Item: THE LILLET LAKE AVALANCHE: A POTENTIAL SLUSH FLOW CASE FOR ITALIAN ALPS
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Title: THE LILLET LAKE AVALANCHE: A POTENTIAL SLUSH FLOW CASE FOR ITALIAN ALPS
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2024, Tromsø, Norway
Authors:
- Massimiliano Barbolini [ Flow-Ing Srl, University of Pavia - Dept. of Civil Engineering and Architecture ]
- Peter Gauer [ Norwegian Geotechnical Institute ]
- Francesco Stefanini [ Flow-Ing Srl ]
Date: 2024-09-23
Abstract: The Lillet Lake avalanche site is in the Piedmont region, north-west Italian Alps, in the community of Ceresole Reale, Province of Turin, close to the border to France. In the runout zone of the avalanche is an inhabited hamlet called “Mua”, with a small part referred to as “Inverso di Mua” on the other side of the Orco River. Several potential avalanche-starting zones endanger the site. The highest ones are located upslope of a small alpine lake, the Lillet Lake, giving the avalanche its name. Historical information about this avalanche and the exposure of Mua hamlet to avalanches is rather controversial. Of particular significance is the historical data for an event that occurred in 1972 in which the snow masses released upslope from Lake Lillet, causing it to overflow and generating a slushflow-like event, which was able to reach the valley bottom. However, the information on the effects of this event is unclear as available sources report different data for the affected area. To better investigate the exposure of the site to slushflow hazard, a modeling analysis with the state-of-the-practice avalanche dynamic models RAMMS and SAMOS has been performed, testing their suitability for the modeling of slushflow processes. At the time their performance was also compared with respect to mixed snow avalanche modeling. The analysis carried out confirms the potential exposure of “Inverso di Mua” to slushflow hazard and highlights its possible exposure to powder avalanches too. It emerged from the study that there is a need for further research in the field of slush-flow modeling, including a dedicated calibration of the current avalanche dynamic model. RAMMS and SAMOS have proven to be very flexible models able to simulate a wide range of snow-related flows, ranging from slushflows to powder snow avalanches, although non-negligible differences in the model’s outputs may emerge as a result of the different approaches and choice of modeling parameters that have to be set by the user.
Object ID: ISSW2024_P6.5.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Massimiliano Barbolini
Keywords: slushflow, mixed avalanche, RAMMS, SAMOS, Lillet Lake avalanche
Page Number(s): 766 - 772
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