Conference Papers

Triggering whumpfs is a primary indicator of unstable snowpack conditions. Although backcountry travelers and avalanche forecasters rely on whumpfs as a warning sign of potential avalanches, there is little formal research to confirm this relationship. This study investigated the temporal correlation between whumpfs and avalanche activity in data from Colorado's Front Range and southern San Juan M

Thorough documentation of large avalanche events is important for forecasting efforts, infrastructure planning, and investigating the processes involved in avalanche formation and release. However, due in part to the isolated and dangerous nature of avalanche terrain, collecting in-situ, spatially continuous, and quantitative information surrounding avalanches remains difficult. Advances in remote

Wet-snow slab avalanches are destructive and may become more prevalent in a warming climate. This type of avalanche remains challenging to forecast because the underlying processes leading to wet-snow slab avalanche release are poorly understood. In this study, we examine the temporal evolution of weak layer and slab liquid water content (LWC), critical cut length, and propagation saw test (PST) r

Predicting the timing and location of natural wet avalanche events is challenging, especially the release of wet slabs. In this study, we describe the existing snowpack structure, weather, and observed avalanche activity for two separate wet avalanche cycles in different avalanche climate types: northwest Montana and central Colorado. In both cases, the regional avalanche forecast centers initiall

Forest structure is a major driver of mountain snowpacks and avalanche occurrence. Healthy forests can reduce the incidence of dangerous slab avalanches, slow avalanches when in motion, shorten their runout distances, and act as a safety buffer for backcountry users, infrastructure, and transportation corridors. Since 1984, wildfire area in the seasonal snow zone of the western United States has i

Large-magnitude snow avalanches pose a hazard to humans and infrastructure worldwide. Analyzing the spatiotemporal behavior of avalanches and the contributory climate factors is important for understanding historical variability in climate-avalanche relationships as well as improving avalanche forecasting. This study uses established dendrochronological methods to develop long-term regional avalan

Large magnitude avalanches (size ≥D3) impact settlements, transportation corridors, and public safety worldwide. In Colorado, United States, avalanches have killed more people than any other natural hazard since 1950. In March 2019, a historically large magnitude avalanche cycle occurred throughout the entire mountainous portion of Colorado resulting in more than 1000 reported avalanches during a

Hicks Dome is comprised of coarse crystalline Mississippi Valley Type deposits at shallow levels and an enigmatic, fine-grained fluorite, rare earth elements, Y, high field strength elements, Be, and Ba rich deposit at deeper levels. Phyllosilicates from a lamprophyre dike and a breccia from two Hicks Dome drill cores were sampled to resolve the fluid history of the entire deposit using light stab

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is being updated with higher-quality feature representations through efforts that derive hydrography from 3DEP HR elevation datasets. Deriving hydrography from elevation through traditional flow routing and interactive methods is a complex, time-consuming process that must be tailored for different hydrogeomorphic

Large geospatial datasets must often be generalized for analysis and display at reduced scales. Automated methods including artificial intelligence and deep learning are being applied to this problem, but the results are often analyzed on the basis of limited and subjective measures. To better support automation, a project is underway to develop a robust Python toolkit for computing objective metr