地平线系列：雪崩引发致命暴风雪

　　InMarch2018aninternationalteamofscientistsgatheredinaremotevalleyintheCanadianRockiestoconductauniqueexperiment-toattempttoseeintotheheartofamassiveavalanchetoseeifwecanfindwaystosavelivesinthefuture.Avalancheskillhundredsofpeopleeveryyear.EvenintheUK25peoplehavebeenkilledbytheseforcesofnaturesincetheyear2000.Butweknowsurprisinglylittleaboutthem-whytheyhappenorhowtheyareabletoproducedestructiveforcessopowerfulthattheycanflattenentirevillages.Equallydisturbingisthefactthatclimatechangemeansthatthepatternofavalanchesischanging.Theyareoccurringinplaceswheretheyhaveneverhappenedbefore.Findingoutwheremightbeindangerinthefutureisofvitalimportance.Answeringallthesequestionscouldhelpsavelives.Theexperimentattemptstoprovidethoseanswers.
　　Theteamofexperts,gatheredfromallovertheworld,includestheprogramme'spresenterProfDanielleGeorge.HerdayjobisstudyingspaceatManchesterUniversity,butsheisalsoaspecialistinthedesignofexperiments.Sheisevengettingpersonallyinvolved.Aspartofanexperimenttotestoutsafetyequipment,Danielleputsonthelatestbreathingdeviceintendedtohelpyousurvivebeingcaughtinanavalanche.Shethenagreestobeburiedunderhalfatonneofsnow.
　　Thescientistshopetodowhatnoonehasevermanagedbefore-torevealthemysteriesofanavalanche'sdestructivepowerbyfindingoutwhatisgoingonatitsveryheart.Hitherto,ourunderstandingofavalancheshasbeenbasedoncomputermodels-buttheseconsistentlyunderestimatethesheerpowerofthesenaturalphenomena.Totryandworkoutwhy,thescientistswillconductarangeofcutting-edgetests,usingthelatesttechnology,includingplacingacarriggedwithsensorsrightinthepathoftheavalanche.Theplanistosetuptheequipmentandthenunleashtheavalanchebydroppingexplosivesnearthetopoftheslope.Buttheteamareinaraceagainsttime.Theyhavejustthreedaystorigthemountainbeforethesnowwillcomedowntheslopenaturally.Iftheyaren'treadyintime,alltheireffortswillbewasted.Evenworse,theyareworkinginanactiveavalanchezone.Forsomescientistsgoingoutontheslopestoinstalltheirequipmentmeansriskingtheirlives.
　　Interwovenwiththemainexperimentarepowerfulandmovingstoriesfromsurvivorsoftheseviolentnaturalforces.WemeetCaseyGeorge,whosetwochildrenwereburiedwhenanavalanchestruckthesmalltownofMissoula,Montana,completelyoutofthebluewhiletheywereplaying.TheirneighbourFredAllendorfwasinsidehishousewhenitwascompletelydestroyed.Thecataclysmclaimedthelifeofhiswife.Missoulahadneverbeenstruckbyanavalanchebefore.Andnoonecouldunderstandhowawell-builthousecouldbeutterlydemolished.
　　ThefilmmeetsBritishsnowboarderJohnoVerity,whowasbeingfilmedwhenanavalanchestartedrightunderneathhim.Hisstoryprovidescluesastowhatcausesthesedisasters-asubtlechangeinthemicroscopicstructureofsnowdeepbeneaththesurface.Inauniquesnowlab,wheretheycanrecreatedifferentsnowconditions,Daniellediscoversexactlyhowsnowcanbetransformedfromsomethinglightandfluffyintoapotentialkiller.AndthereisElyseSaugstad,anexpertskierwho,despiteyearsofexperience,wascaughtunawaresinanavalanchethatkilledthreeofherfriends.Allthesestoriesemphasisejusthowunpredictableanddevastatingtheseeventscanbeandwhyweneedtounderstandandsobeabletopredictthembetter.
　　Inadditiontobeingburied,DanielleGeorgeconductsanotherexperimentintoequipmentthatmayhelpskierssurvivebeingcaughtinanavalanche.Yourchancesoflivingrapidlydiminishifyouareburiedformorethan15minutes.Sheconductsatestwithaninflatableairbagthatisdesignedtokeepyounearthesurfaceofanavalanche,makingyoueasiertofind.
　　Aftertwointensedaysofworkbythescientificteam,theexperimentendswithover1,000tonnesofsnowrushingdownthemountainside.Ittriggersawholehostofcensorsandobservationalequipment.Thereisthenatensewaitforresults.Butwhentheycome,theyarerevealing.Itseemsthattheteammayhaveuncoveredthefirstcluestoanavalanche'sunexplainedpower.Ifso,thiscouldonedayleadtosignificantbreakthroughsinhowwebuildhousesandinfrastructurethatmaylieinanavalanche'spathandinhowwedevisesafetyequipmentforskiers.Itcouldbethatthisexperimentwillhelpsavelivesinthefuture.