Two-Threshold Model for Scaling Laws of Noninteracting Snow Avalanches
- 10 November 2004
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 93 (20) , 208001
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.93.208001
Abstract
The sizes of snow slab failure that trigger snow avalanches are power-law distributed. Such a power-law probability distribution function has also been proposed to characterize different landslide types. In order to understand this scaling for gravity-driven systems, we introduce a two-threshold 2D cellular automaton, in which failure occurs irreversibly. Taking snow slab avalanches as a model system, we find that the sizes of the largest avalanches just preceding the lattice system breakdown are power-law distributed. By tuning the maximum value of the ratio of the two failure thresholds our model reproduces the range of power-law exponents observed for land, rock, or snow avalanches. We suggest this control parameter represents the material cohesion anisotropy.Keywords
All Related Versions
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Statistical analysis of rockfall volume distributions: Implications for rockfall dynamicsJournal of Geophysical Research, 2003
- Possible deviations from Griffith’s criterion in shallow slabs, and consequences on slab avalanche releaseNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 2002
- Power‐laws and snow avalanchesGeophysical Research Letters, 2002
- Self-Organized Criticality in Earth SystemsPublished by Springer Nature ,2002
- Critical Phenomena in Natural SciencesPublished by Springer Nature ,2000
- Self-Organized CriticalityPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,1998
- Universality classes for rice-pile modelsPhysical Review E, 1997
- How Nature WorksPublished by Springer Nature ,1996
- Self-organized criticality in a continuous, nonconservative cellular automaton modeling earthquakesPhysical Review Letters, 1992
- Self-organized criticalityPhysical Review A, 1988