A Poisson shot noise model for micro-penetration of snow

As a common starting point for the interpretation of SnowMicroPenetrometer (SMP) data the penetration force is interpreted as a superposition of spatially uncorrelated ruptures of structural elements which follow an ideal elastic–brittle response. We re-state this idea and describe the fluctuating penetration force as a Poisson shot noise process. This allows us to derive simple analytical expressions for the cumulants and the covariance of the penetration force in terms of the micromechanical, force-displacement parameters of individual elements. Vice versa, the micromechanical parameters can be estimated from the statistics of the penetration force. We test our method with simulated shot noise processes and real snow profiles and reveal potential limitations of the underlying assumptions. Our model unifies different previous approaches to snow classification which are based on snow penetration resistance.

► Re-interpretation of a common penetration model as shot noise. ► Analytical solution for force statistics and parameter estimation. ► Unification of previous, yet unrelated approaches.