New Insights in Avalanche and Snow Mechanics

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Geosciences aims to gather high-quality original research articles, reviews, and technical notes on New Insights in Avalanche and Snow Mechanics.

The importance of understanding the release mechanisms of both slab and wet snow avalanches is paramount, especially in these years of climate change and economic crisis.

Climate change is leading us to deal with the unusual release and dynamics of snow avalanches, which are currently very different from those studied and modelled to date. This makes it more difficult to forecast their triggering and propagation based on the bizarre current weather conditions. An example is the research on snow gliding, analyzing its influence on soil (soil erosion and accumulation) and vice versa (dependence on snowpack properties, ground and soil parameters).

Although slab avalanche release has long been studied (McClung, 1979), recent advances have proposed different mechanical approaches. Examples include the attempt to link the tensional and energetic approaches; considering the visco-elasticity and elasto-plasticity of snow; or considering the layers of the snowpack no longer as linear elements, but as two-dimensional ones.

In addition, research in the avalanche sector is now focused on forecasting small and medium-sized avalanches, especially with regard to risk management on roads and ski areas. In fact, these are the cases where controlled avalanche blasting represents an interesting solution also from an economic point of view.

Not to be missed is the induced release caused by the interference of anthropic winter activities, the triggering mechanisms of which are still not clear today.

Nevertheless, it remains to be explored and demonstrated how the current methods are suitable for timely management, what their limitations are, and to what extent they are accessible and used effectively by the practitioner community.

Furthermore, it remains to be explored how natural and artificial vibrations interact with the snowpack and alter its stability, for example studying the influence of snowpack properties on the propagation of seismic waves or on the attenuation of acoustic waves.

Case studies and field experiences are widely recognized and welcome as a source of information and comparison for the advancement of international research.

Therefore, I invite you to submit articles about your recent work, experimental research, or case studies, including your new insights on avalanche and snow mechanics, with respect to the above and/or the following topics:

• Influence of snowpack and weather properties on snowpack stability;
• Artificial and human avalanche triggering;
• Influence of snowpack properties on seismic and acoustic waves;
• Wet-snow avalanches triggered by peculiar weather conditions;
• Temporary avalanche control and detection systems.

I also encourage you to send me a short abstract outlining the purpose of the research and the principal results obtained, in order to verify at an early stage if the contribution you intend to submit fits with the objectives of the Special Issue.

Best regards,

Dr. Barbara Frigo
Guest Editor

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• snow stability
• snowpack mechanical properties
• avalanche release mechanics
• artificial avalanche triggering
• mechanical models
• seismic and acoustic waves
• wet-snow avalanche
• human triggers
• mitigation systems
• best practice