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OCR for page 51
7
Avalanche Research
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
Research efforts in the Uniteci States substantially lag those abroad. In Japan the In-
stitute of Snow and Ice Studies was established at Nagaoka in 1964 as part of the National
Research Center for Disaster Prevention (NRCDP), under the Science and Technology
Agency (T. Nakamura, personal communication, 1989~. The NRCDP also maintains the
Shinjo Branch of Snow and Ice Studies. In these laboratories avalanche research is con-
ducted as one of four principal areas of snow research. Topics include impact measurements
at instrumented field sites and experimental chutes, studies of glide phenomena, laboratory
investigations. computer flow modeling. and automated warning systems (Nakamura et al..
cow - ~ r o,
1981, 1987, 1989; Abe et al., 1987; Sato, 1987~.
In Sapporo, Japan, is the Institute of Low Temperature Science, established in 1941
to conduct fundamental and applied research on phenomena occurring in low-temperature
climates. This institute, with a staff of 90, has gained international recognition for its work in
physical and biological fields of cold-region science. Administered by Hokkaido University,
the institute consists of 12 sections, ~ of which consider physical or glaciological topics (N.
Macno, Institute of Low Temperature Science, Sapporo, Japan, personal communication,
1986~. Avalanche dynamics is also an important topic in the meteorological section (Shimizu
et al., 1980; Akitaya, ~L980; Maeno et al., 1987, 1989; Nishimura and Maeno, 1987, 1989;
Nishimura et al., 1989~.
In addition, a snow and ice laboratory is maintained by the Railway Technical Re-
search Institute, and a number of universities conduct research on snow and avalanches;
for example, avalanche research is carried out jointly with ground-failure hazards at Ni-
igata University's Research Institute for Hazards in Snowy Areas (Izumi, 1985; Hums and
Kobayashi, 1986~.
In Europe, where about 1,200 fatalities occurred as a result of avalanches in the last
decade (ValIa, 1987), extensive research is performed. The predominant facility is the Swiss
Federal Institute for Snow ant} Avalanche Research (F]SAR), a unique mountain laboratory
51
OCR for page 52
~ AVALANCHE WARNING ~
/ \ AVALANCHE ACC IDENTS / \
^ i-
~ a\ _ ~ ~~:
\ ~^ —~ FOREST AND 7<— ~~ /
\% /~\ {/
\ / AVALANCHE PROTECTION \ /
~ FOREST ENGINEERING
~ _
-
t/ % ! ~:
~ r SLF .D
|ZNO. 4 - t7Oi |
FIGURE 3 Symbolic scheme of research and practice at the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche
Research. The overlapping specialized departments meet in the central basic research sphere, and are
surrounded by the zone of the practice-related problems.
above the city of Davos (Figure 3~. FISAR has been devoted to studying all problems
related to snow avalanches for more than 50 years (de Quervain, 1986; Jaccard, 1986; Salm
and Gubler, 1987; Gubler and Weilenmann, 1986; Gubler, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989;
Bachmann, 1987; Buser, 1989; Buser and Good, 1987; Good, 1987; Fohn, 1987~. Technology
transfer and consultation on avalanche problems are of high priority. FISAR is organized
under the Federal Department of the Interior within the Federal Forestry Service and
maintains a staff of about 33 in 4 scientific sections: (~) Weather, Snowpack, and Avalanches;
(2) Snow and Avalanche Mechanics and Avalanche Constructions; (3) Snow Cover and
Vegetation; and (4) Snow and Ice Physics. FISAR operates a 90-station observation network
throughout Switzerland, an avalanche warning service, a library, four cold laboratories,
instrumented test fields, forestation test fields, an instrumented experimental avalanche
chute, both stationary and mobile frequency-modulated continuous wave radars, and mobile
Doppler radar units for velocity studies. Operations are funded within the normal budget of
the Federal Forestry Service approved by Parliament, an expenditure adequately reimbursed
by effective and controlled engineering and increased avalanche safety (Iaccard, 1986~.
Contributions from the National Foundation for Scientific Research have occasionally been
requested.
OCR for page 53
53
Apart from the Federal Forestry Service, the most direct influence on F]SAR operations
comes from the 15-member Federal Commission for Snow and Avalanche Research. Since
most members are from universities and are competent in fields pertaining to snow research,
they act as consultants for the scientific program. Other commission members represent
practical aspects, including forestry, civil engineering, transportation, and tourism. Research
is also carried out by the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology, and Glaciology at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (Hutter and Alts, 1985; Hutter et al., 1987; Hutter
and Savage, 1989; Hermann et al., 1987), the University of Bern (Matzler, 1987), and others.
In Norway substantial avalanche research is carried out at the Norwegian Geotechnical
Institute (NGI), Oslo. NG! employs about IS0 persons and is supported by government
agencies and consulting activities. About 20 percent of its income is government research
funding (H. Norem, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, written communication, 1986~.
The avalanche section of NOT, comprising seven professionals, is responsible for national
research on avalanches of all kinds—snow avalanches, rock avalanches and rockfalis, and
slush avalanches (cf. Hestnes and Sandersen, 1987; Norem et al., 1987, 1989; Toppe,
1987~. The main research projects include field measurements of forces due to snow creep,
avalanche speeds and impact pressures, avalanche-producecI water waves (NOT, 1984, 1986),
and statistical and numerical estimation methods for extreme avalanche runout distances
(Bakkehoi, 1987; Lied and Toppe, 1989~. A field research station is maintained in Grasdalen
in western Norway.
Snow research at NG]: benefits from close collaboration with an instrument section and
engineers specializing in soil mechanics and rock engineering. NG] has an excellent library
and maintains close relations with the Meteorological Institute and the University of Osio.
The mixture of research and consulting activities makes it possible to bring the results of
research rapidly into practice; likewise, consulting experience provides useful background
for the evaluation of research results (H. Norem, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo,
written communication, 1986~.
Study of physical properties of snow and ice was initiated in the U.S.S.R. in the 1930s
(Kuvaeva et al., 1971) and is currently recognizes} as an independent discipline with as many
as 10 scientific organizations working on problems related to snow physics and avalanches.
The dominant problem for many of these institutes (e.g., the Alpine Geophysical Institute)
is the study of snow cover and avalanches (Glaciological Data, 1984; Sulakvelidze and
Dolov, 1969; Kotlyakov et al., 1977; Voitkovskiy, 1987; Zalikhanov et al., 1987), and
considerable research has considered such topics as impact dynamics, mathematical flow
modeling, snowpack physics, wind-blast effects, and forecasting.
Research in France is carried out at the Division Nivologie CEMAGREF, Centre
d'Etudes de la Neige, Saint Martin d'Heres, the Institut de Mecanique de Grenoble, and
Association-nationale pour I'Etude de la Neige et Avalanches (ANENA), Grenoble. French
research has pioneered such topics as stereophotogrammetric velocity determinations (Brug-
not, 1982) and the development of a powder-snow avalanche dynamic code using a blend
of theory and modeling in a water-fi~led channel (Beghin and Brugnot, 1983; Hopfinger,
1983~. The most important French achievement in simulation since 1980 considers dense
flowing avalanches through explicit solution of Saint-Venant equations (Vile, 1986, 1987~.
More realistic than previous solution methods (Brugnot and Pochat, 1981), this approach
is mathematically complex but is adaptable to such problems as dam-break flooding and
the prediction of water waves generated by avalanches (Vile, 19S7~. tThe water wave topic
has also been considered by the Universite des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc,
OCR for page 54
54
Montpellier (Sabatier, 1986~. Other topics include snow rheology (Navarre et al., 1987),
development of field-based extreme runout criteria (Berthier, 1986), artificial intelligence
(LaFeuille et al., 1987; Charlier and Buisson, 1989; Brugnot, 1987), forecast modeling
(Navarre et al., 1987), and control devices such as the explosive release system (Barrel,
1987), the DRA avalanche sensor traffic light warning system, snow rakes, and forest pro-
tection (Brugnot, 1987~. ANENA publishes a journal, Neige et Avalanches, that contains
both scientific research and practical studies.
Elsewhere, well-established research investigations are maintained in Austria at the
Forsttechnischer Dienst fur Wildbach und Law~nenverbauung, in Tirol (Hagen and Huf-
nagl, 1987; Friedrich, 1987), and at the University of Innsbruck (Lacldnger, 1987, 1989;
Denoth and Foglar, 1986~. Avalanche work is also done in Czechoslovakia by. Knvazovicly,
consultant, Jasna, Czechoslovakia, written communication, 1986~; at several institutes in
China (e.g., Academia Sinica, Xinjiang, and Lanzhou (]iaqi and Ruji, 1980; YanIong et
al., 1980~; and at universities in Yugoslavia, West Germany, and Iceland (Bjornsson, 1980~.
In Italy avalanche research is performed at the Experimental Centre for Avalanches and
Hydrogeological Defence, operating under the Regione Veneto Dipartimento Foreste in
Belluno, and at the privately financed Vanni Eigenmann Fonciazione ]:nternazionale in
Milano, which undertakes avalanche safety and rescue research (Eigenmann, 1978~. In ac3-
dition, there has been recent research in Argentina at the Instituto Argentina de Nivolog~a y
Glaciolog~a, supported by CONTCET (Argentina's National Research Council) If. C. Leiva,
Instituto Argentina de Nivolog~a y Glaciolog~a, written communication, 1986~. Research
is also conducted in New Zealand at Otago and Canterbury universities (Fitzharris et al.,
1983; Fitzharris and Owens, 1980; Owens and Fitzharris, 1989), with support from the New
Zealand Mountain Safety Council in Wellington. India maintains a research center at the
foot of the Himalayas (Rao et al., 19874.
Canada, through the National Research Council of Canada, is also actively engaged
in avalanche research (McClung, 1987; Schaerer, 1989~. Regional research facilities are
located at Vancouver and Rogers Pass, British Columbia. Work in Canada covers the full
range of snow and avalanche work including laboratory, field, and theoretical studies. Areas
of research concentration include avalanche dynamics, quasistatic and dynamic forces on
structures, avalanche prediction, and snow structure (McClung and Schaerer, 1983; Mc-
Clung, 1977, 1979, 1981; Hungr and McClung, 1987; McClung and Lied, 1987; McClung
and Larson, 1989; McClung et al., 1984; PerIa, 1978a,b, 1985; PerIa et al., 1980; Dozier et
al., 1987; Schaerer and Sallway, 1980~. Despite the quality of this research, the research
group is small and is currently threatened by budget trimming (D. McClung, National Re-
search Council of Canada, written communications, 1987, 1990~. Avalanche investigations
are considered under the Associate Committee for Geotechnical Research of the National
Research Council, which coordinates Canadian research studies concerned with the physical
and mechanical properties of the terrain of the dominion. Technical translation of foreign
research on avalanches is supported by Canada's National Research Council. The organi-
zation also issues the Canadian Avalanche Newsletter and provides headquarters for the
Canadian Avalanche Association (McFariane, 1984~.
OCR for page 55
ss
CURRENT STATUS OF AVALANCHE RESEARCH IN THE UNITED STATES
The level of avalanche research activity in the United States is extremely small compared
with federal agency research budgets or the research levels in Europe, Japan, or even
Canada.
Avalanche studies are now restricted to a few universities, avalanche forecasting cen-
ters, and private individuals who have an interest in avalanches. Such studies are largely
unfunded in any formal sense. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center, for example,
has entertained the possibility of attempting research in a modest way. However, this would
require doubling its small budget of $~10,000; this is unrealistic, "since survival, and not
expansion, is our major concern" (K Williams, Colorado Avalanche Information Center,
Department of Natural Resources, written communication, 19~. The amount of federal
funds that directly support avalanche research is miniscule.
Some support for snow research is provided by federal agencies, but this is not avalanche
research. The U.S. Forest Service (USES) conducts a modest research program involving
such topics as blowing snow (Schmidt, 1982, 1986; Schmidt et al., 1984) and snow melting
(Kattelmann, 1987; McGurk and Kattelmann, 1986; Bergamon, 1986~. But with the demise
of the modest but cost-effective USES avalanche program at Fort Collins, Colorado, support
for snow avalanche research has vanished.
The University of Washington was active in avalanche research from 1973 to 1984, with
grants from the Federal Highway Administration, the National Science Foundation, and
the Washington State Department of Transportation (LaChapelle et al., 1978~. In 1985 the
Colorado Division of Highways funded the installation of load cells in a reinforced concrete
snowshed in the San Juan Mountains (Mears, 1986~. Avalanche research at Montana
State University was formerly sponsored by the USES (Lang and Martinelli, 1979a,b; Dent
and Lang, 1980~. Funds from the Bureau of Reclamation supported a small program of
avalanche research (in relation to concern for possible litigation due to its program of cloud
seeding) at the University of Colorado in the 1970s and 1980s (R. L. Armstrong, 19~.
The University of Washington, Montana State University, the University of California at
Santa Barbara, and Colorado State University now conduct funded research on mechanical
properties, optical properties, blowing snow, snow melt hydrology, etc., but little if anything
in the way of direct avalanche studies.
This lack of avalanche research reflects the absence of organized funding, not the lack
of worthwhile research targets. Numerous research areas could improve the technology
for forecasting and mitigating avalanche hazards. Ranking high among these are mountain
meteorology and the ability to improve wind and snowfall predictions (Speers and Mass,
1986; Rhea, 1978; Dunn, 1983~. The majority of avalanches occur during and immediately
after storms, so the ability to predict snowfall or snow drift patterns is of primary importance.
Considerable research could be devoted to development of meteorological models that
utilize large-scale meteorological input from the National Weather Service to improve the
accuracy of forecasts for specific mountain ranges. On a smaller scale, such models could
perhaps be extended to specific regions, such as recreational areas. These models would
necessarily be computer based and would! include topographic as well as meteorological
factors.
A related need is improving prediction of snow deposition patterns in mountains, given
a specific area snowfall, wind speed, and wind direction. Computer-based mathematical
models could in principle be developed to allow forecasters to predict deposition patterns
OCR for page 56
56
in complex terrain (Tesche, 19~), a capability that would also be useful in assessing the
effects of modification on snow deposition patterns and snowmelt runoff.
More studies are needed on release mechanisms. Models to predict snowpack strength
and density profiles from meteorological data (temperature, solar insolation, wind, snowfall,
etc.), for example, represent extremely complicated and perplexing problems that to date
have been inadequately addressed (]udson et al., 1980~. In the area of snow mechanics,
virtually no data exist on strength properties of seasonal snow in the density and grain
shane ranges that annIv to avalanche conditions or on the spatial distribution of snowpack
Or - - ~--~ r r -a - ~ r ~
strength and stress patterns. rost-control release deserves study Pratt, -1Yd4), as co fracture
initiation and propagation (Bader et al., 1989~. Similarly, acoustic emissions are of interest
as potential indicators of slab instability (St. Lawrence, 1980; Sommerfeld and Gubler, 1983;
Watters and Swanson, 1986; McClung, 1987; Leaird and Plehn, 1984~.
Other specialized topics concerning materials also need further study since they are
essential ingredients in the forecasting process. An example is surface hoar formation and
its evolution within the snow cover, for which little quantitative data exist (Colbeck, 1988;
Breyfogle, 1986~. The ability to predict the precise conditions for surface hoar formation
and its growth rate and properties would be useful. Other topics include studies on the
formation of wind crusts and sun crusts and their bonding to the overlying snow cover.
These special topics, while in themselves not large problems, are important to avalanche
prediction and are not currently well understood.
Avalanche dynamics is yet another area in need of thorough investigation, inasmuch
as such studies provide basic input for zoning and other types of hazard mitigation. The
state of the art has developed to the point where sophisticated computer models could
now be developed to investigate avalanche flow over variable terrain for different snow
conditions. Topics such as basal friction, turbulence, entrainment, deposition, and three-
dimensional effects still need to be better understood, though some progress on these areas
has been made (Gubler, 1987, 1989; Norem et al., 1987; Hutter and Alts, 1985; Hutter et
al., 1987, Tesche, 1986~. The innovative use of radar systems shows promise in dynamic
studies of natural avalanches (Gubler and Hiller, 1984; Gubler, 1987~. Field measurements
of velocity and impact pressure and creep pressure yield information crucial to structural
control (Schaerer and Sallway, 1980; Shimizu et al., 1980; Akitaya, 1980; Lang and Brown,
1980; Mears, 1986; Larsen et al., 1985; McClung and Larsen, 1989), though the reliability
of some published results is reported to be in question (Brugnot, 1987~.
Field and laboratory research is needed to develop and test new methodologies and to
refine existing procedures for delineating and mapping avalanche hazards (Martinelli, 1984;
Mears, 1984~. Additional topics include avalanche control measures, such as reforestation
(Montagne et al., 1984; Jaccard, 1985~; structural methods and explosive delivery systems
(Brugnot, 1987, 1989; Rapin, 1989~; and rescue methods, including development of elec-
tronic transceivers to locate avalanche victims flying and Smythe, 1984; Good, 1986; Dozier
et al., 1989~.
The social aspects of avalanches and avalanche hazard forecasting have not received
much attention and deserve more. The reaction of the recreation industry to forecasting
and the manner of preparing and releasing forecasts to achieve maximum acceptance and
benefit are several of many social science topics that could be considered.
OCR for page 57
57
COMMENTS
I. Avalanche research has been conducted on a small scale at a handful of universities
and federal laboratories in the United States, but with the closure of the USES avalanche
program no federal agency currently has a dedicated program to address this hazard. For
a consistent national research capability to be established and maintained over the long
term, certain programs and divisions of the National Science Foundation (NSF) need to be
designated to accept avalanche proposals, and the responsibilities of federal agencies need
to be reexamined.
2. The research funding problem is complicated because avalanche research involves
a number of separate disciplines. So many facets of engineering and the physical sciences
are involved that NSF programs in engineering, mathematical and physical sciences, and
atmospheric and earth sciences could all, in principle, entertain proposals on avalanche
research. However, since in the past no program in either engineering or the physical
sciences clearly accepted responsibility for funding avalanche research Proposals. these
proposals tended to slip through the cracks in the system.
~ . . , ~ _ ~ ~
, , ~
r 1 ~
Where were valid reasons for
this, since far N5L programs have a natural preference for concentrating on so-called
mainstream research topics, highly visible with respect to program missions; (b) the snow
avalanche problem is not as serious a problem as some others and therefore may be placed
on a lower priority level; and (c) the avalanche problem has such a broad interdisciplinary
nature that, without a concerted effort on the part of funding agencies such as NSF to
define appropriate programs responsible for funding, most programs would hesitate to
assume responsibility.
To some extent this negative situation may have been ameliorated by the recent reor-
ganization of NSF, in which the Natural and Manmade Hazards Mitigation program was
established within the Directorate of Engineering: "The natural hazards of interest to this
program are geophysical in nature, and related to the meteorologic, hydrologic and geo-
morphic extreme events which each year endanger, damage, or destroy lives, property and
resources.... Research efforts in this program are directed to natural hazards such as
hurricanes and tornadoes, floods and droughts, landslides and mudflows, snow drifts and
icejams" (NSF, Program Announcement, OMB 3145-0058~. This program currently accepts
proposals for avalanche research.
Other funding opportunities may exist at NSF. For example, atmospheric sciences is
a natural research area for problems such as blowing and drifting snow, cornice forma-
tion, snow deposition patterns in mountainous terrain, and precipitation processes. The
Experimental Meteorology program in the Division of Astronomical, Atmospheric, Earth,
and Ocean Sciences could fund such research. In the Directorate for Engineering, topics
such as fluid dynamics, turbulence, and multiph-ase flow could reasonably be placed under
sponsorship of the programs of Engineering Science in Chemical, Biochemical, and Thermal
Engineering and Engineering Science in Mechanics, Structures, and Materials Engineering.
Other topics, such as avalanche dynamics, avalanche release processes, mechanical proper-
ties of snow, and heat and mass transport in snow, could fall within the responsibilities of a
number of programs, depending on the particular emphasis given by the principal investiga-
tor. No single division can be expected to assume sole responsibility for all avalanche-related
problems, since the problems are so strongly interdisciplinary.
Given that the above programs could logically provide support, some means of ensuring
that avalanche and snow research proposals have their "day in court" must be implemented.
OCR for page 58
58
Unless programs are given official responsibility to include snow, ice, and avalanche topics,
such proposals will continue to have difficulty being fairly considered for funcling.
As a corrective measure, NSF could clearly identity specific programs as having respon-
sibility for proposals relating to snow and avalanche problems. A mechanism for directing
these proposals to the correct program should be instituted. Programs responsible for these
types of proposals should be earmarked in the NSF Guide to Programs, so that scientists
and engineers can easily obtain some indication of the correct program to which they should
submit their proposals. Finally, recognizing that NSF is an organic entity that undergoes
periodic restructuring, the problem may require periodic reevaluation.
3. Turning to the question of federal agency involvement, it seems clear that the
interdisciplinary nature of snow avalanche studies creates problems analogous to those
concerning potential NSF funding. Yet at the same time this diversity may offer flexibility
in finding plausible answers to the problem.
Federal agency involvement could assume several possible forms. The most realistic
possibilities are the following:
a. Establishment of a national laboratory dedicated to alpine snow and avalanche
research. The Swiss Federal Snow and Avalanche Research Institute provides the clear
model for such an enterprise.
b. Incorporation of avalanche research into the ongoing research programs of one or
several federal agencies. The choice of agency would depend on whether emphasis is placed
on materials (avalanches of snow), on processes and hazards (avalanches as a type of slope
failure), or on the principal territory affected (avalanches on federal lands).
These lines of thought lead, respectively, to the following possibilities for incorporation
of an avalanche research effort into existing agency programs:
a. U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory;
b. U.S. Geological Survey landslide research, as part of a ground-failure hazards-
reduction program;
c. USFS's, as part of a mountain snow research program.
Decisions ultimately wall be governed by economic and political factors where can
funds be made available for avalanche research, now and in the long term, and in which
agency are administrators interested in developing a program of avalanche research? These
are indeed the key questions, for nothing significant wild happen unless some ~n~ividua1ts step
forward to accept the task and a source of Fining can be established.
Perhaps the best and most direct way to establish an avalanche research capability in the
United States would be to create a national research center devoted to avalanche problems.)
Swiss experience indicates that avalanches are indeed a very difficult, complex, and multi-
faceted phenomenon that can best be studied by research teams at a research center. This
would require a budget sufficient for a technical and support staff with the required field,
laboratory, and analytical skills. Unfortunately, when weighed against the economic magni-
tude of the avalanche problem in the United States and the current economic climate for
research funding, establishing such a research center would seem hard to Justin. Although
the federal economic climate could change, and other possibilities for research support could
be developed via public endowment, industrial sponsorship, or through such techniques as
"snow safety" surcharges attached to commercial ski tickets or backcountry users, at present
a national center concept does not seem supportable. Nonetheless, the current situation
OCR for page 59
s9
in which there is no organizational focus for avalanche work and no funding available to
support an ongoing program is equally hard to justify. A middle ground should therefore
be sought.
If an avalanche program could be incorporated as part of a more general research effort,
justification might be more realistic, and the resources of a more diverse group of scientists,
engineers, field personnel, and technicians could be utilized. Centering such an effort in
a permanent research group seems necessary to assure the long-term records needed for
probabilistic solutions.
One possibility involves the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab-
oratory (CRREL) at Hanover, New Hampshire, which decades ago briefly supported a
review of avalanche research (Mellor, 1978; see also Borland, 1953; Fuchs, 1957~. CRREL
concentrates its efforts on sea ice, lake and river ice, frozen soils, permafrost, and atmo-
spheric icing. In the area of snow, CRREL provides support for vehicle mobility, material
properties, stress wave studies, penetration mechanics, electrical and optical properties,
and blowing and drifting snow. Some of this research on material properties has poten-
tial application to avalanche technology (Colbeck 1987), but the applications are indirect.
Most current studies have potential military applications in mind. Further, the location of
CRREL, in New Hampshire, is not central to U.S. avalanche problems. The solution to the
avalanche research question is best sought elsewhere.
Another possibility is to once again incorporate avalanche studies into a mountain snow
research program of the USES. The now-defunct Fort Collins avalanche program began in
this fashion, with an overall program including wind transport and deposition, hydrologic
aspects of mountain snow cover, and interaction of snow with timber production. The
avalanche portion was shut down in 1985, associated with a reduction in hydrologic studies
and an increase in acid precipitation research. Such a program could be reinstated.
However, the size of the USES avalanche research effort in terms of staff and total
budget (about $200,000 per annum) made it vulnerable to negative administrative decisions
when funds became increasingly difficult to obtain. Furthermore, the interest in mountain
snow research was small within the context of the USES mission, which is focused on
the production of timber resources. Other alternatives might provide a relatively more
substantial base on which to found and maintain a long-term research effort in avalanches.
This is not to suggest that avalanche research should not be carried out by the USES, for
the panel's opinion is that such research would be beneficial. We merely recognize that
such a program may be of uncertain longevity, given past experience, and that the research
involvement of several agencies can be justified.
As a final possibility the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) should be considered, since this
is the principal federal organization concerned with slope failure (U.S. Geological Survey,
1981, 1982~. Public Law 93-2~, the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, which includes provisions
that the federal government be prepared to issue warnings of disasters to state and local
officials and provide them with technical assistance, specifically identifies landslides among
the geologic hazards to be addressed. Under this act, the director of the USGS has been
delegated specific responsibility for issuing disaster warning "for an earthquake, volcanic
eruption, landslide, or other geologic catastrophe."
As a federal a~encv the USGS embraces those elements of a stone failure Droaram
=~ ~ - - - -r - -- - r -= - -
that are ot national, overview, or fundamental scientific concern. These elements include
research on slope failure processes, with emphasis on mechanics, materials, and rates; pro-
totype and demonstration studies of hazard, risk, and vulnerability assessment; and research
OCR for page 60
60
on slope failure prediction and the development of mode! early-warning systems. The USGS
also is responsible for positive actions to transfer its research findings to those of federal,
state, local, and private groups in whose charge rests hazard-miti~ation implementation
(USGS Management Implementation Plan, Geologic Hazard Surveys, FY 1986~. Within
the USGS there is no national center for landslide studies. Instead, such activities are
dispersed under the Geologic Division and the Water Resources Division at such locations
as Denver, Colorado; MenIo Park, California; Reston, Virginia; and Vancouver, Washington
(Cascade Volcano Observatory).
A precedence exists for some snow or ice avalanche research by USGS scientists
(Mashes, 1930; Twenhofel et al., 1949; Davis, 1962; Post, 1968; Witkind et al., 1972; Bryant,
1972; Love, 1973; Frank et al., 1975; LueUke, 1976; Plafker and Erickson, 1978; Voight,
1980, 1981; Voight et al., 1981, 1983; Armstrong and Carrara, 1981; Waitt et al., 1983;
Waitt, 1990; Pierson et al., 1990; R. Denlinger, U.S. Geological Survey, personal commu-
nication, 1986; R. I. Janda, U.S. Geological Survey, personal communications, 19S6, 1990;
W. Hotchkiss, U.S. Geological Survey, personal communication, 1985; R. L. Christiansen,
U.S. Geological Survey, personal communication, 1986~. USGS personnel were involved in
the Juneau, Alaska, avalanche hazard problem circa 1950 (Twenhofel et al., 1949; R. Miller,
communication cited by LaChapelle, 1972) and were instrumental in relocating a schoo]
proposed for a hazardous location. Reports in the 1970s reflected regional hazard mapping,
whereas most recent studies involve snow-volcano interactions.
The current lack of significant USGS involvement in snow avalanche research reflects
several factors, including the perception within the USGS that the topic was authoritatively
and comprehensively embraced by the USES and the inadequacy of funding resources to
allow full response to other high-priority slope failure topics such as warning systems and
technical assistance responsibilities.
Yet snow avalanche studies are recognized as having direct relevance to landslide re-
search (and vice versa) on processes, hazard delineation, and warning systems. To cite one
example, close parallels are recognized between flowing snow and slush avalanches and
debris flows (Hestnes and Sandersen, 1987; Nyberg, 1985) and, to cite another, between
powder avalanches and turbidity currents (Hermann et al., 1987; Scheiw~ler, 1986; Schei-
willer and Hutter, 1983~. Methods for delineating and mitigating snow avalanches and other
slope failure hazards are similar (Kienho~z, 1978; {yes and Bovis, 1978; Mears, 1979; Brabb,
1984; Hansen, 1984; Kockelman, 1986), and research on processes and dynamic simulation
originally developed for snow avalanches have been profitably applied to other areas of
slope failure research and practice (Lang and Dent, 1983; Trunk et al., 1986~.
In principle, and assuming availability of funds, the USGS national landslide program
could be strengthened to address the problem of snow avalanches, particularly in areas of
process and hazard delineation. This possibility deserves to be explored.
NOTE
I. Previous initiatives in the United States to develop such a national center include
the following: (a) a snow and avalanche research and resource center at Fort Collins,
Colorado, was proposed as a USFS-founded "Center of Excellence," with cooperation
between the USES and Colorado State University to be carried out under a Memorandum
of Understanding (Martinelli, 1978~; and (b) a National Avalanche Resource and Research
OCR for page 61
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Center was proposed for the Salt Lake City/Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, location as a USFS-
founded entity cooperating with the University of Utah, the U.S. Army Tooele Depot and
Dugway Proving Ground, and the National Weather Service (Anderson, 1977~. Neither
proposal was funded.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
snow research
