Аннотация:Under extremely low temperatures (ranging from −65°C to −15°C), an experiment on temperature gradient metamorphism with 500 K m(−1) was carried out for three days. Heat fluxes were produced in snow in either upward or downward directions. The effects of temperature, temperature gradient and its direction on crystal growth were investigated. The experiment showed that the growth rate was larger in layers where the average for the layer temperature was higher, even if the temperature gradient was small. The relationship of the calculated water-vapor flux and crystal growth to temperature was examined, and good correlation was found. It was concluded that crystal growth primarily depends on temperature, and secondarily on temperature gradient.