Snow Sunset
by Nava Thompson
Title
Snow Sunset
Artist
Nava Thompson
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
A photo taken by Nava Thompson of a snow landscape while the sun was starting to set in Bentonville Arkansas. This photography was taken on a back road where deer roam..............................Once on the ground, snow can be categorized as powdery when light and fluffy, fresh when recent but heavier, granular when it begins the cycle of melting and refreezing, and eventually ice once it comes down, after multiple melting and refreezing cycles, into a dense mass called snow pack. When powdery, snow moves with the wind from the location where it originally landed, forming deposits called snowdrifts that may have a depth of several meters. After attaching itself to hillsides, blown snow can evolve into a snow slab—an avalanche hazard on steep slopes. The existence of a snowpack keeps temperatures lower than they would be otherwise, as the whiteness of the snow reflects most sunlight, and any absorbed heat goes into melting the snow rather than increasing its temperature. The water equivalent of snowfall is measured to monitor how much liquid is available to flood rivers from meltwater that will occur during the following spring. Snow cover can protect crops from extreme cold. If snowfall stays on the ground for a series of years uninterrupted, the snowpack develops into a mass of ice called glacier. Fresh snow absorbs sound, lowering ambient noise over a landscape because the trapped air between snowflakes attenuates vibration. These acoustic qualities quickly minimize and reverse, once a layer of freezing rain falls on top of snow cover. Walking across snowfall produces a squeaking sound at low temperatures.....................................The energy balance of the snowpack itself is dictated by several heat exchange processes. The snowpack absorbs solar shortwave radiation that is partially blocked by cloud cover and reflected by snow surface. A long-wave heat exchange takes place between the snowpack and its surrounding environment that includes overlying air mass, tree cover and clouds. Heat exchange takes place by convection between the snowpack and the overlaying air mass, and it is governed by the temperature gradient and wind speed. Moisture exchange between the snowpack and the overlying air mass is accompanied by latent heat transfer that is influenced by vapor pressure gradient and air wind. Rain on snow can add significant amounts of thermal energy to the snowpack. A generally insignificant heat exchange takes place by conduction between the snowpack and the ground. The small temperature change from before to after a snowfall is a result of the heat transfer between the snowpack and the air.[1] As snow degrades, its surface can develop characteristic ablation textures such as suncups or penitentes...................................The term snow storm can describe a heavy snowfall, while a blizzard involves snow and wind, obscuring visibility. Snow shower is a term for an intermittent snowfall, while flurry is used for very light, brief snowfalls. Snow can fall more than a meter at a time during a single storm in flat areas, and meters at a time in rugged terrain, such as mountains. When snow falls in significant quantities, travel by foot, car, airplane and other means becomes severely restricted, but other methods of mobility become possible, such as the use of snowmobiles, snowshoes and skis. When heavy snow occurs early in the fall (or, on rarer occasions, late in the spring), significant damage can occur to trees still in leaf. Areas with significant snow each year can store the winter snow within an ice house, which can be used to cool structures during the following summer. A variation on snow has been observed on Venus, though composed of metallic compounds and occurring at a substantially higher temperatu
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January 6th, 2014
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Comments (21)
Will Borden
Hi Nava~~an absolutely stunning snow/sunset winter image- the light and shadows filtering through the woods are exceptionally beautiful..! F&L!!
Doug Kreuger
…Back for a revisit to one on my wintertime Favorites, a great choice for the WFS In-House Silhouette Contest. Good Luck! Where's Olaf? L&F
Nava Thompson replied:
Thank you Doug----Olaf is behind the 6 tree on the left---with a couple of Bluebirds on his shoulder. :) :) Thanks for encouraging support--as always!
Doug Kreuger
What a stunning capture Nava Jo! I thought i had commented on this one before, but must have forgotten to hit the "Comment" button, or I may have hit the "Back" arrow and erased what I wrote. In either case, I love everything about this radiant winter scene: the sunlight burning through these trees, the contrast of warm light patches on the snow, interspersed among the cool blue shadows, and the bright pops of red & orange leaves leftover from the prior fall season. Just Beautiful! L/V&F
Nava Thompson replied:
Doug--thank you so very much. Your writing is as poetic as your painting. This certainly causes me to go back and take a second look at my 'Snow Sunset'. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for the lvf!
Nava Jo Thompson
Doug---thanks for the sunshine this morning--on this cold winter day. :) Your comments cause me to go back and check out my own work. :) Thanks so much for your generous comments and support!
Doug Kreuger
Nava Jo, This Gorgeous Sunset capture could have just as easily passed as a Stunning Sunrise—I Love how the sunlight is burning through these trees, and illuminating the colorful bursts of red-orange leaves leftover from the previous autumn. Beautiful elongated shadows, too! Spectacular work my friend! L/V&F
Nava Thompson replied:
Doug---thank you very much--your writing is poetic and certainly cause me to go back and study the scene closer. I think that is part of what makes you a wonderful artist. Appreciate your thoughts and the post in the WFS 'thanks' thread. Thanks for the lvf!
Marilyn Smith
Nava, I love the blue shadows that contrast with the snow as the sun gets lower and lower in the sky! L/F
Nava Thompson replied:
Marilyn---this is what it looks like here now---12 below this morning--but sunny and still today. thank you!