An avalanche is a rapid, gravity-driven flow of snow, ice, and often entrained rock and debris that propagates downslope once the shear stress within a snowpack exceeds its shear strength. It emerges from mechanical instabilities in stratified snow layers, commonly at interfaces between weak layers and overlying cohesive slabs, triggered by loading, temperature gradients, or external perturbations. Avalanches can exhibit distinct flow regimes, including slab avalanches with brittle fracture and propagating crack fronts, loose-snow avalanches with point-release dynamics, and powder-snow avalanches characterized by turbulent, dilute suspensions. Their behavior is studied using snow mechanics, rheology, and fluid dynamics to model initiation, propagation, and runout.
How do avalanches affect pylons and other sensitive infrastructure? Using detailed simulations, SLF researcher Michael Kohler has shown that the compressibility of snow initially reduces avalanche pressure, but that at high ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 7, 2026
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An international research team has shown that avalanches are crucial to the survival of many glaciers worldwide. The study aims to contribute to better predictions of water resources and natural hazards in the context of ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 26, 2025
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Researchers from Simon Fraser University are urging snowshoers and winter hikers to get clued up on avalanche safety after a new study found a concerning lack of awareness among those taking part in the sports.
Environment
Nov 24, 2025
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When a meteoroid shook the edge of Apollinaris Mons on Mars, it triggered streaks that carved a hundred new scratches on the surface. The European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured these dust avalanches on ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 7, 2025
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Forests protect against avalanches, but not every forest is equally effective. Thanks to almost 50 years of observations at the Stillberg afforestation site, SLF researchers have now gained insight into how the avalanche ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 28, 2025
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Researchers have shown for the first time how hidden motions could control how granular materials such as soil and snow slip and slide, confirming a long-suspected hypothesis. The knowledge could help in understanding how ...
General Physics
Aug 26, 2025
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Lib4RI has completed the digitization of more than 700 historical snow and avalanche reports from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF. These reports, published between 1938 and 2005, document decades of ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 21, 2025
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A new 3D simulation tool developed by ETH and SLF researchers now allows for significantly more accurate predictions of complex alpine mass movements, supporting alpine risk management.
General Physics
Jul 7, 2025
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Swiss authorities were on Thursday monitoring for possible flood risk in a southern valley, following a massive glacier collapse that created a huge pile of debris after destroying a small village.
Environment
May 29, 2025
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Nepali mountaineers on Tuesday searched for two people swept away by a powerful avalanche on the world's 10th highest mountain Annapurna, officials said.
Environment
Apr 8, 2025
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