Scientists are studying avalanches to predict their paths and mitigate risks, a crucial endeavor as climate change alters weather patterns.
BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado has seen how deadly avalanches can be. But as we face a climate crisis, it’s increasingly important to understand the changing physics of avalanches.
That’s where the avalanche lab at the University of Colorado Boulder comes in.
Inside the lab, Nathalie Vriend, CU Boulder associate professor in mechanical engineering, and her students study avalanches. And while you won’t find any snow inside the lab, you will find avalanche simulations.
Vriend has been studying avalanches for more than a decade. She knows how dangerous and unpredictable they can be.
“They go so fast that you’re kind of in a bad spot if one is coming above you,” Vriend said.
While we often see the dramatic images of avalanches, not much is known about what really happens inside one.
But that’s were Vriend and her students come in.
Using photo-elastic particles to mimic snow granules, the scientists conduct small-scale avalanches to get an up-close look of how snow behaves.
They demonstrate how a small snow granule runs down a slope. Then, the engineers investigate what the physical laws are and how the granule behaves.
They also use a rotating disc as an analog of a small avalanche that keeps going and investigate how particles flow with cameras.
For Ph.D. student and avid skier Ryland Hodgson, it’s a chance to solve a bit of earth’s mystery.
“We’re kind of at the mercy of the earth,” Hodgson said. “So, we should probably understand how it moves.”
An avalanche occurs when temperatures variations cause the snow to melt and refreeze. That snow then becomes more granular and forms a weak layer.
When snow falls on that weak layer, it can slide.
Inside the avalanche lab, the engineers track photo-elastic particles with a high-speed camera to see how the particles bounce and collide.
They found those collisions are happening really fast, within 1/1,000th of a second.
In a real avalanche, collisions like that would create so much heat the snow would melt, refreeze and lock the snowpack in place like concrete.
Researchers can also look at the particle movement to better understand how and where the slides are headed.
“If we understand the physics of avalanches at that moment, we can also predict better where avalanches are going, what kind of force are exerted on structures when they are being hit, and what kind of mitigation methods we need to take in order to reduce the danger and the hazard of avalanches,” Vriend said.
And with the record warmth we’ve had lately, and a changing climate, understanding the physics of an avalanche is more important than ever.
“If you now suddenly have climate change and a different weather pattern, then you might get avalanches at spots where typically they would not have happened,” Vriend said. “And that is very dangerous.”