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Seismic Records of Human Induced Avalanche Signals at Taos Ski Valley

Description: 

Snow avalanches are a dangerous natural hazard that have been responsible for severe damage to infrastructure and many fatal accidents in mountainous areas around the world. Most of these fatalities result from a type of avalanche called a slab avalanche, which occurs when a cohesive slab of snow releases down slope due to the failure of a plane of weaker snow below. Using the added stress of an explosion, it is often possible to release slab avalanches in a controlled setting when the risk to humans is low. This is one of the preferred methods to mitigate avalanche hazard at many ski areas. These artificially released avalanches offer a unique opportunity to study the seismic signature of avalanches in a controlled setting. To study this further, we installed an intermediate period seismometer (flat to velocity from 108 Hz to 120 s period) at the base of Kachina Peak in the Taos Ski Valley (TSV) of New Mexico during the 2021 winter season. Using this data, along with explosion logs provided by TSV staff, we analyze the seismic and acoustic signatures, as recorded on our seismometer, of artificially released slab avalanches. Through particle motion analysis and the delay time between the seismic and acoustic arrival, we can locate the blasts that triggered each avalanche within TSV. Finally, in this work we discuss some of the noise sources from our installation as well as some of the complications of monitoring avalanches without infrasound or other relevant observations (e.g., multiple triggers or ambiguous locations).

Session: Detecting, Locating, Characterizing and Monitoring Non-earthquake Seismoacoustic Sources [Poster]

Type: Poster

Date: 4/19/2023

Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: Adam Ringler

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: 

Authors