DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR SNOW AVA- LANCHE OBSERVATIONS IN FRANCE

Snow avalanche data in the French Alps and Pyrenees have been recorded for more than 100 years in several databases. These large datasets are used for risk mitigation and for fundamental research. The variability and increasing amount of available data require the introduction of an integrative and automated service to facilitate collection and usage of records. Here we report a newly developed comprehensive web-based Snow Avalanche Information System for the Localization Map of Avalanche Phenomena (Carte de Localisation des Phenomenes d'Avalanche, CLPA). The CLPA database stores digitized geographic data, eyewitness reports and photographs in order to produce maps of extreme limits of avalanches that occurred within each studied region. We determined a conceptual data model for snow avalanche observations according to the formalized data processing of the CLPA. The new information system automated the manual data entry and improved the process of data collection and distribution. Furthermore, we integrated the CLPA data with other datasets, such as the Permanent Avalanche Survey (Enquete Permanente sur les Avalanches, EPA) and the Sensitive Avalanche Path Survey (Sites Habites Sensibles aux Avalanches, SSA), into a common database to enable full interoperability between different snow avalanche records. The overall system is implemented through modular components using Java- based web technologies with Spring and Hibernate frameworks. It will enhance the user experience, data quality and will offer new outlooks for researchers to explore snow avalanche data.