blt2589 / avalanche-release Goto Github PK

What is it?

Avalanche hazard assessment requires a very precise estimation of the release area, which still nowadays depends to a large extent on expert judgement of avalanche specialists. Therefore, a new algorithm for the automated identification of potential avalanche release areas was developed. By introducing a multi-scale roughness parameter, fine-scale topography and its attenuation under snow influence is captured. This allows the user to assess the snow influence on terrain morphology and, consequently, potential release area size and location. The integration of a wind shelter index enables the user to define release area scenarios as a function of the main wind direction or single storm events. The algorithm produces a raster map (asci format) which values ranging from 0 to 1. A value of 0 indicates locations where avalanches are not possible to release whereas a value of 1 corresponds to locations that are highly favorable for avalanche release. The map can then be used by avalanche experts as a basis for release area definition, as for example the final delineation and creation of shapefile to be used as input for an avalanche simulation.

This tool was developed within the Interreg projects STRADA and STRADA 2.0 with support from the following partners: Amt für Wald Graubünden, Canton du Valais – Service de forêts et paysage, Regione Lombardia, ARPA Lombardia, ARPA Piemonte, and Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta.

License Agreement: The code is licensed under the open-source GNU GPL version 3 license. The only restriction if you want to redistribute the source code is:

• you must provide access to the source code,
• you must license derived work under the same GPL v3 license

Further, if the tool is used in a scientific publication, please cite the following publication: Veitinger, J., Purves, R. S., and Sovilla, B.: Potential slab avalanche release area identification from estimated winter terrain: a multi-scale, fuzzy logic approach, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 3, 6569-6614, doi:10.5194/nhessd-3-6569-2015, 2015.