The snow keeps falling! This is good news as the greater snow melt expected in the Spring can help
water levels of the Colorado River. We won’t know the impact for a few months but, in the meantime,
this snow accumulation means we must watch out for avalanches. We know that avalanche risk is
serious and can harm people, but did you also know an avalanche can be harmful to our environment?
A study published in Science Direct investigated the erosion and entrainment behaviors in snow
avalanches measuring the material point method. This method uses material points to trace mass
momentum and uses background grids to trace the motion of particles. So, the effect of released snow
on entrainment and erosion can be quantified and analyzed. An avalanche can impact the flow velocity,
flow height and runout distance. The changing snow properties lead to different erosion patterns. One
of the findings was that the more cohesive the snow of the incoming avalanche, the more significant the
erosion. These new learnings may be able to help develop erosion and entrainment models for large
avalanches in the future.
Photo Credit: Juliet Studness
Cited Sources
panelXingyueLiaBettySovillabCamilleLigneaubChenfanfuJiangcJohanGaumebdPersonEnvelope, Author links open overlay, et al. “Different Erosion and Entrainment Mechanisms in Snow Avalanches.” Mechanics Research Communications, Pergamon, 9 June 2022, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0093641322000647.