An Alternate Statistical Interpretation of the Strength Snow

Abstract

The basic features of the statistical models to describe brittle and ductile strength of snow are outlined and discussed. The concept of the "fundamental unit" is introduced. The models are applied to estimate the development of slab stability during heavy snowfalls and to simulate measurements of the tensile strength of snow using the centrifugal method as a function of the load rate. The models developed in this paper are compared with Sommerfeld’s applications of statistical methods to estimate the strength of snow in the starting zone of a slab avalanche.