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Item: All-Weather Avalanche Activity Monitoring From Space?

    • Title: All-Weather Avalanche Activity Monitoring From Space?

      Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2014 Proceedings, Banff, Canada

      Authors:

      • Yves Bühler  [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
      • Claudia Bieler  [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
      • Christine Pielmeier  [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ]
      • Andreas Wiesmann  [ GAMMA Remote Sensing Research and Consulting AG, Gümligen, Switzerland ]
      • Rafael Caduff  [ GAMMA Remote Sensing Research and Consulting AG, Gümligen, Switzerland ]
      • Regula Frauenfelder  [ Norwegian Geotechnical Institute NGI, Oslo, Norway ]
      • Christian Jaedicke  [ Norwegian Geotechnical Institute NGI, Oslo, Norway ]
      • Gabriele Bippus  [ ENVEO IT GmbH, Innsbruck, Austria ]

      Date: 2014-09-29

      Abstract: Information on avalanche activity or non-activity on local and regional scale is of great value for avalanche warning services, traffic authorities and experts responsible for safety in communities or ski resorts. In particular during bad weather condition, such information is available only very limited or not at all. The aim of the ESA IAP feasibility study “Improved Alpine Avalanche Forecast Service” was to investigate existing technology to overcome this gap. Of particular interest were radar-based techniques that have the potential to operate independently of daylight and weather conditions. For testing the observation of avalanche activity on a local scale, a terrestrial radar was installed at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, illuminating the Dorfberg close to Davos, Switzerland during winter 2013/2014. On that slope, frequent natural as well as artificially triggered avalanches can be expected. The system acquired datasets at minute temporal resolution, which allows the production of coherence maps to detect avalanche events and also features such as snow creep and free-riders tracks. The spatial coverage of the terrestrial system was 6 km2 for this experiment. On the regional scale, data from radar satellites with very high spatial resolution (< 3 m) were analyzed. A TerraSAR-X stripmap mode satellite frame, for example, covers 1500 km2 and has a temporal resolution of 11 days. A combination of terrestrial and space-borne radar sensors could be a powerful tool to map avalanche activity for different scales during any weather condition. We present first results of terrestrial and space-borne avalanche activity mapping at Davos during the winter 2013/2014 and discuss capabilities and limitations for local and regional avalanche warning services.

      Object ID: ISSW14_paper_P2.37.pdf

      Language of Article: English

      Presenter(s):

      Keywords: Remote sensing, avalanche forecasting, user requirements, satellite data, terrestrial radar,space-borne SAR.

      Page Number(s): 839-846

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