A large wet snow avalanche cycle in West Greenland quantified using remote sensing and in situ observations
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A large wet snow avalanche cycle in West Greenland quantified using remote sensing and in situ observations. / Abermann, Jakob; Eckerstorfer, Markus; Malnes, Eirik; Hansen, Birger Ulf.
In: Natural Hazards, Vol. 97, No. 2, 2019, p. 517-534.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A large wet snow avalanche cycle in West Greenland quantified using remote sensing and in situ observations
AU - Abermann, Jakob
AU - Eckerstorfer, Markus
AU - Malnes, Eirik
AU - Hansen, Birger Ulf
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - On 11 April 2016 we observed high slushflow and wet snow avalanche activity at the environmental monitoring station Kobbefjord in W-Greenland. Snow avalanches released as a result of snow wetting induced by rain-on-snow in combination with a strong rise in air temperature. We exploit high-resolution satellite imagery covering pre- and post-event conditions for avalanche quantification and show that nearly 800 avalanches were triggered during this cycle. The nature of this extraordinary event is put into a longer temporal context by analysing several years of meteorological data and time-lapse imagery. We find that no event of similar size has occurred during the past 10 years of intense environmental monitoring in the study area. Meteorological reanalysis data reveal consistent relevant weather patterns for potential rain-on-snow events in the study area being warm fronts from Southwest with orographic lifting processes that triggered heavy precipitation.
AB - On 11 April 2016 we observed high slushflow and wet snow avalanche activity at the environmental monitoring station Kobbefjord in W-Greenland. Snow avalanches released as a result of snow wetting induced by rain-on-snow in combination with a strong rise in air temperature. We exploit high-resolution satellite imagery covering pre- and post-event conditions for avalanche quantification and show that nearly 800 avalanches were triggered during this cycle. The nature of this extraordinary event is put into a longer temporal context by analysing several years of meteorological data and time-lapse imagery. We find that no event of similar size has occurred during the past 10 years of intense environmental monitoring in the study area. Meteorological reanalysis data reveal consistent relevant weather patterns for potential rain-on-snow events in the study area being warm fronts from Southwest with orographic lifting processes that triggered heavy precipitation.
KW - Arctic
KW - Avalanche
KW - Ecosystem effect
KW - Remote sensing
KW - Slushflow
U2 - 10.1007/s11069-019-03655-8
DO - 10.1007/s11069-019-03655-8
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85068855170
VL - 97
SP - 517
EP - 534
JO - Natural Hazards
JF - Natural Hazards
SN - 0921-030X
IS - 2
ER -
ID: 241094659