The main purpose of this work is to enhance the understanding of processes driving the small scale variability of mountain snow covers. The relative importance of the main snow cover processes contributing to observed snow deposition patterns after individual snow storms and during the ablation season are investigated. The different processes are identified and quantified by modelling, measuring and statistically analysing the snowpack, its interaction with the atmosphere and its spatial distribution. Several state of the art techniques of measurements, models and statistical analysis are applied to explore wind induced snow transport processes and the local energy balance.
