Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2023-5
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2023-5
09 Feb 2023
 | 09 Feb 2023
Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.

Spatial snowpack properties in a snow-avalanche release area: An extreme dry-slab avalanche case on Mt. Nodanishoji, Japan, in 2021

Yuta Katsuyama, Takafumi Katsushima, Satoru Adachi, and Yukari Takeuchi

Abstract. An extreme dry-slab snow-avalanche occurred on 10 Jan. 2021 at Mt. Nodanishoji, Gifu, Japan, during a heavy snowfall. The avalanche ran down approximately 2,800 m and caused damage to trees and infrastructures. Although this avalanche was estimated to be the second largest in Japan, physical snowpack properties and their vertical structure and spatial distribution, that caused the avalanche, were not addressed in the release area just after the avalanche fall, mainly due to unsafe and lousy weather. Based on a snow depth distribution observed by an unmanned aerial vehicle and a numerical snowpack simulation in the avalanche release area, the spatial distributions of the mechanical snowpack stability and slab mass and their temporal evolutions were estimated in this study. The procedure was validated by comparing the calculation results with the observed snowpit and spatial snow depth data. The results indicated that two heavy snowfall events, ~3 and 10 days before the avalanche onset, generated two different weak layers made of precipitation particles and associated slabs above other weak layers. The older weak layer was only generated on the northward slope due to its low temperature, whereas the newer layer was predominant over the avalanche release area. The fraction of contributions of the slabs associated with the two weak layers to the total slab mass over the calculation domain was found to be 1 : 2.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Yuta Katsuyama, Takafumi Katsushima, Satoru Adachi, and Yukari Takeuchi

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on nhess-2023-5', Anonymous Referee #1, 28 Feb 2023
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Yuta Katsuyama, 14 Mar 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on nhess-2023-5', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Mar 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Yuta Katsuyama, 14 Mar 2023

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on nhess-2023-5', Anonymous Referee #1, 28 Feb 2023
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Yuta Katsuyama, 14 Mar 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on nhess-2023-5', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Mar 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Yuta Katsuyama, 14 Mar 2023
Yuta Katsuyama, Takafumi Katsushima, Satoru Adachi, and Yukari Takeuchi
Yuta Katsuyama, Takafumi Katsushima, Satoru Adachi, and Yukari Takeuchi

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Short summary
An extreme dry-slab snow-avalanche, the second largest in Japan, occurred on 10 Jan. 2021 at Mt. Nodanishoji, Gifu, Japan. Based on a snow depth distribution observed by an unmanned aerial vehicle and a numerical snowpack simulation in the avalanche release area, the avalanche was caused by two heavy snowfall events, ~3 and ~10 days before the avalanche onset. These two snowfall events caused two different weak layers made of precipitation particles and associated slabs above other weak layers.
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