Research Focus: Using Laboratory Models to Understand Avalanche Dynamics

"Laboratoire d’Hydraulique Environnementale, École Polytechnique Fédérale, Lausanne (EPFL). Avalanches pose a serious threat throughout the mountainous regions of Europe. In the French Alps alone there were 57 avalanche fatalities in 2006, more than twice the annual average over the past decade. In the past, researchers have studied avalanches using mathematical models based on data gathered from sensors placed on mountain slopes. While the sensors provide some insight into flow path, snow density, and impact pressure, the data is often unreliable and incomplete. Researchers Steve Cochard and Christophe Ancey take a different approach: they analyze avalanche behavior in a controlled laboratory setting...”
 
By The MathWorks
 
This article appeared in The MathWorks News & Notes, June 2007