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The Makings of an Avalanche (5 of 5)

Caption: Slab avalanches are the result of an intricate combination of fracture and friction. This avalanche was remotely triggered by three skiers in the slope above them. One of them lost his life in the event. 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 A. Duclos, www.data-avalanche.org

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