Dr. Betty Sovilla

Function

Scientific staff member

Snow Avalanches and Prevention

Avalanche formation and dynamics

Contact

sovilla(at)slfto make life hard for spam bots.ch

+41 81 417 02 63+41 81 417 02 63

WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Flüelastrasse 11
7260 Davos Dorf

Site

Davos Da A 2 13

FURTHER INFORMATION

Projects

The pulsing nature of powder snow avalanches

The destructive capacity of powder snow avalanche is caused by high-energy pulses within his complex layering. The goal of this project is to understand the origin and nature of the these pulses and quantify the danger they pose to infrastructure.

Dynamics of the rock slope instability "Spitze Stei"

The rock slope instability "Spitze Stei" constitutes a risk for the touristic infrastructure around lake Öschinensee and the village Kandersteg. Our project task will investigate the mechanisms which led to the slope destabilisation and analyse scenarios for slope failures.

Modelling cascading processes with MPM

In this project we use a 3D Material Point Method (MPM) model to simulate the interaction of snow and rock avalanches with water basins and lakes in order to develop knowledge and methods to assess the hazard posed by impulsive waves to tourism infrastructure and populated areas.

CCAMM II: Cascading Processes

The CCAMM cluster "Cascading Processes"develops knowledge and models that can be used to anticipate future cascading events. At "Spitze Stei", Kandersteg BE, we study the cascading processes: rock slope instability, debris flow, rock/snow avalanches and lake outburst floods.

High-precision seismic trigger system for the Vallée de la Sionne test site

The aim of this project is to develop a low power, high precision, low budget seismic trigger system with remote control. It will be used in a tailored configuration, to detect all avalanche activity at the Vallée de la Sionne test site, from release to deposition.

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Publications WSL

Scientific publication article peer reviewed

Paitz, P.; Lindner, N.; Edme, P.; Huguenin, P.; Hohl, M.; Sovilla, B.; Walter, F.; Fichtner, A., 2023: Phenomenology of avalanche recordings from distributed acoustic sensing. Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface, 128, 5: e2022JF007011 (18 pp.). doi: 10.1029/2022JF007011

Ligneau, C.; Sovilla, B.; Gaume, J., 2022: Numerical investigation of the effect of cohesion and ground friction on snow avalanches flow regimes. PLoS One, 17, 2: e0264033 (24 pp.). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264033

Li, X.; Sovilla, B.; Ligneau, C.; Jiang, C.; Gaume, J., 2022: Different erosion and entrainment mechanisms in snow avalanches. Mechanics Research Communications, 124: 103914 (8 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.mechrescom.2022.103914

Kyburz, M.L.; Sovilla, B.; Gaume, J.; Ancey, C., 2022: The concept of the mobilized domain: how it can explain and predict the forces exerted by a cohesive granular avalanche on an obstacle. Granular Matter, 24, 2: 45 (17 pp.). doi: 10.1007/s10035-021-01196-1

Kyburz, M.L.; Sovilla, B.; Gaume, J.; Ancey, C., 2022: Physics-based estimates of drag coefficients for the impact pressure calculation of dense snow avalanches. Engineering Structures, 254: 113478 (17 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.113478

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Further scientific publications

Caviezel, A.; Margreth, S.; Ivanova, K.; Sovilla, B.; Bartelt, P., 2021: Powder snow impact of tall vibrating structures. In: Papadrakakis, M.; Fragiadakis, M. (eds), 2021: Compdyn 2021 proceedings. COMPDYN 2021. 8th ECCOMAS thematic conference on computational methods in structural dynamics and earthquake engineering, Athens, Greece. 19112 (13 pp.).

Sovilla, B.; Köhler, A.; Kyburz, M.; Ligneau, C., 2019: The avalanche flow regimes and their pressure on infrastructures. In: 2019: International Symposium on Mitigative Measures against Snow Avalanches and Other Rapid Gravity Mass Flows. International Symposium on Mitigative Measures against Snow Avalanches and Other Rapid Gravity Mass Flows, Siglufjörður. 223-228.

Van Herwijnen, A.; Heck, M.; Richter, B.; Sovilla, B.; Techel, F., 2018: When do avalanches release: investigating time scales in avalanche formation. In: 2018: International snow science workshop proceedings 2018. International snow science workshop, ISSW 2018, Innsbruck. 1030-1034.

Sovilla, B.; Kyburz, M.; Schaer, M.; Margreth, S., 2018: Avalanche pressure at the Vallée de la Sionne test site: comparison of maximum measured loads with design loads. In: 2018: International snow science workshop proceedings 2018. International snow science workshop, ISSW 2018, Innsbruck. 21-25.

Roig-Lafon, P.; Pérez-Guillén, C.; Sovilla, B.; Suriñach, E.; Köhler, A.; Tapia, M.; Furdada, G., 2018: Comparative analysis of avalanche seismic signals and GEODAR data at the Vallée de la Sionne test site (2018). In: 2018: International snow science workshop proceedings 2018. International snow science workshop, ISSW 2018, Innsbruck. 601-605.

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Magazine article and brochures

Iacolettig, L.; Sovilla, B., 2016: La propensione al distacco quantificata. Un modello per calcolare e visualizzare la pericolosità da valanga. Neve e Valanghe, 32-39.

Steinkogler, W.; Lehning, M.; Sovilla, B.; Jonas, T., 2014: L'energia termica nelle valanghe. Neve e Valanghe, 82: 16-21.

Riboni, A.; Sovilla, B.; Bocchiola, D.; Rosso, R., 2005: Altezza al distacco delle valanghe. Neve e Valanghe, 22-39.

Sovilla, B.; Dufour, F.; Bartelt, P.; Ottmer, B.; Badoux, A., 2005: Avalanches mesurées dans la Vallée de la Sionne. Tracés: Bulletin Technique de la Suisse Romande, 131, 23: 10-14.

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