Item: IMPROVING THE DATA BASIS FOR THE PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT OF SNOW SLIDE IMPACTS FOR PRACTICAL AVALANCHE ENGINEERING AND HAZARD MAPPING APPLICATIONS IN AUSTRIA
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Title: IMPROVING THE DATA BASIS FOR THE PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT OF SNOW SLIDE IMPACTS FOR PRACTICAL AVALANCHE ENGINEERING AND HAZARD MAPPING APPLICATIONS IN AUSTRIA
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Andreas Huber [ Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), Department of Natural Hazards, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria ]
- Christoph Hesselbach [ Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), Department of Natural Hazards, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria ]
- Felix Oesterle [ Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), Department of Natural Hazards, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria ]
- Matthias Granig [ Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control (WLV), Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria ]
- Christian Tollinger [ Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control (WLV), Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria ]
- Jan-Thomas Fischer [ Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), Department of Natural Hazards, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Snow slide hazard and risk assessment is increasingly relevant in the operational work of the Austrian Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control (WLV). Estimating potential runout distances and associated impact pressures for these small-scale processes is required in a growing number of applications. While established tools for assessing full-size avalanches exist, these approaches are often not directly applicable or practical for smaller-scale snow slide processes. Motivated by two major snow slide cycles in North and East Tyrol during the winters of 2019/20 and 2020/21, an adapted model for the numerical simulation of snow slides has been developed, implemented in the open-source framework AvaFrame (https://avaf rame.org), and evaluated in accompanying studies. However, in resource-constrained situations and day-to-day operational settings detailed numerical modeling at the slope scale is not always feasible. In these cases simplified surrogate models or ad-hoc heuristics are desirable to provide rapid preliminary assessments. Realizing this practical demand this study sought to utilize AvaFrame/com5SnowSlide to derive simplified rapid assessment tools for snow slides. We analyzed 2D profiles of 150 snow slide slopes and constructed a set of 15 representative idealized snow slide topographies on which we performed com5SnowSlide simulations with varying release thickness. The resulting model outputs were analyzed and used to derive reduced-complexity surrogate models for practical hazard assessment. Our results indicate that release thickness and slope inclination are the dominant controls on modeled runout distances and peak impact pressures at the base of slopes prone to snow sliding. Based on these findings we derived two simplified surrogate models for a rapid assessment of the hazard potential in confirmed or suspected snow slide runout areas. Comparison between results of the surrogate models and the actual numerical model for selected case studies shows good agreement. The developed rapid assessment tools enable a quick, conservative, and practical estimation of snow slide impact pressures and runout distances using only a few input parameters. While they do not replace detailed numerical simulations or local expertise, they provide a robust initial assessment for practical applications.
Object ID: ISSW2026_P1.46.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098818
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Christoph Hesselbach
Keywords: Snow slide, avalanche modeling, rapid assessment, surrogate models, avalanche engineering
Page Number(s): 1753 - 1760
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