Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL

Crystals. Slabs. Profiles. All about snow

Authors:

Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL

Series:
WSL Magazine Diagonal 2026/2
Publishing year:
2026
Amount:
36 Pages
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Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL (2026). Crystals. Slabs. Profiles. All about snow. WSL Magazine Diagonal, 2026/2 36 p.

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Available languages:
German, English, French

Focus: Snow

SNOW RESEARCH – Beautiful, dangerous, complicated

Snow is an extraordinary material. SLF researchers seek to unravel its secrets in the mountains and at the poles, in the cold laboratory and on the computer...

INFOGRAPHIC - Snow profilers

Snowpack is built up layer upon layer, like a multi-tiered wedding cake. And it changes almost every day. Studying it is the basis for many areas of snow research.

SNOWMELT – And then it’s gone

Snow comes, snow goes. How, when, where and why – these are key questions at the heart of SLF research. Not only for the current season in Switzerland but also across countries and over the long term.

AVALANCHE WARNING – Data, brain and expertise

In winter, and also in summer in the event of heavy snowfall, the SLF avalanche warning service assesses and forecasts the avalanche danger in Switzerland.

DUAL PERSPECTIVE - “Reservoirs make you self-sufficient.”

A look at snowmaking in a ski resort – and at the future: Marc Faas, head of snowmaking at the Davos Parsenn ski resort, discusses artificial snow with SLF engineer Fabian Wolfsperger.

INSULATION – Mother Hulda’s bedspread

“You must take great pains to make my bed well, and shake it up thoroughly, so that the feathers fly about, and then in the world it snows.”

AVALANCHE RESEARCH – In search of the limit

When weak layers within the snowpack fracture, they can trigger dangerous slab avalanches. Elaborate experiments are helping researchers determine the maximum speed at which these cracks can spread.

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