Item: MONITORING OF AVALANCHES USING DAS: FROM RELEASE TO FLOW MOTION DETECTION
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Title: MONITORING OF AVALANCHES USING DAS: FROM RELEASE TO FLOW MOTION DETECTION
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Cristina Pérez-Guillén [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
- Pascal Edme [ ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ]
- Andri Simeon [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
- Johannes Aichele [ ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ]
- Alec van Herwijnen [ ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ]
- Andreas Fichtner [ ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ]
- Johan Gaume [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ] [ ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland ]
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: The destructive power of snow avalanches and the uncertainty in predicting them demand reliable monitoring systems in mountain regions. Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) provides a novel approach by transforming fibre-optic cables into dense arrays of seismic sensors with metre-scale spacing over kilometre distances. During the 2025-2026 winter season, we installed 3 km of fibre-optic cable across two avalanche release areas near Davos, Switzerland, to investigate the potential of DAS for monitoring avalanche release and flow motion. The system continuously recorded strain rate along the cable at a spatial resolution of 2 m and a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz, decreasing to 200 Hz during periods of low danger level. For avalanches releasing across the fibre, the DAS measurements captured a distinct signal associated with the initial fracture and release processes, followed by a moving signal generated by the downslope avalanche flow. To explore the continuous dataset, we converted the DAS recordings into video-like spatio-temporal representations in which avalanche signals can be distinguished from numerous natural and anthropogenic sources. During the winter, 15 avalanches were independently documented in the monitored release areas, of which 11 were detected by DAS, including events at distances of up to approximately 300 m from the fibre. These observations demonstrate the potential of DAS to monitor both avalanche release processes and subsequent flow over large areas.
Object ID: ISSW2026_FS4.6.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790098464
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Cristina Pérez-Guillén
Keywords: Avalanche Detection, Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) Monitoring, Avalanche Release
Page Number(s): 1837 - 1843
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