UAV and SnowModel Estimates of Wind Driven Snow in Eastern USA Avalanche Terrain

<p>Mount Washington, New Hampshire&#8217;s east aspect glacial cirques are subject to frequent wind slab avalanche problems due to high winds and ample snowfall in fetch areas above the cirques.&#160; Quantification of these slabs&#8217; location, extent and depth is in integral part of avalanche forecasting and risk assessment. This research used SnowModel, a spatially distributed snow-evolution modeling system, to model wind slab depth maps using Mount Washington Observatory weather station data on a 1-meter grid scale. SnowModel&#8217;s SnowTran-3D, a snow redistribution by wind algorithm, is tested for one of the first times in the Eastern United States. Snowpack seasonal evolution and accumulation event-based model performance is calibrated and validated using 15 snow depth maps. These maps were constructed via structure from motion (SfM) analysis photogrammetry. SfM maps were derived from optical imagery collected using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and were able to quantify wind slab depth with a 5cm spatial resolution.</p>