On recent advances in avalanche research

Schweizer, Jürg

doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2017.10.014

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Significant progress in snow and avalanche research over the past two decades [19][20][21][22][23] has allowed better understanding of avalanche dynamics and of the processes related to snow-slab avalanche release [24][25][26][27][28] . Nevertheless, no mechanism similar to the one inspired by the Dyatlov mystery has been explored in the literature, and its physical quantification required new theoretical developments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of slab avalanche release and impact in the Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959

Gaume

Puzrin

2021

Commun Earth Environ

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The Dyatlov Pass incident is an intriguing unsolved mystery from the last century. In February 1959, a group of nine experienced Russian mountaineers perished during a difficult expedition in the northern Urals. A snow avalanche hypothesis was proposed, among other theories, but was found to be inconsistent with the evidence of a lower-than-usual slope angle, scarcity of avalanche signs, uncertainties about the trigger mechanism, and abnormal injuries of the victims. The challenge of explaining these observations has led us to a physical mechanism for a slab avalanche caused by progressive wind-blown snow accumulation on the slope above the hikers’ tent. Here we show how a combination of irregular topography, a cut made in the slope to install the tent and the subsequent deposition of snow induced by strong katabatic winds contributed after a suitable time to the slab release, which caused severe non-fatal injuries, in agreement with the autopsy results.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of slab avalanche release and impact in the Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959

Gaume

Puzrin

2021

Commun Earth Environ

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“…These events involve snow and occasionally might affect the underlying cover of surface deposits (e.g., talus slope deposits, debris, and colluvial deposits) (Hackman, 1968;Podolskiy, 2010;Wang et al, 2015). Observations of avalanches and the inducing factors have been investigated for defining the distribution, features, and failure mechanisms of avalanches, and for the assessment of the related hazards as well as the interaction with tourist facilities (Schweizer et al, 2003;Cappabianca et al, 2008;Heierli et al, 2008;van Herwijnen and Heierli, 2009;Chriesten et al, 2010;Barbolini et al, 2011;Vriend et al, 2013;Pérez-Guillén et al, 2014;Ito et al, 2016;Höller, 2017;Schweizer, 2017;Techel and Schweizer, 2017;Keller et al, 2019;Kumar et al, 2019). Podolskiy, 2010); the black box is the location of Italy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%