title: Three-dimensional snow images by MR microscopy.
abstract: MR microscopy technique was introduced to visualize and quantify the three-dimensional structure of snowpack. Since the NMR signal from the ice was week, we looked at the air space instead filling with dodecane or aniline doped with iron acetylacetonate. Four types of snow were tested: ice spheres, large rounded poly crystals, small rounded mono-crystals and depth hoar crystals. A specific specimen-cooling system was developed to keep the temperature below 0 degrees C. In the experiments 0.5 to 2 h were necessary to accumulate the signals enough to obtain a 3D micro-image; the image matrix 128(3), voxel size (200 microm)3 or 256(3) (120 microm)3. Comparison with the 2D data using the conventional section plane method was also carried out and MR microscopy is proved to be a very useful method to visualize the microstructure of snowpack.
authors.affiliation: Hokkaido University of Education, Iwamizawa, Japan. oze@iwa.hokkyodai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ozeki
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kose
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haishi
authors.forename: Seitarou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Shun-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakatsubo
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishimura
mesh_terms: D007053:Ice; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D012914:Snow
chemical_list: D007053:Ice