Deadliest avalanches on Russian island

Snow avalanches can be extremely destructive events, and are responsible for hundreds of deaths annually. Despite this, avalanche prediction has not advanced past models developed decades ago.

The EU-funded 'Triggering mechanisms of snow slab avalanches' (TRIME) project aimed to contribute to a new model of snow fracture events that lead to avalanches. They planned to achieve this through building new instruments, collecting avalanche data and modelling.

TRIME started by building a new apparatus that could measure the properties of the weak snow layer thought to trigger avalanches. This apparatus was used in the laboratory and the field to collect data on the properties of the weak layers within the snow.

Another aspect of the project reviewed over 40 models that have been used in the past for predicting avalanches. Together with the collected data, this review allowed researchers to create a new model of weak layer behaviour under various stressors.

Finally, researchers used avalanche data from Sakhalin (a Russian island) to investigate the causes of avalanches. This research showed that Sakhalin has the most deadly avalanches on Earth, and that this is due to increased colonisation of mountain slopes.

The work of TRIME has moved snow science and the study of avalanches forward through both statistical and experimental approaches. In the long term, this will help to limit the human impact of these dangerous natural disasters.