Articles | Volume 14, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-737-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-737-2020
Research article
 | 
02 Mar 2020
Research article |  | 02 Mar 2020

On the relation between avalanche occurrence and avalanche danger level

Jürg Schweizer, Christoph Mitterer, Frank Techel, Andreas Stoffel, and Benjamin Reuter

Related authors

Glide-snow avalanches: A mechanical, threshold-based release area model
Amelie Fees, Alec van Herwijnen, Michael Lombardo, Jürg Schweizer, and Peter Lehmann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2024-34,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2024-34, 2024
Preprint under review for NHESS
Short summary
Prediction of natural dry-snow avalanche activity using physics-based snowpack simulations
Stephanie Mayer, Frank Techel, Jürg Schweizer, and Alec van Herwijnen
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3445–3465, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3445-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3445-2023, 2023
Short summary
Temporal evolution of crack propagation characteristics in a weak snowpack layer: conditions of crack arrest and sustained propagation
Bastian Bergfeld, Alec van Herwijnen, Grégoire Bobillier, Philipp L. Rosendahl, Philipp Weißgraeber, Valentin Adam, Jürg Dual, and Jürg Schweizer
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 293–315, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-293-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-293-2023, 2023
Short summary
A random forest model to assess snow instability from simulated snow stratigraphy
Stephanie Mayer, Alec van Herwijnen, Frank Techel, and Jürg Schweizer
The Cryosphere, 16, 4593–4615, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4593-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4593-2022, 2022
Short summary
Data-driven automated predictions of the avalanche danger level for dry-snow conditions in Switzerland
Cristina Pérez-Guillén, Frank Techel, Martin Hendrick, Michele Volpi, Alec van Herwijnen, Tasko Olevski, Guillaume Obozinski, Fernando Pérez-Cruz, and Jürg Schweizer
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2031–2056, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2031-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2031-2022, 2022
Short summary

Related subject area

Discipline: Snow | Subject: Natural Hazards
Snow mechanical properties variability at the slope scale, implication for snow mechanical modeling
Francis Meloche, Francis Gauthier, and Alexandre Langlois
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1586,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1586, 2023
Short summary
Combining modelled snowpack stability with machine learning to predict avalanche activity
Léo Viallon-Galinier, Pascal Hagenmuller, and Nicolas Eckert
The Cryosphere, 17, 2245–2260, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2245-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2245-2023, 2023
Short summary
Can Saharan dust deposition impact snowpack stability in the French Alps?
Oscar Dick, Léo Viallon-Galinier, François Tuzet, Pascal Hagenmuller, Mathieu Fructus, Benjamin Reuter, Matthieu Lafaysse, and Marie Dumont
The Cryosphere, 17, 1755–1773, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1755-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1755-2023, 2023
Short summary
A closed-form model for layered snow slabs
Philipp Weißgraeber and Philipp L. Rosendahl
The Cryosphere, 17, 1475–1496, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1475-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1475-2023, 2023
Short summary
A random forest model to assess snow instability from simulated snow stratigraphy
Stephanie Mayer, Alec van Herwijnen, Frank Techel, and Jürg Schweizer
The Cryosphere, 16, 4593–4615, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4593-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4593-2022, 2022
Short summary

Cited articles

Birkeland, K. and Landry, C. C.: Power-laws and snow avalanches, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 1554, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL014623, 2002. 
Bründl, M., Hafner, E., Bebi, P., Bühler, Y., Margreth, S., Marty, C., Schaer, M., Stoffel, L., Techel, F., Winkler, K., Zweifel, B., and Schweizer, J.: Ereignisanalyse Lawinensituation im Januar 2018, WSL Bericht, 76, edited by: Steffen, K., Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland, 162 pp., 2019. 
Clark, T.: Exploring the link between the conceptual model of avalanche hazard and the North American public avalanche danger scale, M.Sc., Faculty of Environement, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC, Canada, 104 pp., 2019. 
Clark, T. and Haegeli, P.: Establishing the link between the conceptual model of avalanche hazard and the North American public avalanche danger scale: initial explorations from Canada, Proceedings ISSW 2018, International Snow Science Workshop, Innsbruck, Austria, 7–12 October 2018, 1116–1120, 2018. 
Dennis, A. and Moore, M.: Evolution of public avalanche information: The north American experience with avalanche danger rating levels, Proceedings ISSW 1996, International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 6–10 October 1996, 60–66, 1997. 
Download
Short summary
Snow avalanches represent a major natural hazard in seasonally snow-covered mountain regions around the world. To avoid periods and locations of high hazard, avalanche warnings are issued by public authorities. In these bulletins, the hazard is characterized by a danger level. Since the danger levels are not well defined, we analyzed a large data set of avalanches to improve the description. Our findings show discrepancies in present usage of the danger scale and show ways to improve the scale.