Geography 2152F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Climatology, Blowing Snow, Chilkoot Trail
6 Dec 2018
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Document Summary
It is estimated that over 99% of avalanches are not seen by anyone. It is likely that over 1 million avalanches large enough to kill a person occur annually in western canada alone. Snow climatology: snowfall accumulation depends on latitude, altitude, and proximity to bodies of water, temperature decreases with altitude therefore high mountains have permanent snow cover, snow accumulates on mountain slopes that are at angles of less than 60 . Snow cover: the probability of a white christmas takes into account average snow cover, snow cover maps are updated daily. Weak layers: slab avalanches require a buried weak layer. Avalanche paths: start zone, the area where the snowpack first fails, track, the area along which the avalanche accelerates and reaches maximum velocity, run-out zone, the area of deceleration and snow deposition. Regions at risk: for an avalanche to form, a snowpack of at least 50 cm is typically required.
