How a Snowflake Turns Into an Avalanche - Issue 23: Dominoes
▻http://nautil.us/issue/23/dominoes/how-a-snowflake-turns-into-an-avalanche
To view the video, click the “play” icon above. It was just a regular day at the Yellowstone Club in Montana, as far as the weather was concerned. No heavy snowfall or vicious winds were preventing snow mechanics engineer David Walters and five of his colleagues from doing their field work. Walters’ academic advisor had even chosen to do some skiing nearby. But just as the team were about to leave, Walters heard a cry. An avalanche had begun to tumble down around his advisor, Daniel Miller.Thankfully, it was a small one, and slid only about 30 feet down the mountain. But what was remarkable was that it had happened at all. The slope Miller had been skiing down had a gentle, 22-degree incline. According to the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, one of the largest (...)