Articles | Volume 25, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2215-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2215-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Jul 2025
Research article |
| 07 Jul 2025
| 07 Jul 2025
Supershear crack propagation in snow slab avalanche release: new insights from numerical simulations and field measurements
Grégoire Bobillier
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Climate Change, Extremes, and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Center CERC, Davos, Switzerland
Bertil Trottet
Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Bastian Bergfeld
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Ron Simenhois
Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Boulder, CO, USA
Alec van Herwijnen
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Jürg Schweizer
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Johan Gaume
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
Climate Change, Extremes, and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Center CERC, Davos, Switzerland
Institute for Geotechnical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Avalanche formation depends on crack propagation in weak snow layers, but the conditions that stop a crack remain unclear. We show that slab touchdown reduces the energy driving crack growth, which can halt propagation even under static conditions. This suggests that crack arrest is influenced not only by snowpack variability or dynamics but also by mechanical interactions within the snowpack. Our findings refine avalanche prediction models and improve hazard assessment.
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Antoine Guillemot, Alec van Herwijnen, Eric Larose, Stephanie Mayer, and Laurent Baillet
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Nora Helbig, Michael Schirmer, Jan Magnusson, Flavia Mäder, Alec van Herwijnen, Louis Quéno, Yves Bühler, Jeff S. Deems, and Simon Gascoin
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Bastian Bergfeld, Alec van Herwijnen, Benjamin Reuter, Grégoire Bobillier, Jürg Dual, and Jürg Schweizer
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Jürg Schweizer, Christoph Mitterer, Benjamin Reuter, and Frank Techel
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Michaela Wenner, Clément Hibert, Alec van Herwijnen, Lorenz Meier, and Fabian Walter
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Mass movements constitute a risk to property and human life. In this study we use machine learning to automatically detect and classify slope failure events using ground vibrations. We explore the influence of non-ideal though commonly encountered conditions: poor network coverage, small number of events, and low signal-to-noise ratios. Our approach enables us to detect the occurrence of rare events of high interest in a large data set of more than a million windowed seismic signals.
Bettina Richter, Alec van Herwijnen, Mathias W. Rotach, and Jürg Schweizer
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We investigated the sensitivity of modeled snow instability to uncertainties in meteorological input, typically found in complex terrain. The formation of the weak layer was very robust due to the long dry period, indicated by a widespread avalanche problem. Once a weak layer has formed, precipitation mostly determined slab and weak layer properties and hence snow instability. When spatially assessing snow instability for avalanche forecasting, accurate precipitation patterns have to be known.
Frank Techel, Karsten Müller, and Jürg Schweizer
The Cryosphere, 14, 3503–3521, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3503-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3503-2020, 2020
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Exploring a large data set of snow stability tests and avalanche observations, we quantitatively describe the three key elements that characterize avalanche danger: snowpack stability, the frequency distribution of snowpack stability, and avalanche size. The findings will aid in refining the definitions of the avalanche danger scale and in fostering its consistent usage.
Louis Quéno, Charles Fierz, Alec van Herwijnen, Dylan Longridge, and Nander Wever
The Cryosphere, 14, 3449–3464, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3449-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3449-2020, 2020
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Xingyue Li, Betty Sovilla, Chenfanfu Jiang, and Johan Gaume
The Cryosphere, 14, 3381–3398, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3381-2020, 2020
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This numerical study investigates how different types of snow avalanches behave, how key factors affect their dynamics and flow regime transitions, and what are the underpinning rules. According to the unified trends obtained from the simulations, we are able to quantify the complex interplay between bed friction, slope geometry and snow mechanical properties (cohesion and friction) on the maximum velocity, runout distance and deposit height of the avalanches.
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Short summary
Our study investigates the initiation of snow slab avalanches. Combining experimental data with numerical simulations, we show that on gentle slopes, cracks form and propagate due to compressive fractures within a weak layer. On steeper slopes, crack velocity can increase dramatically after approximately 5 m due to a fracture mode transition from compression to shear. Understanding these dynamics provides a crucial missing piece in the puzzle of dry-snow slab avalanche formation.
Our study investigates the initiation of snow slab avalanches. Combining experimental data with...
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