Issue C (ICM) Avalanche Protection
Avalanches are an extremely dangerous phenomenon. Today, we have a good understanding of avalanche formation. However, we are not yet able to predict in detail the exact causes of avalanches, when and where they will be triggered [1]. Villages and roads can protect themselves from avalanches in various ways. Some possibilities include restraining construction in vulnerable areas, preventing avalanches from forming by planting forests or installing barriers, reducing avalanche impacts through protective structures such as snow sheds, and using explosives to artificially trigger avalanches before too much snow accumulates [2].
Our focus now is on using explosives to trigger small artificial avalanches. What needs to be determined is the appropriate time and associated parameters to trigger the explosion. While using more explosives provides better personal safety, it disrupts the normal lives of the animals that live in these areas. When it comes to human safety, making slides safer by artificially triggering avalanches is far-reaching. However, the Nature Conservancy disagrees that human-triggered avalanches over large areas, especially in ski resorts, are increasingly having a negative impact on animals. In addition, when snow falls on warm ground, it is compressed by strong winds and becomes hard [3]. Due to widespread heavy snowfall and strong winds, the snowpack has become increasingly stable, making the success rate increasingly lower. That’s why we need you and your team to build robust models to study this problem.
Task:
- Find useful and easily measurable parameters to measure the risk of avalanche occurrence.
- For slopes at risk of avalanches, we need to conduct simple field surveys to determine the appropriate timing of using blasts to induce small avalanches, placement of explosives, and appropriate blasting capabilities.