care to again provide a concise document usable by user groups of quite different specialties: snow scientists, practitioners, scientists from other fields, as well as interested lay persons. However,

classification schemes typically become more technical as knowledge, measurement techniques, and observation methods evolve. The classification deals primarily with seasonal snow, even though many concepts in the present snow classification can also be applied to firn, which is the first stage in the formation of glacier ice. Definitions and tools are provided mainly to describe point observations of the snowpack, e.g., from snow pit work. However, the classification does not attempt to classify snow covers from a climatic point of view."