to monitor snow stability

ABSTRACT: Evaluating snowpack stability still involves time-consuming and labour-intensive manual tests; in dangerous or remote areas performing such tests might not even be possible at all. In other natural, heterogeneous materials such as wood, limestone, or ice, monitoring the acoustic signals emitted by cracks forming and growing within the material has proven a valuable tool for failure predic-tion. In an exploratory field study we tested the acoustic emission method for monitoring snow stability and possibly predicting avalanche release. We performed several preparatory laboratory studies in order to evaluate the optimal sensor frequencies and coupling of the sensors to the snow. The reso-nant (30 kHz) sensors, which were coupled to thin aluminium plates with silicone and protected by a plastic housing, were placed in a potential avalanche slope close to a weak interface (old snow- storm snow) within the snow cover. We then measured acoustic emissions and seismic signals and com-pared those to the slope stability which was assessed by the success of avalanche control by explo-sives. Preliminary results are shown and discussed with respect to their practical relevance for ava-lanche prediction