Evolutionary characteristics and movement process of the January 2023 Duoxiongla snow avalanche, Tibet

Pingping Zhang, Bin Li (), Haoyuan Gao, Yang Gao, Jiawei Wan, Shaohua Gao, Haowen Li, Guanzhou Wu and Qingchun Li
Additional contact information
Pingping Zhang: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Bin Li: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Haoyuan Gao: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Yang Gao: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Jiawei Wan: Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Shaohua Gao: Key Laboratory of Active Tectonics and Geological Safety, Ministry of Natural Resources
Haowen Li: Key Laboratory of Active Tectonics and Geological Safety, Ministry of Natural Resources
Guanzhou Wu: Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited
Qingchun Li: Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2025, vol. 121, issue 4, No 46, 4927 pages

Abstract: Abstract Global warming has led to the frequent occurrence of snow avalanches that pose serious threats to the safety of personnel and projects in high-elevation mountain areas. Currently, the progress in research on snow avalanche dynamics is insufficient, and avalanche protection measures lack scientific guidance. To provide systematic guidance for snow avalanche protection in high-elevation projects, there is an urgent need to study the evolution and movement of avalanches. On January 17, 2023, a large snow avalanche occurred at the southward exit of the Duoxiongla tunnel. An analysis of the factors triggering this avalanche revealed that its occurrence was closely related to windy weather conditions and temperature rebound. On the basis of multiperiod high-definition remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicle images (UAV), the characteristics of the mountain and historical avalanche events in Duoxiongla were revealed, and the normalized differential snow index (NDSI) was obtained to study the spatiotemporal change pattern of the annual snowpack cover. The remote sensing analysis results indicated that the slope of the release zone is gentle, with glaciers and cracks developing. The NDSI calculation results revealed that the snowpack cover range reached a maximum from January to February every year, and avalanches occurred frequently during this period. Additionally, in this study, avalanches were numerically simulated via the rapid mass movement simulation method (RAMMS), and the results reproduced the avalanche movement process, which can be divided into four stages: start-up, acceleration, deceleration and deposition. Moreover, two suitable locations for catching dams were identified on the basis of the movement and the maximum profile line of dynamic parameters, and the RAMMS method was employed to simulate avalanches after the implementation of protection. Finally, the dynamic mechanisms underlying the four stages were examined, the inadequacy of the RAMMS method for simulating avalanches was analyzed, and ideas for early identification and monitoring-derived warning of avalanches were proposed.

Keywords: Duoxiongla avalanche; Remote sensing; RAMMS; Numerical simulation; Dynamic process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11069-024-06996-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:121:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s11069-024-06996-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11069

DOI: 10.1007/s11069-024-06996-1

Access Statistics for this article

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards is currently edited by Thomas Glade, Tad S. Murty and Vladimír Schenk

More articles in Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards from Springer, International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().