Publisher’s version / Version de l'éditeur:
Technical Translation (National Research Council of Canada), 1948-02-24
READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.
https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/copyright
Vous avez des questions? Nous pouvons vous aider. Pour communiquer directement avec un auteur, consultez la première page de la revue dans laquelle son article a été publié afin de trouver ses coordonnées. Si vous n’arrivez pas à les repérer, communiquez avec nous à PublicationsArchive-ArchivesPublications@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Questions? Contact the NRC Publications Archive team at
PublicationsArchive-ArchivesPublications@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. If you wish to email the authors directly, please see the first page of the publication for their contact information.
NRC Publications Archive
Archives des publications du CNRC
For the publisher’s version, please access the DOI link below./ Pour consulter la version de l’éditeur, utilisez le lien DOI ci-dessous.
https://doi.org/10.4224/20331395
Access and use of this website and the material on it are subject to the Terms and Conditions set forth at
The Swiss Federal Institute for snow and avalanche research on Weissfluhjoch near Davos at 8700 feet above sea level
Petitmermet, P.; Miggli, Paul; Bucher, Edwin
https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/droits
L’accès à ce site Web et l’utilisation de son contenu sont assujettis aux conditions présentées dans le site LISEZ CES CONDITIONS ATTENTIVEMENT AVANT D’UTILISER CE SITE WEB.
NRC Publications Record / Notice d'Archives des publications de CNRC: https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=c8b2084c-1537-4c37-aa61-649c9bd60343 https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=c8b2084c-1537-4c37-aa61-649c9bd60343
as
E i d g e n o s s i s c n e I n s t , i t u t e f u e r Scilriee- uridLawinenforschung a u f J e i s s f l u h j o c h ob aavos, 26cO ~,~,ti,;i, )
t r a n s l a t e d by D. A. S i n c l a i r T h i s i s t h e Foupth o f t h e S e r i e s o f T r a n s l a t i o n s P r e p a r e d f o r t h e i l i v i s i o n o f B u i l d i n & Research. Ottawa 24 F e b r u a r y 1943.
T h i s i s Report Xo. 1 o f t h e F e d e r a l i n s t i t u t e f o r Snow and Avalanche Ilesearch on Tieissf l ~ h j o c h near Davos, S w i t z e r l a n d . Tne t r a n s l a t i o n i s p u b l i s h e d w i t h t h e appro- v a l o f t h e D i r e c t o r o f t n e I n s t i t u t e .
The National X e s e a ~ z h Council t h r o u g h i t s D i v i s i o n s o f Zechanical En,ineerinb and B u i l d i n g Research h a s a c l o s e l i n k w i t h E i d g e n o s s i s c h e I n s t i t u t f u r Schnee- und Lawinenforschung. X r . G. J. Klein o f t h e former D i v i s i o n and t h e w r i t e r have b o t h s p e n t sone t h e a t t h e I n s t i t u t e . D r . Idarcel de Q u e r v a i n who i s nof t h e D i r e c t o r o f t h e
I n s t i t u t e s p e n t one y e a r a s a s p e c i a l member o f t h e s t a f f o f t h e D i v i s i o n o f B u i l d i n g Research d u r i n g 194d and 1949
and l a i d t h e f o u n d a t i o n f o r t h e snow and i c e r e s e a r c h work t o which t h e D i v i s i o n l o o k s forward.
It i s a p l e a s u r e t o have t h i s t r a n s l a t i o n p u b l i s h e d s i n c e it d e s c r i b e s v e r y c l e a r l y t h e I n s t i t u t e w i t h which t h e Couricil now has such a c l o s e l i n k ,
Robert I?. Leg&, D i r e c t o r ,
Tech. Trans. TT-64 RZPORT ON TH3 SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTE FOR SNOW AND AVALANCHE
RESEARCH ON \l/EISSFLUHJOCH
-
OB DAVOS AT 2660 NlETRES ABOVE SEA LEVELI THE PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF S'UuISS SNOG AND AVALANCHE RESEARCH by
M e
p e t i t m e r m e t , I n s p e c t o r G a n e r a l of F o r e s t s ,Of a l l n a t u r a l phenomena, a v a l a n c h e s a r e t'nose which
are most f e a r e d by people, f o r i n t h i s mountainous c o u n t r y t h e y have a s i g n i f i c a n c e t h a t must n o t be u n d e r e s t i m a t e d , having i n t h e c o u r s e of many y e a r s t a k e n t o l l of numerous human l i v e s and much p r o p e r t y . It i s n o t s t r a n g e , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s and t h e p e o p l e themselves have been con- cerned about them a t a l l t i m e s . Howevel>, u n t i l a few decades ago t h i s concern was l i m i t e d t o a v o i d i n g damage. Actual
p r e v e n t i o n was e i t h e r n o t c o n s i d e r e d a t a l l , o r was approached o n l y w i t h g r e a t h e s i t a n c y ,
The e a r l i e s t i n h a b i t a n t s of our mountain r e g i o n s d i d i n f a c t t r y t o p r o t e c t themselves a g a i n s t a v a l a n c h e s i n a g e n e r a l way by e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e i r s e t t l e m e n t s i n p l a c e s which presumably would n o t be reached by thg a v a l a n c h e s . I f t h e y
judgad r i g h p l y i n many i n s t a n c e s ,
it
i s a l s o t r u e t h a t f a t e o f t e n overtook them i n t h e p l a c e s where t h e y imagined them- s e l v e s s e c u r e , To a v o i d h a v i n g t o l e a v e the. a f f l i c t e d l o c a l - i t i e s , which were u s u a l l y among the most f e r t i l e , t h e y t r 3 e d h e r e and t h e r e t o p r o t e c t t h e i r houses by means of s t r u c t u r a l a d d i t i o n s . Thus s p l i t c o r n e r s o r avalanche b r e a k e r 8 were developed--in F r a e t i g a u t h e y a r e c a l l e d "Ebenhoechn )--which a r e found i n many l o c a l i t i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y , t o mention some n e a r b y examples, I n S t . Antonio and F r a u e n k i r c h , b u t a l s o i nT i c i n o and t h e V a l a i s . The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c tendency, t h e r e f o r e
-
and i t i s e a s i l y understood-
was f o r p e o p l e t o c o n t e n t them-s e l v e s a t f i r s t w i t h b r e a k i n g or d e f l e c t i n g t h e f o r c e of t h e avalancne a f t e r it had begun and was descending.
I n t h e v i c i n i t y of Leukerbad def l e c t i n w a l l s which were
b u i l t
i n
t h e y e a r s 1721 and 1829/30 a r e s t i l f t o be s e e n t o - day, and a r e s t i l l i n good c o n d i t i o n . Guide w a l l s f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n of v a r i o u s o b j e c t s have been b u i l t w i t h i n t h e l a s t decades, i n t h e V a l a i s f o r example, a t t h e s o u t h e r n e x i t of the Loefschberg t u n n e l above Taesch i n Saas-Grund.-2)
trans la to^ 1 s Iu'ote :Wedge
-
formPage -2
Tech. Trans. TT-64
A t an e a r l y d a t e , however,
it
was r e c o g n i z e d t h a t i twould be more t o t h e p o i n t t o p r e v e n t or t o check t h e develop- ment of t h e a v a l a n c h e , f o r o n l y v e r y s t r o n g , massive c o n s t r u c - t i o n s a r e c a p a b l e of w i t h s t a n d i n g a mass o f snow d e s c e n d i n g i n f u l l v i o l e n c e . Although t h i s view was n o t g i v e n g e n e r a l r e c o g n i t i o n u n t i l the second h a l f of t h e l a s t c e n t u r y , we
know, n e v e r t h e l e s s , t h a t a t an e a r l i e r d a t e , mountain d w e l l e r s had a l r e a d y t r i e d t o stem t'ne o n s l a u g h t of t h e avalanche b y c o n s t r u c king h o r i z o n t a l d i t c h e s , e a r t h t e r r a c e s , o r embank- ments* Such s t r u c t u r e s can s t i l l be s e e n i n t h e V a l a i s , i n F i r o h ; f o r example, above Geschinen, and a t o t h e r p l a c e s i n Goms. ' ~ h e s e were a l r e a d y i n e x i s t e n c e i n 1786, Traces of o l d t e r r a c e s bave a l s o been found i n Ursuren and i n t h e Lower Sngadine
.
The s y s t e m a t i c o b s t r u c t i o n of a v a l a n c h e s was n o t under- t a k e n however u n t i l Coaz, t h a n Cantonal I n s p e c t o r of F o r e s t s f o r Grisons, was o b l i g e d t o u n d e r t a k e t h e r e s t o r a t i o n of p r o p e r t y which had s u f f e r e d damage i n the Lower Engadine
d u r i n g the l a t e s i x t i e s . H e b u i l t s h o r t , h o r i z o n t a l w a l l s a b o u t one m e t r e h i g h , f i r s t i n t h e township of S c h l e i n s , t h e n l a t e r , i n o t h e r n e a r b y l o c a l i t i e s . A s F e d e r a l I n s p e c t o r General of F o r e s t s , he took a keen , i n t e r e s t i n t h i s b r a n c h of h i s d u t i e s and himself drew tho d e s i a s f o r defence p r o j e c t s i n most of t h e A l p i n e - Cantons, These d e s i g n s c a l l e d f o r wooden snow h r i d g e s , rows of p r o p s , and embankments, a s w e l l a s w a l l s . H i s example was f o l l o w e d by many f o r e s t r y o f f i c i a l s , s o t h a t ,
by t h e time h e r e t i r e d i n 1914 a g r e a t many d e f e n c e s h a d been e r e c t e d . The& were a l m o s t a l l l i s t e d i n t h e work, '?Die S t a t i s - t i k der Lawinen i n den Schweizer ~ l p e n "
-
Avalanche S t a t i s t i c s of t h e Swiss Alps, 1910.During the f i r s t world war, defence work c e a s e d almost e n t i r e l y , u n t i l a g r e a t d e a l of damage was s u s t a i n e d dur3ng t h e w i n t e r s o f 1917-18 and 1918-19, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e Upper V a l a i s e Some f a i l u r e s w i t h the Coaz t y p e s o f defence works l e d t o t h e . t e s t i n g of new s t r u o t u r a l types. For a time, b r o a d t e r r a c e s of e a r t h , s t o n e o r e a r t h aqd s t o n e mixed enjoyed
g r e a t p o p u l a r i t y ; The e x p e r i e n o e s w i t h t h e s e , however, were n o t so e n c o u r a g i n g t h a t t h e m a t t e r c o u l d b e l e f t t h e r e , and, c o n s e q u e n t l y , the b u i l d i n g of a v a l a n c h e w a l l s was a g a i n t a k e n up. These, t o be s u r e , were b u i l t much more s t r o n g l y
than
b e f o r e . Lon w a l l s , i n s t e a d of s h o r t ones, were c o n s t r u c t e d i n o r d e r t o 8 l m i n i s h t h e number of c o r n e r s and wings, s i n c e t h e s e a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y exposed t o d e s t r u c t i o n . Through ex- c a v a t i o n o f . e a r t h a n d s t o n e b e h i n d the w a l l , a l a r g e s p a c e was c r e a t e d i n which g r e a t q u a n t i t i e s o f snow
m i g h t
come t o r e s t . A p a r t of t h e e x c a v a t e d m a t e r i a l w a s t h e n used t o r e i n - f o r c e t h e w a l l and t o b u i l di t
up a l o n g t h e t o p , t h u s en-h a n c i n g i t s a b i l i t y t o w i t h s t a n d t h e v i o l e n c e of t h e a v a l a n c h e and t h e impact of s t o n e .
Techo T r a n s 6
TT-64
When a s l o p e h a s been t h o r o u m l y o b s t r u c t e d b y means of such works the danger is c o n f i n e d o r a t any r a t e g r e a t l y diminished, The disadvantage l i e s i n t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e p r o j e c t s a r e v e r y c o s t l y and t h e i r upkeep c o n s t i t u t e s a burden which few communities c m b e a r o Moreover, most of
t h e s e g r e a t defence s t r u c t u r e s l i e above t h e timber l i n e , Consequently, t h e y a r e n o t l a t e r r e p l a c e d by growing woodland, b u t must c o n s t a n t l y b e k e p t i n good r e p a i r o Moreover, ex-
p e r i e n c e shows t h a t even when t h e y a r e made from t h e b e s t rock n a t e r i a l and a r e b u i l t on sound en i n e e r i n g p r i n c i p l e s
f
t h e y s t i l l become d i l a p i d a t e d i n a s l i t l e a s t h i r t y o rf o r t y y e a r s , ?me low t e m p e r a t u r e s , t h e seepage of w a t e r , t h e .
g r e a t p r e s s u r e s and t b e blows t o which they a r e s u b j e c t e d , a r e such t h a t i n a few decades t h e s t o n e becomes eroded and t h e bond is l o o s e n e d o
The o b s t r u c t i o n o f a v a l a n c h e s a t tile p o i n t s where t h e y develop above t h e timber l i n e means a l a r g e f i n a n c i a l burden, t h e r e f o r e , n o t o n l y f o r t h e b u i l d e r s , b u t a l s o f o r t h e Con- f e d e r a t i o n and t h e Canton, which s o f a r have always i n t e r v e n e d whenever i t was a q u e s t i o n of r e c o n s t r u c t i n g t h c . d e f e n c e s o
The f o l l o w i n g f i g u r e s g i v e some i d e a of t h e e x t e n t and s i g n i f i c a n c e of the avalanche defence p r o j e c t s c a r r i e d o u t from 1876 t o 1942,
Thers were 587 p r o j e c t s i n a l l , completed a t a t o t a l c o s t of 16,531,900 f r a n c s o About s i x t y p e r c e n t of t h i s expense was assumed by t h e Conf'ederacy,
The F e d e r a l I n s p e c t o r a t e of F o r e s t s has l o n g been
s e a r c h i n g f o r ways and means o f r e d u c i n g the c o s t s of b u i l d i n g and m a i n t a i n i n g d e f e n c e s w i t h o u t j e o p a r d i z i n g t h e s e c u r i t y which t h e y o f f e r ,
The development of w i n t e r s p o r t s , and t h e consequent growth of a c c u r a t e knowledge about w i n t e r c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e h i g h mountain ranges, i n d i c a t e d t h e p a t h t o be followed,
U n t i l 20 y e a r s ago t h e p l a n n i n g of t h e p r o j e c t s was based s o l e l y on summer s u r v e y s of t h e a r e a s of development, and on
t h e v e r y u n c e r t a i n d a t a s u p p l i e d by l o c a l i n h a b i t a n t s , Thus i t came a b o u t t h a t some p m j e c t s & i c h a t t h e b e g i n n i n g h a d been c o n s i d e r e d of s u b o r d i n a t e importance ; ~ ; r a d u a l l y became
more e x t e n s i v e , s i n c e i t was r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e a r e a s of a v a l a n d i e development were much l a r g e r than had been supposed, C e r t a i n d e f e n c e s , l i k e t h a t of t h e T o r r e n t a l p ob Leukerbad o r t h e Obergestelen were begun more t h a n s i x t y y e a r s ago, and have n o t y e t been completed*
U n t i l t h e avalanche development a r e a s were surveyed i n w i n t e r , i t was n o t p o s s i b l e t o study t h e e f f e c t of t h e
page -4
Tech, Trand. TT-64
defences from o b s e r v a t i o n s made on the spot. A t t h e same time, i t was r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e condition8 were by no means as simple a s they had appeared when observed from t h e v a l l e y below, A
more i n t e n s i v e i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e problem of avalanche development was theref ore u r g e n t l y i n d i c a t e d ,
A conf'erence was h e l d under the chairmanship of t h e P r e s i d e n t of t h e Board of,, d u c a t i o n with r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of
B
the p r o f e s s o r s of the
ETH"
,
: the r a i l r o a d e n g i n e e r s and thef o r e s t e r s i n attendance, a t which the d e s i r a b i l i t y of an in- t e n s i v e study of avalanche development was recognized, Follow- i n g t h i s , a commission was s e t up i n 1932 by the F e d e r a l De- partment of the I n t e r i o r , This was f i r s t known a s t h e ''Ava- lanche Research Commissiontt, b u t l a t e r , i n l i n e with t h e broadened scope of i t s d u t i e s , i t was c a l l e d t h e flSnow and Avalanche Research Commissiont1, I n the beginning, t h e r e were
seven members; the number was l a t e r i n c r e a s e d t o f i f t e e n , 'Its i n i t i a l program comprised:
( a ) The measurenient of snow a t r e s t ; p e r t i n e n t snow- f a l l r e c o r d s , snow depth measuremsq
-.
.
f
s with g g q 9 r o d s , measure- ments of snow d e n s i t y w i t h Sondes'"',
d r i l l s i n and balances.( b ) I n v e s t i g a t i o n s of t h e dynamics of snow with s p e c i a l r e f e r e n c e t o t h e s e t t l i n g and- movement p r o c e s s e s i n t h e snow-cover and t h e study of d r i f t s .
( c ) The p r o v i s i o n of t h e necessary i n s t r u m e n t s and t h e establishment of t h e s t a t i o n s ,
I n order t o c a r r y o u t t h e s e t a s k s , s e v e r a l o b s e r v a t i o n s t a t i o n s were f i r s t s e t up, These were s i t u a t e d on Col
de Jaman (under D r , L u e t s c h g ) , on S a f l i s c h ob Brig ( F o r e s t r y I n s p e c t o r m g s t e r ), Andermatt (Cantonal Chief F o r e s t e r D r ,
Oechslin), i n Elm (Cantonal Chief F o r e s t e r O e r t l i ) and on Weissfluhjoch ob Davos ( P r o f e s s o r Staub of t h e ETH), Work was c a r r i e d on c o n s c i e n t i o u s l y a t t h e s e s t a t i o n s and abun-
d a n t o b s e r v a t i o n m a t e r i a l was assembled.
I n t h e course of time, every o b s e r v a t i o n s t a t i o n was
t o be provided w i t h
a
number of m e t e o r o l o g i c a l 'instruments such asrai
n gauges,
barographs,' thermographs,
h ~ d r o g r a p h s , anemometers and sunshine r e c o r d e r s , I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e were t o be snow gauge r o d s and snow tubes f o r t h e determination of s p e c i f i c g r a v i t y .However, it was soon recognized t h a t a s a t i s f a c t o r y s o l u t i o n t o t h e problems could n o t be a t t a i ned in., t h i s manner.
ransla slat or
1 s Note: Eidgenossische TechnischeHochschule
-
, ? e C ~ r a l Technical University.4c.A )
Trans1atorf.s Note: Swiss c o n i c a l pointed penetrometer ,
-5
Tech* Trans,
TT-64
Only an i n t e n s i v e study of the p r o c e s s e s o c c u r r i n g i n t h e
in-
t e r i o r of t h e snow-cover could provide information about the
development of avalanches,
The f i r s t afm was t h e r e f o r e , t o begin t h e systematic i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t o t h e mechanics of snow which had a l r e a d y been provided f o r i n t h e program, This t a s k was taken over by t h e h y d r a u l i c s l a b o r a t o r y of t h e
EYH
i n Zurich under t h e d i r e c t i o n of Professor hleyer-Peter and h a s s i n c e been c a r r i e d on unswervingly through t h e y e a r s ,The study of snow mechanics had s c a r c e l y begun, when i t became necessary t o examine the s t r u c t u r e of t h e snow down t o t h e snow c r y s t a l and i t s metamorphosf s o To t h i s end, t h e cornmissi on approached Prof easor Dr, Niggli, who r e a d i l y o f f e r e d h i s s e r v i c e s , Since then, ( t h e VJinter of 1934-35), t h e rep- r e s e n t a t i v e s of t h e Mineralogical-Petrographical I n s t i t u t e and of t h e ETH H . - d r a u l i c s Laboratory have worked t o g e t h e r every w i n t e r , f i r s t i n Davos, and then ' on kVeissfluhjoch w i t h
the 'cooperation of D r , ~ B r i k o f e r , Direc'Zor of t h e Meteoro- l o g i c a l - P h y s i c s I n s t i t u t e of Davos,
I t i s expected t h a t snow r e s e a r c h w i l l h e l p , among o t h e r t h i n g s , i n t h e development of new types of avalanche defence works, whose c o s t of c o n s t r u c t i o n , and more p a r -
t i c u l a r l y of maintenance, would be lower, b u t which would prove j u s t a s effective.. AnotheP important t a s k i s t h e study of d r i f t s , which i s of paramount importance f o r keeping t h e highways and r a i l r o a d s open, n o t t o mention t h e d i t c h e s f n a r e a s where avalanche def encos exf s t o F i n a l l y , snow r e s e a r c h
should provide t h e f o r e s t e r w i t h ways and means of prevent- i n g t h e enormous damages which r e s u l t from t h e c r e e p i n g of the snow i n t h e r e f o r e s t r a t i o n zcmes,
The o r f g i n a l l a b o r a t o r y c o n s f s t e d of a frame h u t j u s t below t h e Weissfluhjoch s t a t i o n of t h e Parsenn Railwqy
,
A l - though t h e b u i l d i n g was r a t h e r p r i m i t i v e , t h e workers of t h e commission were a b l e t o devote s i x y e a r s t h e r e t o t h e i r t a s k with g r e a t d i l i g e n c e and endurance, The management of the Parsenn Railway,'whfch i n any ease always showed keen i n t e r e s t i n our work and a i d e d i t i n every way, a l s o pro- vided a spacefi
t h e s t a t i o n b u i l d i n g f o r an o f f f c e , m e s e circumstances l a s t e d u n t i l 1 9 Q , when we were informed by the management t h a t t h e frame h u t would have t o go, We. were f o r c e d t o f i n d some way of making i t p o s s i b l e t o c a r r y on t h e work, The commission suggested t o t h e Department of theI n t e r i o r t h a t a new b u f l d l n g should be e r e c t e d ,
A f t e r t h e necessary p l a n s had been drawn up i n t h e
Winter of 1941-42. ' and the ground work had been c o n ~ p l e t e d ~ i t was p o s s i b l e t o begin c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e new b u i l d i n g i n t h e
Page -60
Tech, Trans, TT-64
7 .
December of t h e salne. :yet.;-: -,ul-;ilil; 7.943 *;:ie i n t e r - i c r f i t t i n g s were conpleted 2nd tihs ? ~ l . l i .- .i;cq:e:3~.l.ure sapipment w a s i n s t a l l e d ,
Cur scjuntr:{
now
has an ins-ticcite which i s u n i q u e , There i s no doubt t,hzt i n t h e collrse or" time t h e r e s c l t s of t h e I n s t i t u t e f o r Snow and iival~.? cche Iies.earch. w i l l be of g r e a t importance t o s c i e n c e and w i l l con.tri'i;ute t o t h e w e l f a r eand honour of our c o u n t r y ,
I1
--
TIIE --.- SCIENCE .- - -
-.--- OF a"- SJ.40VJm,---
AVALANCHZS -.--- .
- . A N T , --- GLACIERS-. --..-
I N---
SWITZERLAND ---.By Paul K i g g l i
I n
many c o s m o ~ o n i e s based on mythology, t h e niutation of a p r i m o r d i a l s u b s t a n c e o r s t a t e i n e a r t h , s e a o r sky i s d e p i c t e d a s m elercental a c t , a s one of the f i r s t d e e d s oft h e gods, Tne d i s t i n c t i o n s u r v i v e s i n sc3t.n tif i c terxzinology
!i- t!- t h r e e f o l d clivisfon of a s o l i d , f l u i d and gaseous
s t a t e , And 30:~~ tile very beginning, w a t e r , whiph i n t h e e t e r n a l c y c l e comes- from t h e sky, mounts t o t h e sky, s e e p s through t h e e a r t h , f l o w s t o t h e sea, and which, b$ s o l i d i - f y i n z , becomes t h e p r o t o t y p e l l c r y s t a l " , suggested r e l a t i o n -
s h i p s c o n c e r n i m e v e r y t h i n g which i s s u b j e c t t o m u t a t i o n ,
j?/ater i s t h e . s u b s t a n c e which
m o s t
f o r c i b l y and d i r e c t l y c a u s e s~ 1 3 t o r e c o g n i z e t h e r e l a t i v i t y cf t h e terms s o l i d , f l u i d and
,yas~m,l s and of t h e proper t i e s b r i t t l e n e s s , f l u i d i t y and p l a s t i c i t y , and i t i s a l s o t h e s u b s t a n c e which, a s a n impor-
tsi~t requirer:.ent f o r t h e s u s t e n s n c e of l i f e , and a s a work- performing, energy-producing f a c t o r , i s bound up w i t h human d e s t i n y ,
I t is u n d e r s t a n d a b l e t h a t t h e c r y s t a l l i z e d forms, snow and i c e , wpre n o t f o r a l o n g time t h e o b j e c t s of such i n t e n -
s i v e r e s e a r c h a s were f l u i d water and water vapour, I n t h e t h i c k l y p o p u l a t e d r e g i o n s , snow acd i c e a r e phenomena wl-,j.ch can be observed only f l e e t i n g l y , I t i s a l t o g e t h e r n a t u r a l , t h a t t h e need of coming t o terms w i t h them was f i r s t f e l t .
in
rriountainous c o u n t r i e s . It niuat ~ i v e u s g r e a t s a t i s f a c t i o n , . however, t h a t i n a work on g l a c i o l o g y which'appeared i n 1942
(by D r y g a l s k i and Fo Machatschek), which. a l s o d e a l s w i t h snow and a v a l a n c h e s , t h e h i s t o r i c a l s e c t i o n b e g i n s w i t h t h e sen-
tence: "The Alps a r e t h e home of t h e g l a c i e r f o r m a t i o n , This-
f s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e of Switzerland,. where g l a c i e r s dominate * t h e landscape a t h i g h a l t i t u d e s perhaps more i m p r e s s i v e l y t h a n anywhere e l s e , and where t h e y consequently became t h e o b j e c t s of s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h
a t
a n e a r l i e r d a t e , " Indeed, t h e terms G l e t s c h e r ( g l a c i e ~ ) , F i r n ( f i r n ) , Moraene (morekne), Guffer ( m o r a i n e ) , Lawine ( a v a l a n c h e ) , Waechten ( d r i f t s ) ,taken from t h e v e r n a c u l a r , were f i r s t e l e v a t e d t o t h e s t a t u s of s c i e n t i f i c e x p r e s s i o n s by Swiss s c i e r i t i s t s ,
These f a c t s a t t h e same time imply a n o b l i g a t i o n t h a t i s enhanced by t h e opening up of t h e Alps t o w i n t e r s p o r t ,
Tech, Trans, TT-64 which i s not with-out i t s dangers, and by our t a s k of defending
t h e Alpine passes, t h e h e a r t of our n a t i v e l a n d , a t a l l seasons and under a l l circumstances, Then t h e r e i s t h e growing con-
s c i o u s n e s s of t h e economic i a p o r t a n c e t o our country of t h e whole m a t t e r of water conservation, whether i n t h e form of
s o l i d or l i q u i d p r e c ' i p i t a t i o n s , g l a c i e r s , avalalzches, w 3 n t . e ~ snow, o r t h e g a i n i n g of r e s e r v o i r s , Above a l l , however, t h e undying love of t h e mountains and t h e urge t o p e n e t r a t e t h e
secre,ts of n a t u r e w i l l continue t o m o t i v a t e . t h o s e whose home i s i n t h e h i g h l a n d s ,
I n t h e Humanistic and l a t e Izumanistic e r a , t h e ' p e r i o d s dominated by Bacon, Ga,lileo, Kepler and Descartes, Switzerland took no a p p r e c i a b l e p a r t i n e s t a b l i s h i n g the p r i n c i p l e s of t h e s c i e n c e s , e i t h e r through s c i e n t i f i c i n v e s t i g a t o r s o r mathe- m a t i c i a n s , She s u r p r i s e d h e r contemporaries, however, srf t h an'abundance of valuable c h r o n i c l e s and c a r t o g r a p h i c a l presen- t a t i o n s , and i t was through t h e s e very documents t h a t t h e p r i n c i p l e s of t h e gcience of g l a c i e r s , .snow and avalanches, coming l a t e r , were introduced i n t o the l i t e r a t u r e , Petelalpam E t t e r l i n ( 1 5 0 7 ) , Aegidius Tschudf ( 1 5 3 8 ) , Johannes Stumpf
(1548) and l a t e r Matthaeus Merian (1642) were the chief workers i n t h i s f i e l d , D e s c r i p t i o n s of the snow-capped mountain
ranges, i n p a r t s t i l l confused by a n c i e n t conceptions, were published by S e b a s t i a n ILuenster ( 1 5 4 3 ) , Kamad Gessner (b541), and J o s i a s Simmler (1574). For more t h a n a c e n t u r y t h e s e des- c r i p t i o n s remained t h e chief source m a t e r i a l employed by t h e o t h e r n a t u r a l i s t s of Europe, The information was c o l l e c t e d e n c y c l o p a e d i c a l l y i n 1606 i n a d i d a c t i c poen; by Hans Rudolf Rebmann c a l l e d
"Pee
t i s c h Gas tmakl und Cespraech zweier Bergen'- P o e t i c Banquet and Conversation of' Two Mountains, This poem a l s o gave information about avalanches and g l a c i e r s and was ,s t i l l being c i t e d by Scheuchzer on numerous occasions a hundred y e a r s l a t e r ,
During the t r a n s i t i o n a l p e r i o d , b e f o r e the f i r s t flower- i n g of m a t h e m a t i c a l - s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h i n Switzerland, a t t e n - t i o n was given t o snow and i c e p a r t i c u l a r l y by Johann Jakol- Wagner (1680 and 1688) and Johann I i e i n r i c h Hottinger (1698 and 1709). During t h e p e r i o d of enlightenment i t s e l f , Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1672-1733) and Noritz Anton Cappeler (1685-1769) stand out a s t h e r e a l founders of the s c i e n c e of avalanches and g l a c i e r s , The former, f o r example, i n h i s 'tBeschrei'Gung d e r Maturgeschichte d e s Schweizerlandes'" D e s c r i p t i o n of t h e . E a t u r a l H i s t o r y of Switzerland
-
which appeared between 1706and 1708, ' f i r s t c l a s s i f i e d avalanches a s e i t h e r d u s t or s o i l avalanches, mentioned causes of t h e l o o s e n i n g of t h e "Absch- l i p f e n "
-
s J i d e s-
d e s c r i b e d and recorded avalanche a c c i d e n t s , and r e p o r t e d i n d e t a i l on t h e "Bewahr-
und R e t t u n g s m i t t e l " - Kethods of p r o t e c t i o n and rescue-
t h e n i n u s e , I n t h e t h f r d volume of t h e Natural H i s t o r y , t h e r e i s a c h a p t e r d e a l i n g w i t hPage -8,
Tech0 Trans,
TT-64
the I' Gle t schern, Schnee
-
und Eisbergen de u Schv~eizer1andes''-The Glaciers and t h e Snow and Ice-clad mountains of Sv~i+ zerland, Along with the general question,
why
our country i s subjectt o g l a c i e r s , the growth and f i s s i o n of g l a c i e r s i s mentioned
and i s a t t r i b u t e d t o the pressure of water f r e e z i n g i n crevasses, and t o the s e t t i n g f r e e of a i r , Objections, based on Hottin- g e r f s demonstration, a r e r a i s e d a g a i n s t the view, s t i l l rep- resented by Simrnler, t h a t rock c r y s t a l i s p e t r i f i e d i c e o P a r t s of the processes of s t r i a t i o n of g l a c i e r i c e , and of the t r a n s i t i o n of f i r n i n t o i c e a r e already c o r r e c t l y Endf- cated' i n p r i n c i p l e . Cappeler proceeds d i f f orently,.
Ke
con-s t r u c t s the
f i r s t
crystallography on t h e b a s i s of Hottinger 8 sc r y s t a l l o g i a , . o n d i n i t he c a r e f u l l y d e s c r i b e s the d u f e r e n t types if i c e and snow c r y s t a l formation, In a d d i t i o n , ft f a already c o r r e c t l y determined t h a t whether rock c r y s t a l s , other stones, o r i c e a r e formed depends on whether the paps. t i c l e s of the p r e c i p i t a t e o r of the water arrange themselves i n t o uniform s o l i d s t r u c t u r e s , .Cappeler 1 s c o ~ i t r i b u t i o n t o
Joh, Georg Altmannrs "Versuch e i n e r h i s t o r i s c h e n und physis- chen Beschreibung d e r Helve t i s c h e n Eisbergenl'
-
Attempt a t an H i s t o r i c a l and Physical Description of the Swiss Ice-clad F,lountains
-
(175l)
i s the most valuable p a r t of AltmannQs
work, Tkre boulders l y i n g
on
t h e g l a c i e r a r e c o r r e c t l y des- cribeda s
n d e b r i s which has f a l l e n down from t h e mountainsn* The source region o f the g l a c i e r i s above, and "because new i c e i s always being formed from year t o year, w h o a the old g l a c i e ri s
always melting away e x t e r n a l l y on the v a l l e y s i d e , the g l a c i e r must move continuously downward on the steepmountain slope, due t o the pressure of t h e upper p a r t on the lower, u n t i l i t
i s
f i n a l l y melted by t h e h e a t of summer i nthe v a l l e y o n
This was one of t h e f
erst
r e f e r e n c e s t o normal g l a c i e r movement, and a t the same time, c o n s t i t u t e da
f i r s % roughtheory about
it,
In the same work by Altmann t h e r e i s a re- p o r t of a t r i p from Geneva i n t o the g l a c i a l f i e l d s of Savoy, which was 'undertakenby
n s c h o l a r s from Geneva together wf t hsome Englishmen who had been staying i n Geneva f o r a time", The cooperation of t o u r i s t s and s c h o l a r s of f o r e i g n c o u n t r i e s i n opening up the Alpine region, which was l a t e r t o be so .
f r u i t f u l f o r science, had begun, Not l e a s t among the > i n f l u - ences leading t o t h i s development was
a
new d i d a c t i c poem by Albrecht von Haller, "Die Alpen''-
The Alps-
( 1 7 p ),G.S. Gruner 9 s g r e a t work appearing i n 1760,
"Die
Eisgebfrge des Schwef zerlandes"
-
The Do-clad Nountain R a n p ao f Switzerland
-
h a s a geographical d e s c r i p t i o n i n P a r t s 1 xand 11, ending i n a comparison with the northern g l a c i a l ranges of Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen. P a r t
I11
containsa
general physical survey which does n o t o f f e r much i n thew m
of new m a t e r i a l , but i s valuable a s one of the f f r s t complete p r e s e n t a t i o n s of i t s kind,-9
Tech, Trans, TT-64 T h i s e a r l y p e r i o d of t h e s t u d y of snow and g l a c i e r s
came t o a n end w i t h t h e p u b l i c a t i o n of H O B o de S a u s s u r e 1 s
:;ark, (1779-1796), llVoyages dans l e s Alpesn
-
Journeys i n ch\: Alps-
which l a i d t h e f o u n d a t i o n s f o r a l l Alpine r e s e a r c h , '?'his work i s also j u s t l y consider-ed t o be a d e c i d e d s t ? - >f o r w a r d f o r o u r f i e l d of s t u d y o :Ioiiever,, t h e w e a l t h o f i,e,l
o b s e r v a t i o n s and s u g p s ti o n s f o r e x ~ e r i m e n t a l r e s e a r c h s h o u l d n o t make us o v e r l o o k t h e f a c t t h a t a h o s $ s f m u l t a n e o u s l y
p a r t i c u l a r a s p s c t s of the pr80blemv b e i n g i n v e s t f c , a t e d j u s t a s c o n s c i e n t i o u s l y by o t h e r r e s e a r 3 c h e r s , Above t i l l , t h e r e
a r e t h e two works of D o F. Kukm c o n t a i n e d i n Volume 1 (1787) and Volume 3 (1788) of thaVMaganfn f u e r die U ~ t U P l i ~ n d e f i o l - v e t i e n s " ( e d i t e d by A , l:oapfner) on t h e s'h~echanismus der G l e t s c h e r "
-
Ilec'nanics of G l a c i e r s-
( c o n t a i n i n g a c o r r e c t e x p l a n a t i o n of t h 3 median m o r a i n e s ) , An i n t e r 7 e s t i n g p i e c e of i n f o r r n a t l o n i s t h a t a shsplierd boy of Grindelwald had a l - r e a d y t r i a d t o measure g l a c i e r rnovernent i n 1 7 7 a 0 C o n t r a r y t o de Snussulae, Kuhn t o o k t h e movement t o b e i n t e r m i t t e n t ,b u t , l i k e hiin, assumad t h a t g r a v i t y was t h e d r i v i n g force, A t t h i s time: Kuhn and de S a u s s w a were v i o l e n t l y opposed by f o r e i g n r u s s a r c ' i l s r s who m a i n t a i n e d t h a t g l a c l a l movement was an a b s u ~ . d i t y , I n the same yearbook a n anonymous r e s e a r c h worker Gave a c o r r e c t i n t e r p p e t a t i o n of tklc o r i g i n of t h e g l a c i e r t a b l c s , H O Resson and A. C c B o r d i e r i n 1770 and 1775 were t l l j f i r s t 60 s u g g e s t t h e i d e a o f f l o w i n g ( i n p a r t , a l s o , t h a t of p l a s t i c i t y ) f o r t h e movement o f g l a c i e r s ,
% ~ r
t h e marae s l i d i n g o f a rigid mass over an i n c l i n e d p l a n e s h o u l d r e s u l t i n a c c e l e r a t e d n o t i o n o The c l a s s i c a l p e r i o d of g l a c i e r and a v a l a n c h e r e s e a r c h f a l l s w i t h i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t m y , I t b e a r s q u i t e p l a i n l y t h e stamp of t h e S o c i e t y of S . l i s s NaLuxaablsts ( S c h w e i z e r i s c l l e n Naturforschenden G e s e l l s c h a f
t )
founded i n 18150 L a t e r , t h e S w i s s Alpine Club, t h e F e d e r a l I n s p e c t o r a t e of F o r ~ e s t r y , t h e C e n t r a l I I e t e o r o l o i i c a l a u r e a u and a . , r e a t many v i s i t i n gs c h o l a r s from a b ~ o a d took p a r t o Trle f i r s t volume, which appeared i n 1833, of t r z c o r d s o f o u r p r e s e n t - d a y S R G - ' ) ~
(me
s c i e n t i f i c academy of g e n u i n e l y Swiss s tarnp) contui;nod t h e worak of t h a V a l a i s a n Canton3 l , 3 n g i n e e % .To Venetz,
~flllcmoire s u r l a s v a r i a t $ o n s de l a t e l n p e r a t u r e dans l e s Alpes de l a:juiuseTt
-
.:.lernorand on the v a r i a t i o n s of t e m p e r a t u r e i n t h e S c i s s A l p s - uPiich had allaeady been w r i t t e n from 1816 t o 1821,' % f i a t B Kuhn, Jokm P l a f a y e r , and m o u n t a i n e e r s J e a n - P i e r r e P 5 r r a u d i n and Marie D e v i l l a had a l r e a d y s u s p e c t a d i n p a r t a t l e a s t , now became a c e r t a i n t y t h r o u g h c a r e f u l o b s e r v a t i o n o
5: )
T r a n s l a t o r t s Kate: A b b r e v i a t i o n f o r "Schweizerischen N a t k f orscQpnden 5 e s e l l s c h a f t ,"
Page
-lo0
Tech. T r a n s o TT-64
rforaines, e r r a t i c b l o c k s and g l a c i e r p o l i s h i n g s f a r away from t h e l i m i t s of the p r e s e n t - d a y g l a c i e r s , gave proof of an
e a r l i e r , much more e x t e n s i v e f i r n i f i c a t i o n and g l a c i a t i o n , Thus, a l l a t once, t h z phenomenon of mountain and c o n t i n e n t a l g l a c i a r s of l o c a l c h a r a c t d r was r e v e a l e d . N e w t e r r i t o r y was opened up f o r t h e g e n e r a l s t u d y of geography and i n a quick, triumphant sweep t h e i d e a s and o b s e r v a t i o n s stemming from t z o Alps permeated s c i e n t i f i c thought a s a whole, l e a d i g g everykbhere t o new d i s c o v e r i e s and s e t t i n g new problems, What Great B r i t a i n was t o s t r a t i g r a p h y , Auvergne t o volcano r e - s e a r c h and Saxony t o mineralogy, S w i t z e r l a n d now became t o t h e s t u d y of g l a c i e r s and avalanches and t o i m p o r t a n t s e c t i o n s of general geology, The concurrence of t h e s e s c i e n t i f i c a l l y new problems w i t h t h e development of t o u r i n g i n t h e Alps l e d
t o deeds, e s p e c i a l l y , i n the B e r n e r a l p i n e d i s t r i c t s , which a s f e a t s of mountain climbing and s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h , accom- p l i s h e d through p e r s e v e r e n c e w i t h o n l y p r i m i t i v e n a t u r a l means must command our a d m i r a t i o n o
J u s t a hundred y e a r s ago, a h i p p o i n t was reached w i t h t h e works of J o C h a r p c n t i e r ( e , g o , ' E s s a i s u r l e s G l a c i e r s n
-
Zssay on G l a c i d r s-
1843.1, Kanonikus Rendu of Savoy( t t T h e o r i e d e s 5 l a c i e r s de l a savoytt
-
Theory of the G l a c i e r s of Savoy-
18401, R o De,sor i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t hLo
Agassiz( s a g o flExcursions e t s e j o u r de M o Agassiz s u r l a mer de Glace du Lautoraar e t du F i n s t e r a a r t T
-
Excursions and Sojourn ofM o Agassiz on t h e Mer de Glace of the L a u t e r a a r and t h e
F i n s teraar-1841, and "Camp t e Rendu des Recherche8 de 111~ Agassiz pendant s e s doux d e r n i e r s d j o u r s
2
1 1 ~ 8 t e l d e s ~ z u c ~ l t ? t o l o i s s u r l e G l a c i e r i n ~ k r i e u r de 1 JAar"-
Account of t h e Researches of IJo Agassiz, d u r i n g h i s l a s t two Sojourns a t t h e I i o t e ld e s ~ s u c h 8 t c l o i s on t h z lower 2 1 c i o r of the Aar
a
-
18431,L o
A a a s i z himself,(cog.;
"La T h o r i e d e s G l a c i e r s e t s e s p r o g s s l e s p l u s r a c o n t s-
The Theory of G l a c i e r s and i t s Most Recent P r o g r e s s-
1842, "Studes s u r l e s G l a c i e r s v-
S t u d i e s . o f G l a c i e r s , 1140-
1842, and ~ ~ ~ ~ s t k r n e G l a c i a i r e I t-
C l a c i a l System-
1 8 4 7 ) , F. J O Husi ( e ,go, " N a t u r h i s t o r i s c h eAlpenreisentr
-
N a t u r a i H i s t o r i c a l Journeys i n t h e Alps-
1830, "Die G l e t s c h e r und d i e e r r a t i s c h e n B l o e ~ k e ~ ~
-
Q l a c i e r a and E r r a t i c Blocks-
1 8 4 3 ) ) t h e S c o t , J o D . Forbes ( " T r a v e l s through the Alps of Savoyn, 18431,P o
Merfan (t1U3ber D i o Theorie d e r Gle t s c h e r t r-
On t h e Theory of G l a c i e r s-
1 8 4 1 ) , and w i t h t h e b a s i c summarizing work of A * Mousson ("Die G l e t - s c h e r d e r J e t z t z e i t w-
The G l a c i e r s of t h e Modern E r a -1854). The German s c i e n t i s t sH o
and A O S c h l a g i n w e i t worked s u c c e s s - f u l l y i n t h e e a s t e r n Alps, and t h e e x p e d i t i o n s of many s c h o l a r s i n o t h e r mountafnous c o u n t r i s s and i n t h e p o l a r r e g i o n s ex- tended t h e k n o ~ ~ l e d g e ~ Hugi (Who was l e s s f o r t u n a t e i n i n t e r - p r e t i n g t h e e r r a t i c phenomena) discovered t h e p o l y c r y s t a l l i n e c o r e s t r u c t u r e of g l a c i e r . i c e and t h u s e s t a b l i s h e d t h e connec- t i o n between the s t r u c t u r e s of snow and f i r n . Agassiz andPage -1L., .
Tech, Trans, TT-64, h i s co-worker d e a l t w i t h a l l t h e problems c a n c e r n i n g g l a c i a l phenomena and c a r r i e d o u t measurements of g l a c i e r movement from 1841 t o 1846. S t u d i e s of t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s from snow
t o f i r n and of the f a c t o r s g i v i n g r i s e t o movement were
resumed, and i t was of g r e a t s i g n i f i c a n c e that world-renowned p h y s i c i s t s such a s J o Tyndall ( a s e a r l y a s 1857, b u t summaries
i n German were f i r s t i s s u e d i n " I n den ~ l p e n "
-
I n t'ne Alps- 1875, and ?'Die G l e t s c h e r d e r Alpen"-
'The G l a c i e r s of the Alps-
1 8 9 8 ) , J. Thornson, R o Emden (1890) and l a t z r H o Helm- h o l t z (1896) took up t h e m a t t e r , a l t h o u g h because of t h i s ,?Ale t h e o r y of t h e e x c l u s i v e predominance of r e g e l a t i o n was p r o p a g a t e d , which was a f t e r w a r d s a h i n d 7 nce t o p r o g r e s s e ihiith t h e c o o p e r a t i o n of SNG and t h e SAC"7 (founded i n 1863) t h e G l a c i e r College ( G I 2 t s c h e r k o l l e g i u m ) w a s formed i n 1868, which i n 1893 became the G l a c i e r Commission of t h e Swiss
S o c i e t y of N a t u r a l i s t s o A s i t s f i r s t t a s k , i t u n d e r t o o k t h e e x a c t measurement o f the Rhone g l a c i e r o A f t e r t h e appearance i n t h e e i g h t i e s of b a s i c works b y
E o
Hagenbacli-Bischoff and F,A, F o r e l d e a l i n g p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n s of g l a c i e r n u c l e i and temperature c o n d i t i o n s , the volume e d i t e d by P O L O Mercanton c a l l e d "Vermessungen am Rhonegle t s c h e r v-
m a s u r e - n e n t s on t h e Rhone G l a c i e r-
was p u b l i s h e d and must b e r e g a r - ded a s t h e b a s i c work d e a l i n g w i t h t h i s b r a n c h of t h e s u b j e c t oMeanwhile, however, A l b e r t Heim (1885) had p u b l i s h e d t h e f i r s t handbook of g l a c i o l o g y , which was a f u n d a m e n t a l l y r e v i s e d and g r e a t l y expanded e d i t i o n of A l b e r t . Moussono s book; G o F i n s t e r w a l d e r had a p p l i e d new methods of i n v e s t i g a -
t i o n ; F o Muehlberg and Alphons Favre, f o l l o w e d b y A.
E o
Fenck,E,
Brueckner, Lo du P a s q u i e r and many o t h e r s , h a d e n q u i r e d i n t o t h e Alpine i c e age, and ( f o l l o w i n g books b y F o P f a f f ) H o Iless i n h i s g r e a t work "Die ~ l e t s c h e r ~ '-
T,le G l a c i e r s-
1904, had compared t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of t h e Alpine s c i e n t i s t s w i t h the o u t s t a n d i n g works of n o r t h e r n s c h o l a r s ; and s o ono Above a l l i t must be mentioned t h a t t h e s t a n d a r d work on t h e s c i e n c e of a v a l a n c h e s " ~ i e Lawinon d e r Schweizeralpen"
-
The Avalanches of t h e Swiss Alps-
had been completed i n 1881 by J o Coaz, F e d e r a l I n s p e c t o r General o f F o r e s t s ,A t t h e t u r n of the c e n t u r y , t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commission on S l a c i a r s was formed, I t s r e c e n t l y broadened a c t i v i t i e s
(with t h e affil i a t i o n of a Snow Commission), b r o u g h t about i-iith the s p l o ~ d i d c o o p e r a t i o n of American s c i e n t i s t s were r u d e l y i n t c r r u p t e d by t h e waro The modern p e r i o d , c h a r a c t e r - i z e d by now i n f o r m a t i o n , t h e s e t t i n g of new pyoblems, and
ransla slat or
ts Nobe: A b b r e v i a t i o n f b r Schweieer i s -page -12.
Tech" Trans, TT-64
a t t e n t i o n t o p r a c t i c a l requirements, began with t h i s i n s t i t u - t i o n . i11hile Albert Heim ' l a d a-lread) compared f i r n i f i c a t i o n and t h e formation of s l a c i e r i c e with t h e - p r o c e s s of marmor- a t i o n , p l a s t i c behaviour with the f o l d i n g of r o c k , and ava- lanche development with mountain s l i d e s , i t was t h e c r y s t a l p l a s t i c i t y o f i c e discovered by F r o p f a f f (1875), J o S o
IJcConnell (1888-1891), and e s p e c i a l l y (1895 and a f t s r ) 0,
~ ~ l t i g g e , which l e d t o new experimental p r i n c i p l e s o A p a r t i a l e l a b o r a t i o n of , ~ l a c i a r mechanics was under-taken by B. Weinberg
(i(;Ds),
Y l c P h i l i p p (1920) and o t h o r s , Among t h e e x p e d i t i o n si n t o p o l a r i c e f i e l d s which y i e l d e d new information, o n l y
trAoso r e l a t i n g t o the s t u d y of t h e i n l a n d i c e masses of Green- lar!d need be mentioned, Along w i t h EnV, Drygalski, J o Koch,
A , iyegener and K O Rasmussen, t h e S w i s s A . de Quervain, P o L b I~Iorcanton and S ~Vegclann and t h e i r c o l l e a g u e s earned consider- a b l e honours f o r t h e i r work i n t h i s connectiono
The developmsnt of meteorology and hydrology i n t h e mountainous c o u n t r i e s (brought about i n s w i t z u r l a n d ~ p a r - t i c u l a r l y by the C e n t r a i Meteorological Bureau, t h e Physica- T , ~ e t e o r o l o ~ i c a l Righ Mountain Observatory a t Davos, Lhe Fed- era! Water Consorvat ion Bureau, t h e Hydrolo,;y I n s t i t u t e and by O o LUtschgfs fundamental work), a s w e l l a s t h e s y s t e m a t i c s t u d i e s of the F e d e r a l I n o p e c t o r a t e of F o r e s t s on avalanche development and avalanche defence confirmed t h e knowledge t h a t p r e c i p i t a t i o n , evaporation, accumulation, t r a n s p o r t and d r a i n a g e of water had t o b e s t u d i e d a s a s i n g l e whole i n r e l a t i o n t o a l l t h r e e s t a t e s of a g g r e g a t i o n o The b u i l d i n g of roads and r a i l w a y s and the s t u d y and d e s i g n of power -
s t a t i o n s brought new problsmso Above a l l , however, t h e develop- ment of winter s p o r t s c a l l e d for u thorough undarstanding of vcinter snow c o n d i t i o n s i n the mountains. It i s the g r e a t m e r i t of :!I= Faulcke t h a t 110 r e c o g n i z e 1 t h i s a t an e a r l y
d a t e ( a s e a r l y a s 1 8 9 6 ) . I n 1938, t h i s mountain cllmber and s c i e n t i s t summarized t h e r e s u l t s of h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s over
many y e a r s i n t h e ltPraktischen Schnee-und hvilnenkunden
-
P r a c t i c a l Study of Snow and Avalanches-, I n t e r e s t i n suchi n v e s t i g a t i o n s c m t i n u e d t o grow, Goneral presentations w i t h a wealth of i l l u s t r a t i o n , such a s M,
Zdarskyls.
" ~ e i t r a e g e zur Lawinonkunde1' '- C o n t r i b u t i o n t o the Study of Avalanches-
(1929), G o Se1igrm.n @ s "Snow S t r u c t u r e and S k i F i e l d s H (1936),
\Yo F l a i g f s ltLawinanll
-
Avalanches-
(1925), and our ownltLawinen, d i e Gef a h r der Skifahrorlt
-
Avalanches, the S k i e r s Hazard-
(1940) have achieved wide d i s t r i b u t i o n o I n 1931a Swiss Snow and Avalanche Research Commission had a l r e a d y been founded under the e s i d e n c y of I n s p e c t o r Ganeral of F o r e s t s
M o
Petitmermet, which s e v e r a l y e a r s l a t c r , b e g a h t os a k e s y s t e m a t i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ih Davos on h e i s s f l u h j o c h o Thess a r e t o be c a r r i e d on i n f u t u r e i n t h e new i n s t i t u t e ,
0 1 3 ~
Techo T r a n s o
T T M ~ ~ ~
Thus, h i & mountain r e s e a z c h i n S w i t z e r l a n d now h a s
a n o t h e r l a b o r a t o r y i n a d d i t t o n - t o t h e r e s e a r c h s t a t i o n founded twelve y e a r s ago on t h e J u n g f r a u j o c h o Here i t must a t t e m p t a s a s c i e n t i f i c c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e whole world t o m a s t e r the
t a s k s imposed on It by n a t u r e , The s t r e n u o u s e f f o r t s and
k i n d l y u n d e r s t a n d i n g of a l l a r e needed i f we and o w s u c c e s s o r s a r e t o be found even t o a s m a l l e x t e n t worthy o f t h e g r e a t
t r a d i t i o n of our f o r e f a t h e r s o
The c a n p l e x i t y o f t h e phenomena c a l l s f o r t h e c o n t i n u a l c o o p e r a t i o n of p h y s i c i s t s , c r y s t a l l o g r a p h e r s , e n g i n e e r s ,
m e t e o r o l o g i s t s , c l i m a t o l o g i s t s , h y d r o l o g i s t s , f o r e s t e r s , g l a c i o l o - g i s t s and g e o l o g i s t s
.,
A s u b s t a n c e and a n a t u r a l group ofphenomena must be probed w i t h a l l a v a i l a b l e s c i e n t i f i c meanso A s y n t h e s i s d i r e c t e d towards a g r e a t p r o c e s s of n a t u r e t a k e s the p l a c e of s p e c i a l i z a t i o n , a b e g i n n i n g t h a t by i t s v e r y uniqueness may be d e s t i n e d t o open t h e way t o new i n s i g h t i n - t o v a r i o u s f i e l d s ., Where g l a c i e r i c e o r i g i n a l l y c o n s t i t u t e d the s t a r t i n g p o i n t of the i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , f o r u s i t i s t h e snow f a l l , t h e w i n t e r snow c o v e r i n g and i t s metamorphosis which a r e t o be the f i r s t o b j e c t s of s t u d y , This i n i t s e l f
i n v o l v e s t h e b e h a v i o u r of t h e f i r n , f i r n i f i c a t i o n and t h e f o r m a t i o n of' g l a c i e r i c e , Toe
,,
problems which c a n o n l y b es o l v e d w i t h the c o o p e r a t i o n of the g l a c i e r commission and b y f u l l employment of t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f f e r e d by t h e h i & e r
s Lfuation of t h e Jungfraujoch s t a t i o n ,
The p r e v i o u s i n v s s t i g a t l o n s r e v e a l the immediate d i p - e c t i o n which t h e work must t a k e , The snow p r o f i l e i s , s t r a m t i f i e d and i n c o n s t a n t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ( m t a m o r p h a s i s ) The c a u s e s of s t r a p i f i c a t i o n of and change i n the snow d e p o s i t must be s t u d i e d a n t h e i r dependence on snow f a l l s and on
t o p o g r a p h i c a l and c l i m a t o l o g i o a l c o n d i t i o n s Although some of t h e l i n e s of development a r e a l r e a d y r e c o g n i z a b l e i t i s c e r t a i n t h a t ( c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e v a r i a b l e weather condi- t i o n s ) t h e development of t h e snow-cover from y e a r t o y e a r f o l l o w s a somewhat d i f f e r e n t c o u r s e , so t h a t , a s i n t h e f i e l d s of meteorology and c l i m a t o l o g y , u n i n t e r r u p t e d s e r i e s of o b s e r v a t i o n s e x t e n d i n g over decades a r e n e c e s s a r y , These a r e t o be c a r r i e d o u t , u s i n g e v e r y means, i n t h e p a r t i c u l a r l y f a v o u r a b l o P a r s e n n r e g i o n , b u t must be supplemented by r e - s u l t s drawn from t h e many secondary o b s e r v a t i o n s t a t i o n s i n t h e mountain d i s t r i c t s , and c o o r d i n a t e d b y t h e c e n t r a l s t a t i o n o The t e s t methods a l r e a d y approved, which have been adopted
by t h e m i l i t a r y s t a t i o n s , t o o , and which f a c i l i t a t e compari- , sons, must be s u b j e c t e d t o c o n s t a n t c h e c k i n g and improvemento The v a r i o u s t y p e s of snow c o v e r i n g , f r o m t h e e x t r e m e l y porous, l o o s e c r y s t a l of w$ d and powder snow, through wind-packed snow, s u r f ace h o a r or d e p t h h o a r , -
t p
o l d snow, f i r n snow' m a n s l a t o r @s Note: H a r s t
-
snow hardened b y f r o s t oPage -14,
Techo Trans, TT-64
and f i n a l l y g l a c i e r i c e , a r e t o be a c c u r a t e l y c h a r a c t e r i z e d and examined f o r t h e i r mechanical p r o p e r t i e s of p l a s t i c i t y and r i g i d i t y ( i n r z l a t i o n t o temperature and l o a d i n g ) , Since i t i s a q u e s t i o n of n u c l e a r c r y s t a l a g g r e g a t e s of changing s t r u c t u r e and t e x t u r e , which t o some e x t e n t a r e dependent on each o t h ~ > r , i t w i l l be n e c e s s a r y t o s t u d y the elementary p r o c e s s e s i n t h e nucleus of the snow and a t t h e gsin bound- a r i e s o The i r l t e r a c t i o n of i n n e r c r y s t a l p l a s t i c i t y w i t h t h e phenomena caused by form and s t r u c t u r e i n c r e a s e s . the complex-
i t y o R e - o r i e n t a t i o n s and r e c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n s , e i t h e r pre- dominantly i n the s o l i d phase o r combined w i t h e f f e c t s of the gaseous o r f l u i d phases, a r e t o be s t u d i e d s i n g l y and i n combination under varying c o n d i t i o n s of s t r a t i f i c a t i o n , tem- pexaature and load., E s s e n t i a l and i n d i s p e n s i b l e a s t h e f i e l d o b s e r v a t i o n s under the c o n d i t i o n s of natur.8 a r e , n e v e r t h e l e s s , without experiments under s i m p l i f i e d c o n d i t i o n s , i t w i l l be
impossible t o s e p a r a t e t h e e f f e c t s of t h e . d i f f e r e n t f a c t o r s o Accurately r e p r o d u c i b l e , a r t i f i c i a l snow types must be manu- f a c t u r e d , s u b j e c t e d t a metamorphosis, and exanlimed f o r t h e i r .
mechanical p r o p e r t i e s Knoavlodge of tho behaviour of synthe t-
i c a l l y produced i c e c r y s t a l s w i l l i n many c a s e s be e s s e n t i a l t o the understanding of the conlplica t e d n a t u r a l p r o c e s s e s o Cnly af t z r a r e f r i g e r a t i o n machine a s s u r i n g c o n s t a n t tempora- t u r e s has been i n s t a l l e d w i l l our l a b o r a t o r i e s be adequate f o r t l i s purpose,
Comprehensive i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of t h i s kind a r e s o c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o two t e c h n i c a l l y important f i e l d s 'of i n v e s t i g a t i o n t h a t i t may c o n f i d e n t l y be expected t h a t t h e r e s u l t s obtained i n the snow l a b o r a t o r v w i l l be of importance t o them a l s o , One of t h e s e f i e l d s i s metallurgy, The metal substances, too, a r c c r y s t a l aggregates tvhich may be deformed and r e c r y s t a l l i z e d , and wllose treatraent by h e a t and c o l d r e q u i r e s a n i n t e n s i v e
s t u d y of t h e i r metamorphoses, p l a s t i c i b y and f l u i d i t y , In
snow and i c e a t r a n s p a r e n t substance of low m e l t i n g p o i n t i s now a v a i l a b l e i n which a l l these phenomena may be followed m i c r o s c o p i c a l l y a t t h e h a n d l i n g temperature, which i s indeed - a n advantage, On the o t h e r hand, a s shown p a r t i c u l a r l y by '
the work of o u r c o l l e a g u e , R o H a e f e l i , s o i l mechanics w i l l n o t only be a b l e to c o n t r i b u t e t o snow r e s e a r c h by i t s methods ar,d d e f i n i t i o n s , b u t the work done on the p a r t i c u l a r l y p l a s t i c and changeable l o o s e c r y s t a l snow w i l l be of g r e a t s i g n i f i -
cance f o r an understanding of the processes i n c l a y s , t h e c r e e p i n g and s l i d i n g of t h e ageing s o i l ( A l t e r n ) f o r example, and f o r t h e c a l c u l a t i o p of
.
the e a r t h p r e s s u r e and t e n s i o n r a t i o s ,With a d e f i n i t e purpose i n view, m a t e r i a l must g r a d u a l l y be c o l l e c t e d i n t h e f i e l d s of i n v e s t i g a t i o n , and i n the l a b o r -
Techo WansoTT-64 a t o r y , t h e t r e a t m e n t of which w i l l c l a r i f y t h e complex r e - l a t io n s h i p s of water c o n s e r v a t i o n i n t h e h i & mountains
( p r e c i p i t a t i o n s i n v a r i o u s forms, e v a p o r a t i o n , m e l t i n g , d r a i c a g e ) , Above a l l , howevzr, t h e s t u d y of t h e s l i d i n g and c r e e p i n g p r o c e s s e s of the ST ow l o a d s on s l o p e s , of t h e
n a t u r a l and a r t i f i c i a l f o r m a t i o n of a v a l a n c h e s and of snow d r i f t s i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e f o r m a t i o n and r e - f o r m a t i o n of the
snow c o v a r i n g and i t s i n t e r n a l s l i d i n g ar v f a c e s , w i l l c o n t r i - , b u t e e v e r more abundantly t o t h e p r e d i c t i o n of a v a l a n c h e s and
to t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of avalanche d e f e n c e s , which a r e s o
c o s t l y o The p r o v i s i o n of g r e a t s e c u r i t y f o r man and h i s works, and t h e p r e v e n t i o n of a c c i d e n t s by p r o v i s i o n of a d v i c e and p r o t e c t i v e measures a r e c e r t a i n l y g o a l s worth s t r i v i n g f o r o
Necessary a s i t i s f o r the r e s p o n s i b l e s c i e n t i s t t o i n s i s t t h a t a t f i r s t h e should be allowed t o do his r e s e a r c h , and t h a t so c a l l e d " p r a c t i c a l workfr should n o t be demanded of him on t h e b a s i s of u n c l a r i f i e d and f a u l t y i n f o r m a t i o n , he w i l l n e v e r t h e l e s s always b e ready t o make himself a v a i l -
a b l e f o r t h a r e q u i r e m e n t s of t h e h o u r , Our s t a t i o n i s t o be a s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h s t a t i o n i n which problems a r e t o b e examined a t l o n g r a n g e , The f a c t t h a t t h e workers do n o t f o r g e t w h a t t h e o u t s i d e world e x p e c t s of them i s shown by the c o n t i n u a l f o r e c a s t s of a v a l a n c h e s i n t h e w i n t e r t i m e , which 'nave p r e v e n t e d many a n a c c i d e n t , and by t h e passage i n t h e 1942 r e g u l a t i o n s of t h e Swiss Army on "Weather and Avalanches" which r e a d s 8
'*Since our army began t o make use o f t h e r e s u l t s of t3e 9wiss Snow and Avalanche Research and h a s i n s t i t u t e d a n avalanche c o r p s , no g r e a t d i s a s t e r h a s occurred, i n s p i t e o f the manning o f ' s e c t i o n s of t h e mountains b y t r o o p s , o f t e n a t g r e a t r i s k of avalanchesdt
~t was of c o u r s e obvious t h a t our c o l l e a g u e s would
immediately p l a c e themselves a t the d i s p o s a l of t h e army f o r the purpose of s e t t i n g up a n avalanche corps., We owe i t t o them t h a t j u s t f o u r y e a r s a f t e r t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n o f t h e new .
s t u d i e s r e s u l t s were a v a i l a b l e which c o u l d be e v a l u a t e d p r a e - t i c a l l y and which l a t e r caused evdn b e l l i g e r e n t s t a t e s t o pay p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n t o t h e f i r s t p u b l i c a t i o n s o f t h e Snow and Avalanche Cornmissicao
Page -16*
Tech, Trans, TT-64
I11 Ti3 AVALANCHZ CORPS OF THE A R R K
There a r e numerous r e p o r t s i n the l i t e r a t u r e which s t a t e t h a t on t h e T i r o l i a n mountain f r o n t during. t h e l a s t world war, more human l i v e s were l o s t through avalanches than from a l l the a r t i l l e r y , automatic weapons, r i f l e s and hand grenades t o g e t h e r ,
W o
Paulcke, who was w e l l a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e w i n t e r warfare of t h a t time e s t i m a t e s t h e number of a v a l a che c a s u a l - t i e s from 1914 t o 1918 a t 60,000. Along with t h e d i r e c t t h r e a t t o the s k i t r o o p e r , the avalanche problem a c q u i r e s g r e a ts i g n i f i c a n c e w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o our l i n e s of advance and supply,
It was f o r t u n a t e th'6ref ore t h a t the s y s t e m a t i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of snow on \lieissf l u h joch had reached a t e n t a t i v e conclusion a t the beginning of the p r e s e n t g r e a t war, In f u l l r e a l i z - a t i o n of t h e s e d i f f i c u l t i e s , which would b e s e t b o t h the enemy and our own t r o o p s d u r i n g a w i n t e r campaign, our h i g h command a t once f a m i l i a r i z e d i t s e l f w i t h t h e p r a c t i c a l r e s u l t s of the snow r e s e a r c h on t h e outbreak of h o s t i l i t i e s , The a v a l - anche d i v i s i o n , organized i n the Canton of Grisons w i t h the a i d of t h e p s r s o n n e l of the Weissf luhjoch s t a t i o n was i n t r o - duced i n t o a l l u n i t s of t h e armyo Soon t h e armed f r o n t i e r p o s t s of our mountain f r o n t were s t r e n g t h e n e d by a d d i t i o n of tlae avalanche s e n t r i e s , whose t a s k i t was t o inform t h e i r comrades, by means o< c o n t i n u a l o b s e r v a t i o n s , measurements and r e p o r t s , on snow and avalznche c o n d i t i o n s a , The s t a t i s - t i c a l m a t e r i a l o b t a i n e d i n t h i s way i s compiled each y e a r i n t o comprehensive r e p o r t s which provide a c l a a r p i c t u r e of t h e v a r i e d c o n d i t i o n s i n .the mountain zones and which r e - p r e s e n t important p r e p a r a t o r y work f o r subsequent s c i e n t i f i c
and p r a c t i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s .
I n numerous, a n n u a l l y r e p e a t e d courses o f f i c e r s and men of t h e e n t b e army have had a glimpse of the modern war a g a i n s t avalancheso For t h e s e courses t h e p e r s c n n e l of t h e Snow and Avalanche Research Commission a c t e d &s d i r e c t o r s and l e c t u r e r s . , The l e a d i n g p o s i t i o n which Switzerland h a s gained i n the s c i e n - t i f i c t r e a t m e n t of snow d u r i n g t h e l a s t t e n y e a r s could t h u s
b e m d e a v a i l a b l e f o r the m i l i t a r y preparedness of our country6
I V 'ILLUSTRATED D E S C R I F T I 0 N O F THE INSTITUTE
by Edwin Bucher.,
P l a i n , s l a t e - g r a y , blended t o t h e n a t u r a l . c o l o u r s of the mountains, t h e Federal, I n s t i t u t e f o r Snow and Avalanche Research s t a n d s b e f o r e us; It seems t o grow r i g h t o u t of t h e rocks, although, i t i s of the most modern a r c h i t e c t u r e , so t h a t t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e s t a t i o n b u i l d i n g of t h e Parsenn
