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THEORY AND PRACTICE OF INDIVIDUAL SNOW AVALANCHE RISK ASSESSMENT IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC

https://doi.org/10.24057/2071-9388-2012-5-3-64-81

Abstract

In recent years, the Government of the Russian Federation considerably increased attention to the exploitation of the Russian Arctic territories. Simultaneously, the evaluation of snow avalanches danger was enhanced with the aim to decrease fatalities and reduce economic losses. However, it turned out that solely reporting the degree of avalanche danger is not sufficient. Instead, quantitative information on probabilistic parameters of natural hazards, the characteristics of their effects on the environment and possibly resulting losses is increasingly needed. Such information allows for the estimation of risk, including risk related to snow avalanches. Here, snow avalanche risk is quantified for the Khibiny Mountains, one of the most industrialized parts of the Russian Arctic: Major parts of the territory have an acceptable degree of individual snow avalanche risk (<1×10-6). The territories with an admissible (10-4–10-6) or unacceptable (>1×10-4) degree of individual snow avalanche risk (0.5 and 2% of the total area) correspond to the Southeast of the Khibiny Mountains where settlements and mining industries are situated. Moreover, due to an increase in winter tourism, some traffic infrastructure is located in valleys with an admissible or unacceptable degree of individual snow avalanches risk.

About the Authors

Aleksandr Shnyparkov

Russian Federation
Head of the Laboratory of snow avalanches and debris flows, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Leninskie gory 1, 119991


Sven Fuchs

Austria
Institute of Mountain Risk Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria; Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, A–1190


Sergey Sokratov

Russian Federation
Senior research scientist, Laboratory of snow avalanches and debris flows, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Leninskie gory 1, 119991


Peter Koltermann

Russian Federation
Head of the Laboratory of Natural Risk Assessment, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Leninskie gory 1, 119991


Yury Seliverstov

Russian Federation
Research scientist, Laboratory of snow avalanches and debris flows, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; Leninskie gory 1, 119991


Marina Vikulina

Russian Federation
Research scientist, Khibiny educational and scientific base, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Kirovsk, Russia; Zheleznodorozhnaya 10, 184250


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Shnyparkov A., Fuchs S., Sokratov S., Koltermann P., Seliverstov Yu., Vikulina M. THEORY AND PRACTICE OF INDIVIDUAL SNOW AVALANCHE RISK ASSESSMENT IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC. GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY. 2012;5(3):64-81. https://doi.org/10.24057/2071-9388-2012-5-3-64-81

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