The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 9, issue 3
Articles | Volume 9, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-837-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-837-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 9, issue 3
Research article
 | 
04 May 2015
Research article |  | 04 May 2015

A process-based approach to estimate point snow instability

B. Reuter, J. Schweizer, and A. van Herwijnen

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Short summary
We present a novel approach to estimate point snow instability based on snow mechanical properties from snow micro-penetrometer measurements. This is the first approach that takes into account the essential processes involved in dry-snow slab avalanche release: failure initiation and crack propagation. Comparison with field observations confirms that the two-step calculation of a stability criterion and a critical crack length is suited to describe point snow instability.
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