By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, December 25, 2016
This winter, The Citizen’s Tom Spears looks under snow and behind icicles to find out what makes our coldest season tick. It’s a series we call The Science of Winter, and today’s episode looks at the unique sound of stepping on cold, packed snow.
In years of living in Manitoba, David Shoesmith got used to the different kinds of ice where his son played hockey, and different types of snow where his wife went cross-country skiing.
Outdoor rinks behave nothing like the ice in a heated arena, he noticed. The deep cold makes the skating conditions different. And when the snow became extra cold, his wife complained her skis wouldn’t glide as easily.
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/science-of-winter-squeaking-snow-is-the-sound-of-snowflakes-shattering