Sliding enthusiasts will have to be extra vigilant. So-called “slab” avalanches are triggered more quickly than previously thought. Scientists from EPFL and WSL (Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) have found that the propagation speed of their rupture exceeds 100 meters per second, or 360 kilometers per hour. Slab avalanches occur when a layer of dense snow, “the slab”, rests on top of a weak, weakly cohesive second layer. When a skier passes, for example, the latter collapses and the plate loses its support.
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