Item: ON EXPLOSIVE BLAST WAVES AND SNOW: Insights from measurements with time-synchronized air pressure sensors and geophones
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Title: ON EXPLOSIVE BLAST WAVES AND SNOW: Insights from measurements with time-synchronized air pressure sensors and geophones
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Benjamin Meier [ Wyssen Avalanche Control AG, Reichenbach, Switzerland ]
- Samuel V. Verplanck [ Montana State University (MSU), Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, Bozeman, Montana, USA ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: In a project funded by the Transportation Avalanche Research Pool (TARP), we investigated the interaction between explosive blast waves and the snowpack to improve shot placement and charge sizing for avalanche mitigation. We employ high-resolution, time-synchronized measurements of air pressure above the snow surface and near-surface snow motion using geophones embedded in the snow. Field experiments conducted in January 2026 on the Jungfraufirn, a glacier near the Jungfraujoch, Switzerland (3500 m elevation), provided a flat-field winter test designed to minimize terrain reflections and isolate the interaction between the blast wave and the snowpack. Eight explosive charges were detonated above, on, or beneath the snow surface. Three different types of explosives were tested. We show that the blast wave propagates at the speed of sound in air and that peak over-snow pressure decays according to a power law. Higher frequency components attenuate more rapidly. The timing of the over-snow pressure signal aligns with the peak snow velocity, indicating that local air–snow coupling dominates over wave propagation within the snowpack. Geophone measurements reveal that the oscillation frequency of the snow response is similar across all tested charges. In contrast, oscillation magnitude is strongly correlated with the amplitude of the initial shock front. Although based on one snowpack, these high-resolution, coupled measurements and analysis represent an important step toward a mechanistic understanding of blast wave–snow interactions that can inform future avalanche mitigation strategies.
Object ID: ISSW2026_O1.4.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098476
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Benjamin Meier
Keywords: Explosives, Avalanches, Pressure, Shockwave, Experiments, Geophones
Page Number(s): 1466 - 1474
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