Item: PROJECTED IMPACT OF CLIMATE WARMING ON AVALANCHE ACTIVITY AT TWO SITES IN THE SWISS ALPS
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Title: PROJECTED IMPACT OF CLIMATE WARMING ON AVALANCHE ACTIVITY AT TWO SITES IN THE SWISS ALPS
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2023, Bend, Oregon
Authors:
- Stephanie Mayer [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
- Martin Hendrick [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
- Adrien Michel [ Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Switzerland ]
- Bettina Richter [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
- Jürg Schweizer [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
- Alec van Herwijnen [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
Date: 2023-10-08
Abstract: Climate change strongly affects the seasonal snow cover in mountainous areas worldwide. Warming-induced changes of snowfall and snow cover are expected to influence the frequency and type of snow avalanches, but research on the effect of climate change on avalanches is scarce. To investigate the effect of climate change on avalanche activity in the region of Davos, Switzerland, we simulated snow stratigraphy until the end of the 21st century using downscaled climate projections for two automatic weather stations at 2147 m a.s.l. and 2540 m a.s.l. Projections were based on eight different climate model chains and three different emission scenarios and snow stratigraphy was simulated with the snow cover model SNOWPACK. We interpreted simulated snow stratigraphy in terms of wet- and dry-snow instability using two recently developed random forest models. Results suggest that, depending on the emission scenario, dry-snow instability expressed as avalanche days will on average decrease by 20 to 60% until the end of the century compared to the reference period (1991-2020). Wet-snow instability, on the other hand, will slightly increase, by up to 20% for the higher-elevation site, and decrease by up to 50% for the lower-elevation site. Detailed analysis of the monthly changes of avalanche activity revealed a shift of wet-snow instability to earlier winter months. Overall, our results contribute to a better understanding of the influence of climate warming on avalanche activity which is crucial to revisit long-standing avalanche risk mitigation strategies.
Object ID: ISSW2023_O6.05.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Stephanie Mayer
Keywords: climate change, snow avalanches, climate projections, snow stratigraphy
Page Number(s): 572 - 576
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