The triggering mechanisms for different types of snow avalanches in the continental snow climate of the central Tianshan Mountains

Hao, Jinkai; Cui, Peng; Zhang, Xueqin; Li, Lanhai

doi:10.1007/s11430-021-9983-0

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 39 publications

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“…In the study of the mechanism of avalanche disasters, the physical and mechanical nature and trends of the dynamic change process from the steady state to unstable sliding are analyzed under the joint action of the inherent geological conditions of the mountain area and meteorological and human-induced factors, which provides a theoretical basis for avalanche prediction and early warning and effective prevention [26,35]. At present, many scholars have examined various avalanche-causing mechanisms, such as the analysis of avalanche formation conditions and influencing factors [28,36,37], analysis of snow layer forces [38], analysis of snow mechanical properties and spatial and temporal variation patterns [27,39,40], and analysis of the impact of skiing on the snow layer stability [10,41]. Avalanche hazards are most likely to occur in parts of mountain slopes with favorable snowfall conditions and slopes ranging from 35 • to 45 • , and these parts of mountain slopes are key potential hazard sites.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Study on Avalanche-Triggering Factors and Activity Characteristics in Aerxiangou, West Tianshan Mountains, China

Liu,

Zhang,

et al. 2023

Atmosphere

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Through analyzing the triggering factors and activity characteristics of avalanches in Aerxiangou in the Western Tianshan Mountains, the formation and disaster-causing process of avalanches were studied to provide theoretical support and a scientific basis for avalanche disaster prevention. In this paper, based on remote sensing interpretation and field investigation, a spatial distribution map of avalanches was established, and the induced and triggering factors in disaster-prone environments were analyzed using the certainty factor model. The degree of influence (E) of the disaster-causing factors on avalanche triggering was quantified, and the main control conditions conducive to avalanche occurrence in different periods were obtained. The RAMMS-avalanche model was used to analyze the activity characteristics at points where multiple avalanches occurred. Research results: (1) The E values of the average temperature, average snowfall, and surface roughness in February were significantly higher than those of other hazard-causing factors, reaching 1.83 and 1.71, respectively, indicating strong control. The E values of the surface cutting degree, average temperature, and average snow depth in March were all higher than 1.8, indicating that these control factors were more prominent than the other factors. In contrast, there were four hazard-causing factors with E values higher than 1.5 in April: the mean temperature, slope, surface roughness, and mean wind speed, with clear control. (2) Under the influence of the different hazard-causing factors, the types of avalanches from February–April mainly included new full-layer avalanches, surface avalanches, and full-layer wet avalanches. (3) In the RAMMS-avalanche simulation test, considering the deposition effect, compared to the previous avalanche movement path, the secondary avalanche flow accumulation area impact range changes were slight, while the movement area within the avalanche path changes was large, as were the different categories of avalanches and their different movement characteristic values. Overall, wet snow avalanches are more hazardous, and the impact force is larger. The new snow avalanches start in a short period, the sliding rate is fast, and the avalanche sliding surface (full-snow surface and face-snow) of the difference is mainly manifested in the differences in the value of the flow height.

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