Articles | Volume 22, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3247-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3247-2022
Research article
 | 
10 Oct 2022
Research article |  | 10 Oct 2022

Automated snow avalanche release area delineation in data-sparse, remote, and forested regions

John Sykes, Pascal Haegeli, and Yves Bühler

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Cited articles

Bebi, P., Kulakowski, D., and Rixen, C.: Snow avalanche disturbances in forest ecosystems – State of research and implications for management, Forest Ecol. Manag., 257, 1883–1892, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FORECO.2009.01.050, 2009. 
Bebi, P., Bast, A., Helzel, K., Schmucki, G., Brozova, N., and Bühler, Y.: Avalanche Protection Forest: From Process Knowledge to Interactive Maps, in: Protective forests as Ecosystem-based solution for Disaster Risk Reduction, IntechOpen, https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99514, 2021. 
Beyer, R. A., Alexandrov, O., and McMichael, S.: The Ames Stereo Pipeline: NASA's Open Source Software for Deriving and Processing Terrain Data, Earth and Space Science, 5, 537–548, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EA000409, 2018. 
Boyd, J., Haegeli, P., Abu-Laban, R. B., Shuster, M., and Butt, J. C.: Patterns of death among avalanche fatalities: a 21-year review, Can. Med. Assoc. J. (CMAJ), 180, 507–12, https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.081327, 2009. 
Brožová, N., Fischer, J. T., Bühler, Y., Bartelt, P., and Bebi, P.: Determining forest parameters for avalanche simulation using remote sensing data, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 172, 102976, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2019.102976, 2020. 
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Short summary
Automated snow avalanche terrain mapping provides an efficient method for large-scale assessment of avalanche hazards, which informs risk management decisions for transportation and recreation. This research reduces the cost of developing avalanche terrain maps by using satellite imagery and open-source software as well as improving performance in forested terrain. The research relies on local expertise to evaluate accuracy, so the methods are broadly applicable in mountainous regions worldwide.
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