Avalanches, debris, mudflows and landslides are common and natural
phenomena that occur worldwide, predominantly in mountainous regions.
With an emphasis on snow avalanches, this book sets out to provide a
survey and discussion about the motion of avalanche-like flows from
initiation to run out. An important aspect of this book is the
formulation and investigation of a simple but appropriate continuum
mechanical model for the realistic prediction of geophysical flows of
granular material. This will help the practitioners in the field to
better understand the physical input and provide them with a tool for
their work. Originating from many lectures the authors have given over
the years, this instructive volume brings the reader to the forefront of
research - an aim also supported by an extensive bibliogrpahy of almost
500 entries. Avalanche Dynamics should be accessible to, and is intended
for, a broad readership of researchers, graduate students and
practitioners with backgrounds in geophysics, geology, civil and
mechanical engineering, applied mathematics and continuum physics.