The layered character of snow covers

Snow studies have generally ignored the layered nature of snow covers. Having achieved a good understanding of the properties and processes in homogeneous snow, snow scientists should develop more insight into the evolution of the layers and their effects on overall snow response. Many of the outstanding problems in snow studies can only be solved by dealing with snow as a layered medium. The various mechanisms by which layers are generated, their effects, and some of the outstanding research problems are described here.