Item: THOUGHTS ON THE WHY’S AND HOW’S OF SMALL-AVALANCHE EXPERIMENTS
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Title: THOUGHTS ON THE WHY’S AND HOW’S OF SMALL-AVALANCHE EXPERIMENTS
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2024, Tromsø, Norway
Authors:
- Dieter Issler [ Dept. of Mountain Hazards, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute ]
- Yoichi Ito [ Snow and Ice Research Centre, National Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience ]
Date: 2024-09-23
Abstract: Small avalanche paths (typically 100–300 m long) offer great opportunities for detailed studies of most aspects of avalanche flow except the powder-snow cloud. With impact forces one to two orders of magnitude smaller than in large avalanches, the cost of setting up a test site is correspondingly much lower. At small sites, the initial conditions can be controlled to a large degree, avalanches triggered even if explosives cannot be used, and in some cases direct visual observation of the processes inside the flow is possible. We discuss which fundamental processes in avalanches can be studied in low-budget experiments thanks to recent developments in sensor technology. With small avalanches, detailed post-event studies of the deposits are feasible, including the local mass balance and measuring the dispersion of tracer particles due to shearing and granular temperature.
Object ID: ISSW2024_P2.14.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Dieter Issler
Keywords: Avalanche experiments, avalanche release, flow regimes, erosion, measurement techniques, data analysis
Page Number(s): 393 - 400
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