Earth’s Cryosphere, 2017, Vol. XXI, No. 6, p. 95-102

SNOW HAZARD ASSESSMENT ON SAKHALIN ISLAND

E.N. Kazakova, V.A. Lobkina

Far East Geological Institute, FEB RAS, Sakhalin Department,
25, Gorkogo str., Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 693023, Russia; kazakova-e-n@ya.ru

The information about the snow hazard processes and phenomena occurring in the urban areas of Sakhalin Island is presented. The snow hazard embraces all kinds of damage that snow and ice may inflict as such or in combination with the weather conditions. The major harm for the population and economy of Sakhalin Island is caused by snowfalls, snowstorms, snow patches, snow loads, and avalanches. The paper presents a method for snow hazard assessment based on qualitative evaluation of the effects of these hazards with specific characteristics employed: for avalanches – the areal percentage of exposure of a territory to avalanches, for snow loads – the peak loads, for snowstorms – the average duration of a snowstorm per winter, for snowfalls – the maximum amount of precipitation within 12 hours, for anthropogenic snow patches – the volume of snow at the end of winter. The paper presents a schematic map of the snow hazard for the urban areas of Sakhalin Island. The following settlements: Okha, Shakhtersk, Uglegorsk, Makarov, Kholmsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Korsakov – are exposed to the maximum degrees of the snow hazard on Sakhalin Island. The majority of these settlements are situated on the sea coasts of southern Sakhalin, where the high degree of snow hazard is caused by the combination of hydrometeorological and geomorphological conditions.

Snow hazard, snowfall, snowstorm, snow load, avalanche, anthropogenic snow patch