Item: MOTIVATION AND THE INITIAL STEPS FOR A DATA SCIENCE INVESTIGATION ON SLUSHFLOWS IN NORTHERN NORWAY
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Title: MOTIVATION AND THE INITIAL STEPS FOR A DATA SCIENCE INVESTIGATION ON SLUSHFLOWS IN NORTHERN NORWAY
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2023, Bend, Oregon
Authors:
- Christopher J. L. D'Amboise [ Department of Geosciences, The Arctic University, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Vilde E. Hansen [ Department of Geosciences, The Arctic University, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Jordy Hendrikx [ Department of Geosciences, The Arctic University, Tromsø, Norway ] [ Antarctica New Zealand, Christchurch, New Zealand ]
- Louise M. Vick [ Department of Geosciences, The Arctic University, Tromsø, Norway ]
Date: 2023-10-08
Abstract: Slushflows are rapid mass movements where the mass consists of snow that is water saturated (or close to saturation), often entraining ice, soil, and rock debris. Understanding slushflow formation requires the evaluation of a number of variables related to the terrain, snowpack, weather and hydraulic conditions. This is difficult, as events are limited, and observations are sparse and often misrepresented (as avalanches or debris flows) in databases due to limited understanding. In this study we investigate the data quality and spatial distribution of slushflow events in Norway using the Norwegian National Mass Movement Database (NSDB), which contains 1051 unique slushflow events assigned a data quality grade. The data quality grades are based on a mix of spatial and temporal accuracies, and it was found that grade A and B were of sufficient accuracy for most temporal studies. However, we conclude that even the spatial accuracy of the highest quality grade (A) does not meet the requirements needed for robust investigations on the spatial influence of slushflow formation. This is because most of the data collected is missing information on the location of release areas. The data suggest that hydraulic sinks calculated on a 10 m DEM resolution could be an indicator for the formation of a type of slushflow that are released from bogs, depressions, and lakes. Our findings highlight the need to continue to improve on data collection of slushflow events. A focus should be put on collecting an accurate location for the release areas and runout zones of slushflows.
Object ID: ISSW2023_P2.04.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Christopher D'Amboise
Keywords: slushflows, data science, spatial data, terrain characteristics
Page Number(s): 672 - 679
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