The Alumni Angle: Assessing Avalanche Conditions to Reduce Risk
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Ethan analyzes snow crystals in the Colorado mountains near Cameron Pass.
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According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), during the 2003-2004 winter season 2106 avalanches were reported in Colorado, seven people were buried and three people were killed. Through his work at the CAIC, Ethan Greene, Colorado State atmospheric science alumnus (M.S. 1999) and current geosciences doctoral candidate, promotes safety by reducing the impact of avalanches on recreation, industry and transportation in the State through a program of forecasting and education. As Director of the CAIC, Greene utilizes his technical background in atmospheric science and experience as a backcountry skier to produce mountain weather and avalanche forecasts, supporting snow safety programs and backcountry recreation throughout the State of Colorado. Greene was awarded the American Avalanche Association's Special Service Award for his publication entitled Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States .
In addition to his full-time position as CAIC director, Greene is a full-time doctoral student, and is currently writing his dissertation on "The microstructural and thermophysical effects of an artificial ice lens in a natural snow cover," which examines how heat moves through a simple layered snow structure and how its layered character affects the nature and number of the ice bonds.
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Ethan Greene and friends surveying an avalanche in January 2006.
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Through his Ph.D. research, avalanche research and recreational activities, Greene has traveled the world. His Ph.D. project, a collaborative effort with the Swiss Federal Institute of Snow and Avalanche Research, has taken Greene to Davos, Switzerland. As an extreme kayaker, he has explored many of the world's major rivers, from British Columbia to Nepal and parts of South America. . He has also traveled to Vienna has a member of a working group charged with revising snow cover classification.
Although busy with the CAIC and doctoral work, Greene still finds time to spend with his wife Dana, and 15-month-old daughter Elona, possibly even skiing a run or two on the slopes in the winter!