Satellites to revolutionise monitoring of avalanches, claim Scottish scientists
SATELLITE images could offer a new way to monitor avalanche threats in remote mountain communities.
According to Aberdeen scientists studying a deadly Himalayan avalanche, the development offers a “possible framework to better evaluate the destructive nature of such avalanches”.
The team from the University of Aberdeen’s School of Geosciences used satellite imaging to study the movements of two avalanche events, in 2016 and 2021, that happened in the same Himalayan valley.
The most severe of these, which struck a high-mountain township in India’s Chamoli district on February 7 last year, caused a flash flood that killed more than 200 people and destroyed key infrastructure.
By using satellite datasets and modelling, the team found the remaining sediments from the 2016 ice avalanche and subsequent seasonal snow avalanches may have contributed to the severity of last year’s avalanche, which travelled 13km despite consisting mostly of rocks.
More significantly, they detected unusual surface movements on the glacier prior to the 2016 avalanche, signalling an emerging threat.
Researchers say this opens up the intriguing possibility that analysis of satellite data could be used to warn of similar risks in future, offering greater protection to mountain communities.
The team is now working with modellers and scientists to study other
ice avalanche events on a global scale.
Dr Anshuman Bhardwaj and Dr Lydia Sam co-authored the study. Dr Sam said: “With more dedicated research on other similar past disasters, we might see the development of a possible framework to better evaluate the destructive nature of such avalanches.
“Of course, there are uncertainties associated with remote sensing observations and more research is needed to identify statistically significant trends in surface displacements prior to avalanching.
“But this opens the possibility of developing a new monitoring framework that could be very valuable in protecting mountain communities in areas such as the Himalayas or the Andes in South America, which are already facing significant challenges due to climate change.”