IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/nathaz/v97y2019i2d10.1007_s11069-019-03655-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A large wet snow avalanche cycle in West Greenland quantified using remote sensing and in situ observations

Author

Listed:
  • Jakob Abermann

    (University of Graz
    Asiaq, Greenland Survey)

  • Markus Eckerstorfer

    (Norut)

  • Eirik Malnes

    (Norut)

  • Birger Ulf Hansen

    (Copenhagen University)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Jakob Abermann & Markus Eckerstorfer & Eirik Malnes & Birger Ulf Hansen, 2019. "A large wet snow avalanche cycle in West Greenland quantified using remote sensing and in situ observations," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 97(2), pages 517-534, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:97:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s11069-019-03655-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-019-03655-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11069-019-03655-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11069-019-03655-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karl Birkeland & Cary Mock, 2001. "The Major Snow Avalanche Cycle of February 1986 in the Western United States," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 24(1), pages 75-95, July.
    2. R. Bintanja & F. M. Selten, 2014. "Future increases in Arctic precipitation linked to local evaporation and sea-ice retreat," Nature, Nature, vol. 509(7501), pages 479-482, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrew Kliskey & Paula Williams & John T. Abatzoglou & Lilian Alessa & Richard B. Lammers, 2019. "Enhancing a community-based water resource tool for assessing environmental change: the arctic water resources vulnerability index revisited," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 183-197, June.
    2. Jordi Cristóbal & Patrick Graham & Marcel Buchhorn & Anupma Prakash, 2016. "A New Integrated High-Latitude Thermal Laboratory for the Characterization of Land Surface Processes in Alaska’s Arctic and Boreal Regions," Data, MDPI, vol. 1(2), pages 1-9, September.
    3. R. Macdonald & Z. Kuzyk & S. Johannessen, 2015. "It is not just about the ice: a geochemical perspective on the changing Arctic Ocean," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(3), pages 288-301, September.
    4. Chun-Chao Kuo & Kai Ernn Gan & Yang Yang & Thian Yew Gan, 2021. "Future intensity–duration–frequency curves of Edmonton under climate warming and increased convective available potential energy," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 1-23, October.
    5. Chelsea L. Parker & Priscilla A. Mooney & Melinda A. Webster & Linette N. Boisvert, 2022. "The influence of recent and future climate change on spring Arctic cyclones," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Zhibiao Wang & Qinghua Ding & Renguang Wu & Thomas J. Ballinger & Bin Guan & Deniz Bozkurt & Deanna Nash & Ian Baxter & Dániel Topál & Zhe Li & Gang Huang & Wen Chen & Shangfeng Chen & Xi Cao & Zhang , 2024. "Role of atmospheric rivers in shaping long term Arctic moisture variability," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Xuan Shan & Shantong Sun & Lixin Wu & Michael Spall, 2024. "Role of the Labrador Current in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation response to greenhouse warming," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    8. Jeremy Spencer & Walker Ashley, 2011. "Avalanche fatalities in the western United States: a comparison of three databases," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 58(1), pages 31-44, July.
    9. Rúna Í. Magnússon & Alexandra Hamm & Sergey V. Karsanaev & Juul Limpens & David Kleijn & Andrew Frampton & Trofim C. Maximov & Monique M. P. D. Heijmans, 2022. "Extremely wet summer events enhance permafrost thaw for multiple years in Siberian tundra," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Peter Höller, 2009. "Avalanche cycles in Austria: an analysis of the major events in the last 50 years," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 48(3), pages 399-424, March.
    11. Michelle R. McCrystall & Julienne Stroeve & Mark Serreze & Bruce C. Forbes & James A. Screen, 2021. "New climate models reveal faster and larger increases in Arctic precipitation than previously projected," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:97:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s11069-019-03655-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.