Search Results (6)

The multi-billion-dollar snowmobile industry is predicated on natural snowfall and cold temperatures, with a near absence of research that examines industry response to climatic variability and change. Using a temporal analogue approach, this study examines 30 years of climate data (1989–2019), along with operational (grooming hours) and performance (permit sales) indicators, to provide insight into the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of the Ontario snowmobile industry in a medium (RCP4.5) and high (RCP8.5) mid-century (2046–2060) emission scenario. The results underscore important temporal and spatial variability across Ontario’s 16 snowmobile districts, indicating that snowmobilers are highly resilient to marginal conditions, changing districts and switching from seasonal to daily permits in response to warming temperatures. The findings from this study can inform risk assessments in other major snowmobile markets (e.g., Canada, Europe, USA), with future research needs discussed. Full article

Transport provision in remote territories is one of the most important factors in maintaining the sustainability of socio-economic and ecological systems. Indigenous peoples of Siberia have always been mobile using diverse traditional ways across the taiga. During the Soviet period, the transition to settled life, along with technological development and the emergence of new modes of transport, such as off-road cars, snowmobiles, and motor boats, significantly affected the level of population mobility, including remote areas where people are engaged in traditional nature management. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were significant changes and reductions in the subsidies of transportation systems for remote terrains that made them isolated. Transport connectivity has been realized through rare plane flights (once a month or less) or by cars on dirt roads (actually off-road) that take several days of travel. Siberian territories rich with natural resources, low population density, and weak infrastructure might be attractive for mining companies. Being difficult to access not only for the local population, but also for industrial companies, the territories imply the allocation of a significant share of road construction and transport costs in the cost items of miners and processors. The problems of sustainability and resilience of the indigenous peoples of Siberia require special attention when restructuring transport communications, but they have practically not been studied before. Methods of in-depth and group interviews with local residents were used. Based on comparative geographic and statistical analysis and generalization of data, network and problem approaches applied for various sources and field materials (including in-depth and group interviews), the factors of sustainability and resilience, which the indigenous communities of three remote Siberian territories pin their hopes on in the context of the transformation of transportation infrastructure, have been identified. If geographic remoteness remains an unchanged fact, the expansion of desired transport accessibility (mainly due to investments by industrial companies) is associated by locals with the possibility of additional income related to provision of services, the emergence of new types of employment of the population that have not been observed before, and the implementation of new transport modes to support traditional activities. Full article

Snowmobilers make a grim and significant contribution to avalanche fatality statistics in Norway. However, there is limited knowledge on the behavior of this group in avalanche terrain and the factors influencing this behavior. Our study documents what snowmobilers do and not do in avalanche terrain, how their behavior relates to managing complex avalanche conditions and if there is a mismatch between avalanche competence, education and riding preferences. This ethnographic study observed snowmobiler tracks and thus avalanche terrain usage in Northern Norway during 2018 and 2019, supported by open-ended conversations with target group riders. Results show that high-marking lost popularity to technical riding, which seems to be perceived as safer despite increased exposure to complex avalanche terrain and conditions with persistent weak layers in the snowpack. The detected mismatch between preferences and avalanche knowledge/attitude will remain an obstacle to future accident prevention efforts unless behavioral changes are addressed. This study of a predominantly illegal activity sheds light on how to explore and observe hard-to-reach illegal activities and should be of interest to a wider audience from other research disciplines. Full article

Lake ice thickness is a sensitive indicator of climate change largely through its dependency on near-surface air temperature and on-ice snow mass (depth and density). Monitoring of the seasonal variations and trends in ice thickness is also important for the operation of winter ice roads that northern communities rely on for the movement of goods as well as for cultural and leisure activities (e.g., snowmobiling). Therefore, consistent measurements of ice thickness over lakes is important; however, field measurements tend to be sparse in both space and time in many northern countries. Here, we present an application of L-band frequency Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Interferometric Reflectometry (GNSS-IR) for the estimation of lake ice thickness. The proof of concept is demonstrated through the analysis of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) time series extracted from Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation L1 band raw data acquired between 8 and 22 March (2017 and 2019) at 14 lake ice sites located in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Dominant frequencies are extracted using Least Squares Harmonic Estimation (LS-HE) for the retrieval of ice thickness. Estimates compare favorably with in-situ measurements (mean absolute error = 0.05 m, mean bias error = −0.01 m, and root mean square error = 0.07 m). These results point to the potential of GPS/GNSS-IR as a complementary tool to traditional field measurements for obtaining consistent ice thickness estimates at many lake locations, given the relatively low cost of GNSS antennas/receivers. Full article

Safety laws are among the most successful means of reducing injuries, but their effectiveness is strongly influenced by the level of enforcement. To characterize enforcement of off-road vehicle (ORV) laws statewide, analyses of citations were performed using Iowa Court Information System data. From 2005–2015, 5173 individuals were charged with 5643 citations issued. Citations averaged <5/county/year, decreased dramatically over time, and varied by county when normalized to registered all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Over 90% of operators cited were male and Caucasian. One-fifth were <18 years old. The top five violations were: operation on a highway/snowmobile trail (51%), registration/identification number not documented/displayed (19%), prohibited use in a park/preserve (5.5%), and operation with more persons than the vehicle is designed to carry (4.4%). The Department of Natural Resources issued the highest percentage of citations, followed in decreasing order by Sheriff, Police, State Patrol, and Conservation officers. Significant differences were identified when citations were compared by sex, age, race, enforcement agency, disposition (guilty vs. not guilty), and when comparing counties with or without an ORV park. These characteristics suggest limited and variable enforcement of laws statewide that may reduce their potential to prevent deaths and injuries, and that improved strategies to support ORV law enforcement are needed. Full article

Although an electric snowmobile can be constructed, there are several technical challenges to make it viable for end-users. The energy requirements are extremely variable and depend on the weather conditions. Both temperature and snow conditions add to the complexity. The battery life will be shortened in extreme conditions. For example, the snow conditions cause changes to the rolling resistance as shown Figure 1. Current electric snowmobiles have not been able to use less than 200 Wh/mi. The snowmobile can be designed to take on energy denser batteries that will be developed eventually, however currently there is limited volume contained within the snowmobile to store the batteries. Full article