30 
Table 7 
Water equivalent of a thin slice of the drift extending in both directions from 
road compared with average snow cover. 
E W E Ww 
Traverse 80 m 80 m E/W 150 m 150 m E/W 
T-1 
Mass (kg) 86.300 91.700 0.94 100.650 125.750 0.80 
Relative mass (1.04) (1.10) : (0.64) (0.81) ; 
T-3 
Mass (kg) 74.900 96.400 0.78 121.800 154.850 0.79 
Relative mass (0.90) (1.16) . (0.78) (0.99) : 
T-5 
Mass (kg) 151.800 76.250 1.99 226.350 133.350 1.70 
Relative mass (1.82) (0.92) : (1.45) (0.85) : 
T-6 
Mass (kg) 105.950 121.700 0.87 173.950 206.400 0.84 
Relative mass (1.27) (1.46) : (1.12) (1.32) i 
T-7 
Mass (kg) 129.950 133.000 0.98 
Relative mass (1.56) (1.60) ; 
T-8 
Mass (kg) 179.100 75.200 2.38 244.450 142.550 171 
Relative mass (2.15) (0.90) ; (1.57) (0.913) t 
N S N S 
Traverse 80 m 80 m N/S 150 m 150 m N/S 
T-9 
Mass (kg) 67.600 74.250 155.350 122.950 
Relative mass (0.81) (0.89) ‘ (1.0) (0.79) 
For each traverse, the top row indicates the mass (kg) of 1 cm thick vertical slice of the snowdrift extending in each 
direction from a road. The second row, labeled ‘’Relative mass,’’ compares the mass of a slice through the drift with a slice 
of ‘‘average’’ snow, i.e., with constant water equivalent of 10.4 cm H20 (10.4g cm-2) throughout its length. The mass of 
this average slice would be 83.2 kg if it is 80 m long, and 156.0 kg if it is 150 m long. 
through the measured drift can then be com- 
pared with a slice throughout ‘‘average snow- 
pack’’ as determined earlier. This is done in 
Table 7. The results are similar to those in Table 
6, but they give the water equivalent of the 
drifts directly in comparison with the average 
tundra snow. 
Windblown dust 
The movement of dust and coarser sedi- 
ments by the wind is related to snow drifting, 
but there is an interesting difference. The most 
effective winds in moving these sediments are 
clearly from the east. The east winds move 
several times more dust than do the west winds. 
There are two main reasons for this: 
(a) There is a noticeable change in the 
direction of the strongest winds with the sea- 
sons. This was well summarized by Conover 
(1960, p. 10) from Barter Island wind roses. The 
strongest and most frequent winds of winter are 
from the west. They yield progressively from 
April through July to winds that are predomi- 
nantly from the northeast. 
