Snow Avalanches Flashcards

1
Q

Snow Avalanches

A

Masses of snow that separate from snow pack and slide or flow downslope.

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2
Q

Slide

A

Movement as a coherent mass of snow

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3
Q

Flow

A

Coherent mass of snow that rapidly disintegrates into small particles moving independently of one another

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4
Q

Snowfall and accumulation influenced by:

A

latitude – seasonal/annual net radiation/energy balance

altitude – atmospheric temperature decreases with altitude (i.e., lapse rate = -10oC/1000 m)

proximity to moisture source – moist air masses generate more precipitation

slope angle – snow accumulates on slopes less than 45o; sloughs off on steeper slopes

wind redistributes snow to form cornices and slabs

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5
Q

Avalanche initiation

point release avalanches

A

point-release avalanches

failure of small
volumes of loose snow (i.e., flows)

often occur after heavy snowfall events

failing snow initiates failure in adjacent snow pack; produces a distinct V-shaped, downslope-widening trough

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6
Q

loose snow is unstable because:

A

1) increased mass on slope;
2) snow crystals have had little time to bond to one
another

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7
Q

slab avalanches

A

failure of coherent mass of snow (i.e., slide)

initiated by fracturing of snow pack along a weak layer at depth

failure propagates along weak layer

slab slips downslope with top of slab moving more rapidly than bottom of slab

slab is bounded by crown and flank fractures

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8
Q

strength of snow pack influenced by:

A

grain size and grain type

degree of bonding between ice crystals; compaction (affected

by snowfall amounts)
presence of anchors (e.g. rocks, vegetation)

temperature: heating by solar radiation (affected by slope aspect); snow pack thermal gradient

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9
Q

Weak layers

A

avalanches require a buried weak layer and an overlying stronger layer

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10
Q

weak layers develop in several ways:

A

changes in air temperature during snowfall events

hoar frost formation within the snow pack

hoar frost formation at surface of snow pack

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11
Q

“Right Side Up” storm

A

air temperatures are warm when the snow starts falling, and then become colder

snow is light and fluffy on top and becomes more dense with depth; results in a strong layer at depth

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12
Q

“Upside Down” storm

A

ncreasing air temperatures during a snowfall event

heavy, denser snow lies on top of lighter snow; results in a slab of more dense snow lying over a weak layer of less dense snow, providing the necessary ingredients for slab avalanches

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13
Q

Surface Hoar

A

develops during clear and calm conditions in the evening; promotes radiative cooling of snow surface

humid air lies over cold snow surface; promotes frost formation

forms a thin, fragile and persistent weak layer in the snowpack

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14
Q

Depth Hoar

A

heat moves from warm to cold, and moisture follows the same gradient

moisture in the form of water molecules is constantly moving upward from the relatively warm ground surface below the snow through the porous snow pack

moisture condenses on lower sides of crystals, causing them to grow (and have razor-sharp edges), and sublimating from the tops of the grains, making the tops rounded

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15
Q

Avalanche Motion - Slide

A

sliding motion occurs in avalanches moving up to 40 km/hr

after the snow fails and has overcome initial friction, it can accelerate rapidly downslope

slabs break into smaller fragments and snow glides along the surface with little mixing and turbulence

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16
Q

Avalanche Motion – Dry Snow

A

avalanches become turbulent (i.e., flows) when velocities exceed about 40 km/hr

dry flowing avalanche contains a dense core of snow particles (10-30 cm in diameter)

finer particles mix with air at the front and along the upper surface of moving snow forming a powder cloud

velocity tends to be greater in the center of the flow

avalanche generally moves along the surface of the terrain, uninfluenced by small irregularities

17
Q

Avalanche Motion – Wet Snow

A

wet snow avalanches develop in the same manner as dry snow avalanches but have no powder cloud

moving snow is dense and composed of rounded particles with a diameter of 10 cm to rounded lumps up to several metres; contains intergranular water

wet snow avalanches tend to flow in channels and are easily deflected by irregularities in the terrain

18
Q

Start zone

A

location on hillslope where snowpack fails

19
Q

Track

A

path along which avalanche travels and accelerates to achieve its highest velocity

20
Q

Run-out zone

A

location where avalanche decelerates and snow is deposited

21
Q

Increase in mass of materials on slope

A

addition of snow during and soon after snow storms

weight of people traversing slopes

22
Q

Slope angle

A

most important terrain factor for avalanche initiation

slope angles >60o – frequent sluffs

slope angles 45o-60o – frequent point-release avalanches

slope angles 30o-45o – frequent large slab avalanches

slope angles <30o – wet snow avalanches only

23
Q

Avalanche Triggers

A

wind erodes snow from the windward (upwind) side of obstacles, such as a ridge, and deposits the same snow on the leeward (downwind) terrain

wind-drifted snow is often much denser than non-wind loaded snow; adds significant weight on top of buried weak layers

24
Q

wind loading

A

is a common denominator in most avalanche accidents; wind can deposit snow 10 times more rapidly than snow falling from the sky

25
slope aspect
orientation of slope with respect to wind and incident sunlight leeward slopes may accumulate large amounts of snow in cornices or wind slabs wind-deposited snow commonly consists of stronger and weaker layers; increased risk of slab avalanches cold snowpack tends to develop more persistent weak-layers, such as surface hoar or depth hoar, than a warm snowpack majority of avalanche accidents occur on north and east facing slopes where strong surface melting creates wet snow conditions, it is just the opposite of a dry snow pack south and west facing slopes will usually produce more wet avalanches than more shaded slopes
26
“warm” slopes
both south- and west-facing – are prone to point release avalanches in sunny and warm weather
27
“cold” slopes
both north- and east-facing – are prone to point release avalanches in cold weather
28
North facing slopes
receive little heat from the sun in mid- winter
29
South facing slopes
receive much more heat from the sun in mid- winter
30
east facing slopes
catch sun only in the morning when temperatures are colder while west facing slopes catch the sun in the warm afternoon consequently, east facing slopes are colder than west facing slopes.
31
Avalanche risk greatest in regions characterized by steep slopes and annual mean snow depths (AMSD) > 50 cm
Canadian Cordillera – Alberta, B.C., Yukon, NWT eastern Canadian Arctic – Baffin, Devon, Ellesmere Islands Torngat Mountains, Newfoundland & Labrador north shore of St. Lawrence River, Gaspé Peninsula, Québec
32
Historical changes in pattern of avalanche mortality
development of transportation corridors resource development in alpine environments backcountry recreation
33
Avalanche Fatalities in Canada
January, 1999 Fatalities: 9; injured: 25 Kangiqsualujjuaq, QC. Tonnes of snow cascaded down a cliff and knocked out a school gymnasium wall. Ten other buildings were evacuated. February, 1965 Fatalities: 26; injured: 22 Granduc Mine, BC. Snow avalanche struck sleeping quarters of mining camp. March, 1910 Fatalities: 62 Rogers Pass, BC. Workers clearing snow from previous avalanche on CP tracks buried by second avalanche.
34
Minimizing Avalanche Risk | Location of infrastructure
assessment of recurrence interval of avalanche events includes data on frequency and volume of avalanche events construction of hazard maps: incorporates recurrence interval (i.e., 300 years) and potential impact forces (i.e., > 30 kPa) of avalanche events
35
structures located in start zone – avalanche support structures designed to:
1) support snow pack, or | 2) reduce snow accumulation above start zone
36
Minimizing Avalanche Risk
explosives employed to release accumulation of snow on mountain slopes prevent the release of large avalanches
37
Stability and Strength Tests | compression test
application of vertical force on a column of undisturbed snow
38
Stability and Strength Tests | rutschblock test
skier steps, then jumps, on a block of snow, 2 m across and 1.5 m long