简介：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.…