SYNOPTIC METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH SNOW DRIFT AND AVALANCHE ACTIVITY IN A HIGH ARCTIC MARITIME SNOW CLIMATE

• Main Authors: Holt Hancock, Jordy Hendrikx, Karl W Birkeland, Markus Eckerstorfer, Hanne H Christiansen
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Longyearbyen; Svalbard
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1046.7701; http://arc.lib.montana.edu/snow-science/objects/ISSW16_P4.06.pdf

ABSTRACT: Avalanche activity in snow climates dominated by direct-action avalanches is primarily controlled by the local and synoptic scale meteorological conditions just prior to and during winter storm events. Previous work on Svalbard characterized the region's unique, direct-action snow climate as "High Arctic maritime" and demonstrated an association between periods of snow drift and regional avalanche activity. This study uses a record of road closures due to drifting snow on a mountain road to further investigate Svalbard's snow climate and avalanche regime by: 1) characterizing synoptic meteorological conditions leading to regional snow drift events, and 2) exploring the relationship between these periods of snow drift and regional avalanche activity using a case study approach. We couple a nine-year (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) record of road closures with local meteorological observations and NCEP/NCAR synoptic composite maps to characterize the local and synoptic weather conditions leading to and occurring during periods of snow drift near Longyearbyen, Svalbard's primary settlement. Then we compare this record of snow drift events with regional avalanche observations to illustrate the relationship between snow drift and avalanche activity on Svalbard. The results of this study will improve the understanding of Svalbard's unique maritime snow climate and will help advance avalanche forecasting efforts throughout the region.