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The Makings of an Avalanche (3 of 5)

Caption: Davos shooting crack (sudden cracking of the snowpack is a clear sign of stress and instability).This image relates to an article that appeared in the July 11, 2008, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Joachim Heierli and colleagues at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, UK, was titled "Anticrack Nucleation As Triggering Mechanism for Snow Slab Avalanches."

Credit: Image courtesy of Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF

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