GEOG306 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Avalanche, Graupel, Emergency Management

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Geography and Environmental Management
• Course: GEOG306
• Professor: Johanna Wandel

Document Summary

What causes the hazard: physical cause, human cause. Modifying human vulnerability: predictions, forecasts & warnings, risk assessment/mapping, regional planning, land use planning & zoning, protection structures, building codes & hazard resistant design, financial & tax incentives, public education, emergency preparedness, disaster management & reduction. Snow avalanches: heavy snowfall + slopes >30 degrees, fall, creep, slide, flow, ~150 avalanche deaths per year (canada ~5-10/year, one week ago, afghanistan: 119 deaths, most avalanche deaths triggered by human activity. Depth hoar : graupel, snowfall built to >0. 5m (can reach 2-5 m on steep slopes without sliding, stability depends on snowpack itself, weak layers = higher risk, cornices = higher risk, sun-facing slopes = higher risk. 7 avalanches problems: storm snow, deep slab, wind slab, wet avalanches, persistent slab, loose snow, cornice fall. Persistent and deep slab: old, buried weak layers in mid to upper snowpack or deep down. Controlled avalanches usa 10,000 triggered/year: prevents formation of deep slabs in high use areas.