Snow, Ice and Avalanche applications

Closed

SNAPS will contribute towards safer and more efficient transport system in the northern periphery The SNAPS project will focus on snow and avalanche services for transport infrastructure in selected areas within the Northern Periphery in Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Avalanche forecasting systems for transport authorities will be developed from scratch in some areas and existing services improved in other areas. The result will be a similar avalanche forecasting package in all target areas, delivered to transport authorities by institutes that have expertise in avalanche forecasting. This will give local transport authorities an important tool for making decisions on closures of roads/railway lines and warnings to the public. Near-real time snow cover maps will be made available online to the public in the target areas and they will be further developed to become an input to snowdrift and avalanche forecasts aimed at transport authorities. To ensure that the services will be of best possible use for end users a group of road/railway users will be created in each partner country which will be included in the project. The groups are expected to give feedback on services in the trial stage. SNAPS will result in safer and more efficient transport in the target areas and it will, therefore, increase the competitiveness as well as the sustainability of the communities. All products and services will continue to run after the lifetime of this project. They are applicable to large areas in the Northern Periphery and also to other fields, such as hydropower and avalanche forecasting for villages and ski areas. Aim & Objectives: The overall abjective of the SNAPS project is to improve accessibility in remote northerly areas by increasing the safety as well as the efficiency of transport on roads, railroads and winter roads that are affected by severe weather, snow, snow melting and snow and slush avalanches. This will benefit societies in affected areas and contribute towards stronger economies with greater job opportunities and better economic environment for manufacturing companies. Furthermore, the proposed service will be an aid in future road planning in these cold climate regions.

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