Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Since 2023, the open-source avalanche simulation framework AvaFrame has been in operational use.Developed through a cooperation between the Austrian Avalanche and Torrent Control Service (WLV) and the Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), AvaFrame is licensed under the European Union Public Licence (EUPL).The tool is now routinely applied by Austrian governmental organizations for hazard mapping and protection measure planning as well as by engineering offices for safety and technical surveys.AvaFrame comprises 15 functional modules covering input, computation, analysis, visualization, and reporting.A QGIS interface integrates the framework directly into existing practitioner workflows, facilitating both operational use and training courses for quality management.The current development extends the framework along operational and scientific tracks.Operational priorities include long-term user support, powder snow avalanche modelling via a depth-averaged approach, forest avalanche interaction (ForestFrame), snow slides (com5) and enhanced quality management through automated parameter optimization and standardized test catalogues.Scientific topics address entrainment and deposition processes, dam impact forces and systematic model intercomparison.Probabilistic scenario assessment is supported through parameter variation across multiple simulation runs.To support the model validation WLV and BFW recently installed a full-scale avalanche test site near Innsbruck featuring pressure and shear force measurements and radar-based flow measurements in a well-known avalanche path.Beyond snow avalanches AvaFrame expands towards other gravitational mass movements: the experimental module com6RockAvalanche enables the calculation of rock avalanches, while DebrisFrame, developed jointly with the BOKU University, extends the framework to debris flow simulation.Both projects are united under the OpenNHM (Open Natural Hazard Modelling) initiative to provide open-source tools for the assessment of alpine natural hazards.
DOI: 10.15788/1790098620
Institution: Austrian Research Centre for Forests
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
OpenAlex ID: W7214005607