[Geysers] Non-geyser query

[srlb at eskimo.com]

> One possibility.............snow is generally not as deep under the tree
> canopy because some of the snow is intercepted by the branches.  With the
> snow not as deep it will appear to melt away more quickly.

My guess is you've stated the major cause. Take a look at the Old Faithful
webcam (http://www.nps.gov/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm). There we see in the
foreground two evergreen trees; one (on the left) with lots of branches
all the way down to near the ground and the other (on the right) with a
lot fewer branhces that don't get nearly as close to the ground. My guess
is that the sun would actually heat the trunk of the right hand tree more
than that of the left hand tree because the right hand tree's trunk is
more exposed to the sun. Yet, as we see, it's the left hand tree that has
the much greater snow free circle under it.

I'll try to verify this bit of analysis as soon as the snow here decides
to stick to the ground for more than just a few hours. We have both
evergreens like the two in the webcam scene, and a few apple trees which
at have no leaves at all at the moment to shield the ground from the snow.

Bob

srlb at eskimo.com

> Fred Kallien
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Janet Chapple<mailto:jochapple at earthlink.net>
>   To: geysers at wwc.edu<mailto:geysers at wwc.edu>
>   Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 8:47 AM
>   Subject: [Geysers] Non-geyser query
>
>
>   In looking at the Webcam of OFG this morning, I was reminded of a
>   question some of you may be able to answer.
>
>   What causes the snow to melt around the base of a tree before the
>   surrounding snow melts? Maybe this is something we can explore during
>   this low season.
>
>   Janet Chapple
>
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