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It's mainly useful for avalanche forecasters. Today, they mostly go out in the field, dig in the snow and look for old avalanches. While this methodology is rea
by widforss 8y ago
It's mainly useful for avalanche forecasters. Today, they mostly go out in the field, dig in the snow and look for old avalanches. While this methodology is really good, it doesn't really scale, and the risk of missing something important exists.
With this as a tool, I hope it will become easier to get an idea of the circumstances of a larger area, even where it is unfeasible to have personnel.
I also want to get data out of this to be able to make statistical conclusions regarding when and where avalanches are triggered, with regard to weather, time of year and so on.
Some avalanche forecasting services:
https://avalanche.org/ https://avalanche.org/
https://www.avalanche.ca/map https://www.avalanche.ca/map
http://www.avalanches.org/ http://www.avalanches.org/
http://www.varsom.no/ http://www.varsom.no/
http://www.lavinprognoser.se/ http://www.lavinprognoser.se/
- michaericalribo 8y agoWhat are avalanche forecasts used for? And who uses them?
- widforss 8y agoThey are used by people and infrastructure that are exposed to avalanche terrain. This usually involves alpine touring or snowmobiling, but in certain areas, e.g. Norway, a lot of roads and other infrastructure has been built right below dangerous slopes. They are used to evaluate what risks and consequences that are involved in certain route choices. Should you choose to go up on a north or south facing slope today? Do we need to fire these gas cannons and trigger an avalanche today to avoid having an avalanche reach the rail tracks tomorrow? Here is an epic photo from last year, shot in the northern part of my county, illustrating what happens when you don't take these factors into consideration. https://twitter.com/MacahanZeb/status/847504439220948993 https://twitter.com/MacahanZeb/status/847504439220948993
- michaericalribo 8y agoHey thanks! This is fascinating to hear, and gives me a new appreciation for never having to worry about avalanches where I live...