A

REPORT ON PRODUCTION
OF
AN AVALANCHE HAZARD MAP
WITH ARCGIS

FUNDAMENTALS OF GIS (2018-2019)

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. DANIELA CARRION

SUBMITTED BY:

SUDEEN SHRESTHA (925742)

VENKATESH CHEEDARA (926299)
INTRODUCTION
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The following report has been prepared based on the works performed in ArcGIS
to produce an avalanche hazard map. The produced maps are then compared
with the map of possible avalanche location CLPV, which is based on past events.

AREA OF INTEREST
We chose an area of 105.23 km2 in the region of junction between Sondrio,
Bergamo and Brescia. The region was selected based on CLPV map as this region
was one of the highly affected regions for avalanche hazards.

DTM MAP
The DTM or Digital Terrain Model map of the region was already provided to us.
So, from the provided map, we extracted our selected region by using clip feature
from Data Management Tools.
Now, from the clipped DTM map, we extracted Hillshade area, Slope Map &
Aspect Map using Slope function under Spatial Analyst Tools.

HILLSHADE AREA
This map was produced to obtain clear visual understanding of the map surface,
terrains etc. The creation of this map in ArcGIS considers the sun’s relative
position for shading.

SLOPE MAP
We know that slope is the most important factor to be considered in an avalanche
hazard map. So, after we extracted slope map from the DTM map, further two
evaluations were performed as follows:

SLOPE RANGE MAP

It is essential to identify the critical slopes between 28 to 55 degrees as this is the
most abundant slope range for the triggering of avalanches. The slope range map
was extracted from the Slope Map using Raster Calculator.

SLOPE VARIATION MAP

This is another important aspect for the cause of avalanches. As we know,
avalanches tend to occur at places where the variation of slope is greater than
10º, not to be confused with “slopes greater than 10º”. Here, this map requires
the production of break-lines, which shows distinct interruption in the slope of a
surface. So, we need to use Block Statistics which is under function

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Neighborhood. Then, we used raster calculator to extract the areas having slopes
greater than 10º.

MORPHOLOGICAL HAZARD MAP

The Morphological Hazard map, which is a combination of Slope Range Map
(slopes between 28 to 55 degrees) and Slope Variation Map (slopes with variation
greater than 10 degrees) is now produced using Raster Calculator.

ASPECT MAP
Aspect defines the direction in which a slope faces and relates to the degree of
solar exposure. This map shows the effects in all directions so we can extract the
north aspect and the south-east aspect from it which are required for
differentiating winter and spring aggravating conditions respectively.

NORTH ASPECT MAP (AGGRAVATING CONDITIONS FOR WINTER)

This map is extracted from the aspect map by using the reclassify function. It is
the map which is the defining factor for winter hazard map.

SOUTH-EAST ASPECT MAP (AGGRAVATING CONDITIONS FOR SPRING)

This map is also extracted from the aspect map by using the reclassify function.
This map is the defining factor for spring hazard map.

WIND MAP
The wind map is based on the direction of the prevailing wind in that region. We
have considered the most prevailing wind direction in our region throughout the
year as South-West (SW). So, we extracted this map from the aspect map, taking
into consideration the south-west direction based on data procured from the
internet.

VEGETATION MAP
We created this map by clipping the provided Corine Land Cover map into our
area of interest and changing its projection to our compatibility. Then we joined
the provided legends table to the clipped map and reclassified the data to obtain
this map. Here, the areas with dense forest resemble comparatively safer zones
than areas with little or no vegetations.

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AVALANCHE HAZARD MAP (WINTER & SPRING)

Finally, we created this map by combining the Morphological map, North aspect
map in case of winter and South-East aspect map in case of spring, separately,
Wind map and Vegetation Map with varying ratios. We gave 0.7 out of 1 to the
morphological hazard map as it was the most defining factor for avalanche. We
gave 0.1 out of 1 to all the other three maps as they are considerably less
important than the slope map. From the two maps produced, we can see that the
spring hazard map has slightly more risky areas than the winter hazard map.

COMPARISON OF HAZARD MAP WITH CLPV

The produced hazard map was compared with the CLPV map based on past
events. Here, we are only considering the static part of avalanche, not the
dynamic motion.
From the comparison, we can observe that there is similarity in the regions where
the avalanches started. But there are also probable very high-risk areas shown in
our produced maps that are absent in the CLPV map. This difference makes us
aware of the fact that there is uncertainty in occurrence of avalanches and only
consideration of past events maps does not completely forecast future risks.
Although, we did not know the exact ratios required for efficient map production
so there might have been some errors. But the fact remains that morphological
hazard map is the most important factor to be considered to produce the
avalanche hazard map.

BLOCK STATISTICS TOOL USE

The Block Statistics tool performs a neighborhood operation which calculates a
statistic for input cells within a set of non-overlapping blocks. Since the
neighborhoods do not overlap, a particular cell will be included in the calculations
for one block only. For our project, we have considered cell size of 2X2 with range
statistics tool because if we use the default 3x3 cell size, we risk not considering
two neighboring cells. Also, it is advised to use 2x2 cell size else we might include
some areas which do not represent any danger. In our case, this tool is used
mainly to produce break-lines.

CONCLUSION
This project has provided us the opportunity to apply and improve our theoretical
& practical knowledge. We believe that this project has allowed us to deepen our

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understanding and acquire decent information about the ArcGIS software and the
various maps produced for the study and analysis of avalanches.

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http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/

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Bibliography:

 Ciolli M., ZatelliP. (2000), Avalanche risk management using GRASS GIS, 1 st
Italian GRASS users meeting proceedings, GeomaticsWorkbooks, Vol1
http://geomatica.como.polimi.it/workbooks/n1/

 PistocchiA., NotarnicolaC.(2013), Data-driven mapping of avalanche release

areas: a case study in South Tyrol, Italy, Natural Hazards, Volume 65, Issue
3, pp 1313-1330

 Cresta R., Telmon G. (1980), Nozioni elementari sulle valanghe, Servizio

Valanghe Italiano

 Siebert W. (1985), Nozione sulle valanghe, Associazione Guide Alpine

sciatori –Alto Adige

 http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap

 https://www.windfinder.com/

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