Avalanche/landslide Researcher wants to better predict sliding snow avalanches
For the first time, a research team has collected data directly underneath a sliding snow avalanche. According to the Swiss Federal Institute for Avalanche Research, they want to find out what it takes for such an avalanche to trigger so that they can provide better warnings in future.
02.04.2025, 08:46
SDA
This has hardly been possible up to now because, in contrast to other types of avalanches, the processes involved in sliding snow avalanches have not yet been widely researched, the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos announced on Wednesday.
For her investigations, SLF researcher Amelie Fees placed 44 sensors in a slope on Seewer Berg in Davos, where this type of avalanche regularly occurs in winter. She used them to measure the temperature of the ground and how much water it contains every fifteen minutes.
In a sliding snow avalanche, the entire snow cover on the ground detaches spontaneously. This requires a film of water to form between the snow and the ground, on which the entire snow cover slides downhill. According to the researcher, this film of water can be created by three effects: By warm ground thawing the bottom layer of snow, by water rising from the ground and by melt and rain water penetrating through the snow cover from above.
Sensors help
According to the SLF, the most important result of the study is that it helps to continuously monitor the ground and snow on avalanche slopes with sensors instead of relying solely on weather data. "This allows us to make more accurate predictions," explained Fees in the SLF press release. However, there is still a lot of research to be done in order to develop a reliable system.
In the next step, the researcher wants to find out how much water is needed and how large the area must be for an avalanche to release.
