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Comparison of simulated powder snow avalanches with photogrammetric measurements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2016

Lisa Dreier ,
Yves Bühler ,
Christian Ginzler  and
Perry Bartelt
Lisa Dreier*
Affiliation:
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Yves Bühler
Affiliation:
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Christian Ginzler
Affiliation:
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Perry Bartelt
Affiliation:
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
*
Correspondence: Lisa Dreier <lisa.dreier@slf.ch>
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Abstract

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Photogrammetric measurements of powder-cloud surfaces from large avalanches enable the observation of cloud evolution and dispersion as well as quantification of cloud velocities and powder volumes. Since 2002, a total of six large powder avalanches have been recorded at the test site, Vallée de la Sionne, Switzerland. The high-spatial-resolution photographs, acquired from two different observation angles, allow us to measure the velocity and height of plume-and-cleft structures on the powder-cloud surface. The photogrammetric measurements are supplemented by airborne laser scans of release, entrainment and deposition zones before and after the artificial avalanche release. Even though the precision of the photogrammetric measurements is limited, they are the best data available to test models of powder snow avalanche dynamics. The laser scan data capture initial and boundary conditions while time series of photogrammetric measurements provide insight into mechanisms driving blow-out formation and inertial propagation of the cloud. In this paper we present the experimental measurements and make direct comparisons with model simulations.

Keywords

avalanchesground-based photogrammetrypowder cloudpowder volumesnow
Type
Paper
Information
Annals of Glaciology , Volume 57 , Issue 71 , March 2016 , pp. 371 - 381
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016

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