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Snow Hydrology and Avalanche Winter Course

Class at Faculty of Science |
MZ330T65

Syllabus

News for the academic year 2023/24

The course will take place from 19-23.2.2024 at Patejdlova hut in the Krkonoše Mts. (https://rekreace.cuni.cz/detail/build/14; https://mapy.cz/turisticka?x=15.5919063&y=50.7542167&z=16&source=area&id=11835)

The number of participants from the CU is limited to 16 (the other 16 participants will be students of the Czech University of Life Sciences, with whom we are organizing the course)

Students from Charles University will register exclusively in SIS on a "first come, first serve" basis. Due to traditionally high interest, it is worth watching the SIS opening for registration for the summer semester. If you don't get in, sign up for the waiting list in SIS, usually a few places become available later.

An information meeting will be held in January 2024

Approximate cost (CU students): 4500 CZK (accommodation, full board, transport)

The course is not particularly physically demanding, but please consider your options. We will be outdoors most of the time in a winter environment, so you will need to have appropriate equipment and be able to navigate the winter mountains.

Further info on the CULS website (some information applies to CULS students only): https://www.fzp.czu.cz/cs/r-6894-o-fakulte/r-6895-katedry-a-soucasti/r-7298-katedry/r-6905-katedra-vodniho-hospodarstvi-a-environmentalniho-modelovani/r-15182-zimni-skola

Annotation

Five-days winter course. Students will adopt basic methods used in snow hydrology including avalanche issues. Participants will learn

1) how to measure snow depth and snow water equivalent in different environments (forest vs. open meadow, different topography) using several techniques (manual measurements, UAVs),

2) how to calculate snow storages and how to measure and calculate snowpack energy balance (using thermal camera or digital hemispherical photography),

3) how to analyse a snow pit (layering, stability, physical characteristics) and

4) how to recognize and move in avalanche terrain (including snow stability tests) and how to work with avalanche beacons and conduct avalanche rescue. The winter course is co-organized with Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modelling of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. Therefore, both CUNI and CULS students participate on this course. The course usually takes place in February or March in a suitable mountain location in Czechia.