Item: FROM FIELD OBSERVATIONS TO ANALYSIS: CHANGING SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE CONDITIONS IN THE AOSTA VALLEY (NW ITALIAN ALPS)
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Title: FROM FIELD OBSERVATIONS TO ANALYSIS: CHANGING SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE CONDITIONS IN THE AOSTA VALLEY (NW ITALIAN ALPS)
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Simone Laurent Roveyaz [ Fondazione Montagna Sicura, Villa Cameron, Courmayeur (AO), Italy ]
- Eloïse Bovet [ Fondazione Montagna Sicura, Villa Cameron, Courmayeur (AO), Italy ]
- Andrea Debernardi [ Fondazione Montagna Sicura, Villa Cameron, Courmayeur (AO), Italy ]
- Nathalie Durand [ Fondazione Montagna Sicura, Villa Cameron, Courmayeur (AO), Italy ]
- Stefano Pivot [ Snow and Avalanche Office, Regional Functional and Planning Centre, Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, Quart (AO), Italy ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: In recent years, avalanche forecasters in the Aosta Valley have observed significant changes in snowpack characteristics and avalanche dynamics due to climate change. The main observations include a higher rain–snow transition elevation, reduced snow-cover duration at lower elevations, and changes in average snowpack depth, while high-elevation snowfall remains relatively stable but highly variable. Forecasters report increasingly complex and rapidly evolving winter conditions, including prolonged dry periods, extreme snowfall events, high-elevation rain fall, and intense temperature fluctuations. The resulting spatial and temporal variability in avalanche hazard directly affects operational forecasting, increasing uncertainty in hazard assessment and backcountry route selection. To quantify these observations, this study analyzes nivometeorological data and the Regional Avalanche Cadastre using manual measurements together with numerical modelling. The ultimate objective is to improve understanding of these processes, assess their effects on snowpack stability, and evaluate their implications for avalanche forecasting and risk management in a changing climate.
Object ID: ISSW2026_P4.25.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790099307
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Simone Laurent Roveyaz
Keywords: snow-cover monitoring, historical database, climate change
Page Number(s): 1054 - 1061
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