Snow Characterization and Avalanche Detection in the Indian Himalaya

Patil, Akshay; Singh, Gulab; Kumar, Sanjeev; Mani, Sneh; Bandyopadhyay, Debmita; Nela, Bala Raju; Musthafa, Mohamed; Mohanty, Shradha

doi:10.1109/igarss39084.2020.9324621

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In the Khumbu region (Kattelmann and Yamada, 1996) and Langtang region (Fujita et al, 2017) of the Central Himalaya avalanches have been investigated regarding their triggers but no comprehensive forecasting exists. Both optical remote sensing (Bühler et al, 2013;Kumar et al, 2017Kumar et al, , 2018Caiserman et al, 2022) and SAR technologies (Eckerstorfer and Grahn, 2021;Patil et al, 2020) have been used for avalanche activity detection. SAR technologies have the advantage of being completely independent of light and weather conditions.…”

Section: Field Monitoring and Desktop Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Review article: Snow and ice avalanches in high mountain Asia – scientific, local and indigenous knowledge

Acharya

Steiner

Walizada

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Abstract. The cryosphere in high mountain Asia (HMA) not only sustains livelihoods of people residing downstream through its capacity to store water but also holds potential for hazards. One of these hazards, avalanches, so far remains poorly studied as the complex relationship between climate and potential triggers is poorly understood due to lack of long-term observations, inaccessibility, severe weather conditions, and financial and logistic constraints. In this study, available literature was reviewed covering the period from the late 20th century to June 2022 to identify research and societal gaps and propose future directions of research and mitigation strategies. Beyond scientific literature, technical reports, newspapers, social media and other local sources were consulted to compile a comprehensive, open access and version controlled database of avalanche events and their associated impacts. Over 681 avalanches with more than 3131 human fatalities were identified in eight countries of the region. Afghanistan has the highest recorded avalanche fatalities (1057) followed by India (952) and Nepal (508). Additionally, 564 people lost their lives while climbing peaks above 4500 m a.s.l., one third of which were staff employed as guides or porters. This makes it a less deadly hazard than in the less populated European Alps for example, but with a considerably larger number of people affected who did not voluntarily expose themselves to avalanche risk. Although fatalities are significant, and local long-term impacts of avalanches may be considerable, so far, limited holistic adaptation or mitigation measures exist in the region. These measures generally rely on local and indigenous knowledge adapted with modern technologies. Considering the high impact avalanches have in the region we suggest to further develop adaptation measures including hazard zonation maps based on datasets of historic events and modelling efforts. This should however happen acknowledging the already existing knowledge in the region and in close coordination with communities and local government and civil society stakeholders. More research studies should also be attempted to understand trends and drivers of avalanches in the region.

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Section: Field Monitoring and Desktop Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Review article: Snow and ice avalanches in high mountain Asia – scientific, local and indigenous knowledge

Acharya

Steiner

Walizada

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the Khumbu (Kattelmann and Yamada, 1996) and Langtang regions (Fujita et al, 2017) of the central Himalaya, avalanches have been investigated regarding their triggers, but no comprehensive forecasting exists. Both optical remote sensing (Bühler et al, 2013;Kumar et al, , 2018Caiserman et al, 2022;Snehmani et al, 2014;Singh et al, 2019b) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technologies (Eckerstorfer and Grahn, 2021;Eckerstorfer and Malnes, 2015;Patil et al, 2020) have been used for avalanche activity detection. SAR technologies have the advantage of being completely independent of light and weather conditions.…”

Section: Field Monitoring and Desktop Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Review article: Snow and ice avalanches in high mountain Asia – scientific, local and indigenous knowledge

Acharya¹,

Steiner²,

Walizada³

et al. 2023

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The cryosphere in high mountain Asia (HMA) not only sustains the livelihoods of people residing downstream through its capacity to store water but also holds the potential for hazards. One of these hazards, avalanches, so far remains inadequately studied, as the complex relationship between climate and potential triggers is poorly understood due to lack of long-term observations, inaccessibility, severe weather conditions, and financial and logistical constraints. In this study, the available literature was reviewed covering the period from the late 20th century to June 2022 to identify research and societal gaps and propose future directions of research and mitigation strategies. Beyond scientific literature, technical reports, newspapers, social media and other local sources were consulted to compile a comprehensive, open-access and version-controlled database of avalanche events and their associated impacts. Over 681 avalanches with more than 3131 human fatalities were identified in eight countries of the region. Afghanistan has the highest recorded avalanche fatalities (1057), followed by India (952) and Nepal (508). Additionally, 564 people lost their lives while climbing peaks above 4500 m a.s.l., one-third of which were staff employed as guides or porters. This makes it a less deadly hazard than in the less populated European Alps, for example, but with a considerably larger number of people affected who did not voluntarily expose themselves to avalanche risk. Although fatalities are significant, and local long-term impacts of avalanches may be considerable, so far, limited holistic adaptation or mitigation measures exist in the region. These measures generally rely on local and indigenous knowledge adapted to modern technologies. Considering the high impact avalanches have in the region, we suggest to further develop adaptation measures including hazard zonation maps based on datasets of historic events and modelling efforts. This should, however, happen acknowledging the already existing knowledge in the region and in close coordination with communities, local government and civil society stakeholders. More research studies should also be attempted to understand the trends and drivers of avalanches in the region.

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Snow cover characterization using C-band polarimetric SAR in parts of the Himalaya

Kumar¹,

Narayan²,

Mehta

et al. 2022

Advances in Space Research

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Snow Characterization and Avalanche Detection in the Indian Himalaya

Cited by 3 publications

References 7 publications

Review article: Snow and ice avalanches in high mountain Asia – scientific, local and indigenous knowledge

Review article: Snow and ice avalanches in high mountain Asia – scientific, local and indigenous knowledge

Review article: Snow and ice avalanches in high mountain Asia – scientific, local and indigenous knowledge

Snow cover characterization using C-band polarimetric SAR in parts of the Himalaya

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