Excuse Me While I Flow My Snows: What Makes An Avalanche Happen?
Slab avalanches are the most dangerous kind of avalanche. A slab is a layer of new snow sitting on top of a layer of snow, called a weak layer. Scientists call this a weak layer because the bonds that hold the snow crystals together are weak. The scientists in this study wanted to learn how the weak layer is formed. Dr. Birkeland and his colleagues conducted this research to better understand the relationship between daytime and nighttime snow temperatures and the formation of the weak layer of snow. They also wanted to observe whether any avalanches were associated with the weak layer.
A FACTivity is included with the article.
-
After reading “Excuse Me While I Flow My Snows,” try this word search to test what you’ve learned.Word Search – Excuse Me While I Flow My Snows
After reading “Excuse Me While I Flow My Snows,” try this word search to test what you’ve learned.
Glossary
View All Glossary-
Karl Birkeland
I like being a scientist because I get to play detective. I search for answers to avalanche problems faced by people who work and play in the mountains. I became...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- People, Places, and Environments
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Time, Continuity, and Change
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
-
Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
-
What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
-
Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
-
Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
-
Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
-
Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
-
Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
-
Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
-
Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
-
Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
-
Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
-
FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
-
Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Education Files
In this FACTivity, you will conduct an experiment to simulate temperatures in different layers of snow.
Materials:
- Cardboard box (about 2 square feet)
- Styrofoam peanuts to fill the box
- 3 thermometers
- Temperature chart (included)
Get a cardboard box about 2 square feet. Fill it with Styrofoam peanuts. Take it outside into the sunlight. Get three thermometers. Place one thermometer into the center of the box, right in the middle of the Styrofoam peanuts. Lay the second thermometer under one layer of the peanuts. Place the third thermometer just outside of the box.
Record the temperatures on all three thermometers every hour throughout the day. You may use the chart below or make one of your own. You will have to take the thermometers out of the box, then replace them in the same places after recording the temperature. Create a bar chart from your table.
Study the table and the bar chart. What do they tell you about the insulating characteristics of Styrofoam? How is Styrofoam like snow? How is it not like snow? Based on this FACTivity, consider the following questions:
1. Why is it useful to measure the air temperature as well as the temperature in the box?
2. How is this FACTivity similar to what the scientists did?
3. Of the temperatures inside the box, which has the greatest change in temperature? Why?
