Item: 7 years of avalanche measurements with GEODAR radar
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Title: 7 years of avalanche measurements with GEODAR radar
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2018, Innsbruck, Austria
Authors:
- Anselm Köhler [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ] [ University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom ]
- Betty Sovilla [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
- Jim McElwaine [ University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom ]
Date: 2018-10-07
Abstract: Observations of snow avalanches using radar are becoming more and more common in the daily work of practitioners and their scientific uses are also increasing. Radar systems have two great strengths: They can operate in any weather conditions and they can penetrate the powder cloud and measure the underlying dense flow (if the wavelength is larger than a few mm.) This underlying dense flow is nearly always the most destructive part of an avalanche except for the very largest. The GEODAR radar system was first installed for the winter season 2010-2011 at the avalanche test site Vall ´ee de la Sionne in Canton Valais, Switzerland. Since then more than 200 avalanches of all sizes and flow types have been captured. The data show many different types of flow characteristics and have been used to develop a comprehensive classification of avalanche flow regimes. For the first time, the evolution of flow regimes and the transitions between them can be recorded along the full avalanche path with a spatial resolution of 0.75m at around 100 Hz. This new information points out again the huge complexity of snow avalanches and the data will prove invaluable in validating and developing avalanche models.
Object ID: ISSW2018_P07.7.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s):
Keywords: Avalanche dynamics, Radar measurements, Flow regime, GEODAR data repository
Page Number(s): 665-669
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