Fracture initiation and propagation in a snowpack due to compressive and shear loads, generated by the self-weight of the snow and a skier, is modeled. The snowpack has three layers, with a weak layer sandwiched between two strong layers. The height of the snowpack above the weak layer is such that failure occurs only because of additional stresses generated by the skier. A static analysis is performed to determine stresses due to the self-weight of snow, followed by an explicit dynamic analysis to determine additional stresses and subsequent failure due to skier load. The failure is either due to interface crack growth or due to middle-layer failure accompanied by slope-normal displacements. The former is modeled using cohesive elements, while a softening stress–displacement relation is used for the latter. Both mechanisms are active in the snowpack, although one may be predominant depending on slope angle, shear strength and interface energy.

Because public avalanche forecast regions in Canada are large, ranging from 100 to >30 000 km2, there are often areas within each region where the current local avalanche danger differs from the forecast regional danger. Identifying areas where the local danger is higher or lower than the regional rating is useful for recreational backcountry travellers; for those with limited experience, however, this is not always practical. During four winters in the Columbia, Coast and Rocky Mountains of western Canada, field teams performed stability tests and undertook local avalanche danger assessments for comparison against the regional danger ratings. Significant correlations between stability test variables and the local avalanche danger, and between stability test variables and the difference between local and regional danger, indicate potential for improved evaluation of the local danger if stability test results are considered with the regional bulletin rating. Although our analysis shows that a single stability test result cannot reliably be used to estimate the local avalanche danger, it does identify circumstances under which stability tests can help backcountry recreationists identify an area of locally higher avalanche danger.

Information on snowpack instability is crucial for assessing avalanche risk in backcountry operations as well as for operational forecasting of the regional avalanche danger. Since slab avalanche release requires both fracture initiation and fracture propagation in a weak snowpack layer, field observations should ideally provide reliable information on the probability or propensity of both fracture processes. Even simple field observations that do not require digging a snow pit can provide useful information. Traditional snowpack tests include the shovel shear test, the shear frame test, the compression test (CT) and the rutschblock test (RB). Interpretation of the test results for the CTand RB has been improved by considering the appearance or type of the fracture in addition to the score. More recently, two tests have been developed that focus on fracture propagation rather than initiation: the extended column test (ECT) and the propagation saw test (PST). We compare the sensitivity, specificity and unweighted average accuracy of various stability tests. Comparative studies indicate that the RB, ECT and PST have comparable accuracy. For most test methods the unweighted average accuracy of a single test was 70–90% depending on the dataset. Test methods such as the RB, ECT and PST, which fracture an area large enough to include fracture propagation, are generally more accurate than test methods that fracture smaller areas (e.g. the CT). The threshold-sum method was also less accurate. Even with very experienced observers for the RB, ECT and PST an error rate of at least about 5–10% has to be expected. Performing a second, adjacent test on the same slope improves test reliability.

The meltwater percolation process through the snowpack greatly influences its physical and mechanical properties. The percolation process is important for understanding the spring avalanche phenomenon as well as the meltwater runoff for basin hydrology studies. The permeability of individual snow layers depends on parameters such as porosity, pore connectivity and the geometrical shape of the pores. Snowpack equivalent permeability plays an important role in governing the transmission of meltwater through the different layers of the snowpack. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication and installation of a snowmelt lysimeter at Patsio field research station, Himachal Pradesh, India, and determine the snowpack equivalent permeability using lysimeter discharge data. The snowmelt lysimeter, having a collector area of 6.25 m2 and a high-capacity snowmelt measuring tipping bucket, was installed on flat ground near the observatory with a data acquisition system. Snowmelt discharge measurements were made for two melt seasons, 2006/07 and 2007/08. Snow and meteorological data were collected at 15 min intervals using a semi-automatic weather station. The hourly surface snowmelt was estimated using an energy-balance approach. The maximum daily discharge was >2 mm w.e.h−1 for most of the observation period. The daily mean wave speed of the meltwater front varied from 109 to 285 mm h−1 for a daily mean discharge range of 0.6–1.8 mm w.e.h−1, while wave speeds for a particular melt flux of 2 mm w.e.h−1 varied between 113 and 486 mm h−1. The pore-size distribution index was estimated using the power-fit relation between wave speed and discharge. The equivalent permeability of the snowpack was found to vary between 3.4 × 10−8 and 9.9 × 10−12 m2.

A one-dimensional avalanche dynamics model accounting for vertical density and velocity distributions is presented. Mass and momentum flux distribution factors are derived to incorporate the effect of density and velocity variations within the framework of depth-integrated models. Using experiments of avalanche flows on an inclined snow chute at Dhundhi, Manali, India, we conceptualize snow flow rheology as a Voellmy fluid where the distribution of internal shearing is given by a Newtonian fluid (NF) or Criminale–Ericksen–Filbey fluid (CEFF). Then the generalized mass and momentum distribution factors are computed for these two fluid models for different density stratifications. Numerical solutions are obtained using a total variation diminishing Lax–Friedrichs (TVDLF) finite-difference method. The model is validated with the experimental results. We find that the flow features of the chute experiments are simulated well by the model. The velocities and runout distances are obtained for the Voellmy model with both NF and CEFF extensions for various input volumes, and the optimum values of the model parameters, namely, coefficients of dynamic and turbulent friction, are determined.

The NEMO numerical model of drifting snow, whose general outlines are presented in this paper, is based on a physical model for saltation and turbulent diffusion. The model needs a set of input parameters including fall velocity, threshold shear velocity, shear velocity, mass concentration and roughness, which are obtained from empirical formulae and wind speed measured at a given height. To better determine the required field data in an alpine context, our experimental site, Col du Lac Blanc (2700ma.s.l.), French Alps, was first equipped with one anemometer and blowing-snow acoustic sensors, which proved not to be accurate enough for research purposes in the current state of development even though a new calibration curve was used. We therefore set up a Snow Particle Counter and we returned to the traditional, robust mechanical traps and a 10 m mast with six anemometers, two temperature sensors and a depth sensor to better determine friction velocity and aerodynamic roughness. Based on the studied drifting-snow events we conclude: (1) the proportionality of the aerodynamic roughness to the square of the friction velocity was confirmed, but with a varying proportionality ratio depending on the snowdrift event; (2) values of σsUF were relatively well approximated by empirical formulae from data originating from Antarctica, and (3) snowdrift concentration profiles obtained by Pomeroy’s semi-empirical formulae for the saltation layer coupled with a theoretical approach for the diffusion layer overestimated the concentration profiles for the studied blowing-snow event.