Item: DEVELOPMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE MOBILE SENSOR ARRAY BOX FOR CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF AVALANCHE SLOPES AND ROBUST EVENT DETECTION
-
-
Title: DEVELOPMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE MOBILE SENSOR ARRAY BOX FOR CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF AVALANCHE SLOPES AND ROBUST EVENT DETECTION
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2024, Tromsø, Norway
Authors:
- Markus Hoffmann [ Hoffmann-Consult, TU Wien (ISTU) and BOKU (IKI), Vienna, Austria ]
- Michael Brauner [ OEBB-Infrastruktur AG, Vienna, Austria ]
- Christan Rachoy [ OEBB-Infrastruktur AG, Vienna, Austria ]
- Thomas Dolleschal [ BLADESCAPE Airborne Services GmbH, Schwechat, Austria ]
- Johannes Leubolt [ BLADESCAPE Airborne Services GmbH, Schwechat, Austria ]
- Ingrid Reiweger [ BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Civil Engineering and Natural Hazards, Institute of Mountain Risk Engineering, Vienna, Austria ]
Date: 2024-09-23
Abstract: Due to climate change natural hazards such as avalanches, mudflows, and floods are an increasing threat to transport infrastructure and settlements. Together with other protection measures additional systems for monitoring and event detection are of increasing importance. From an organizational perspective typical permanent protection measures include avalanche barriers, avalanche dams, as well as enclosures. Temporary protection measures are usually based on avalanche bulletins, route closures, or deployment of explosive charges. In addition, manual snow cover analysis is done periodically by snow profiles in selected areas. In Austria, the ongoing assessment of avalanche hazard is carried out by local avalanche warning services, as well as avalanche commissions run by communities, ski resorts, and infrastructure operators. The hazard assessment is based on weather data, web cameras, as well as information from local observers. In search of a flexible and cost-efficient solution for ongoing monitoring and event detection on avalanche slopes, the Austrian railway infrastructure owner OEBB-Infrastruktur AG commissioned a multi-year research project. Within this research project we developed an innovative sensor array called SnowBox and the online platform SnowView. The continuous, multiple measurements of position, acceleration, temperature, and moisture allow real-time monitoring of avalanche slopes. The use of specific transmission protocols enables a reliable data transfer through the snow cover. Moreover, we merge the data with weather data from nearby weather stations and developed an automated data analysis. For the data analysis we implemented a decision tree which allows a reliable condition assessment and event detection for events happening in exactly the monitored area. If an event is detected, automated warning messages are directly sent to responsible personnel. We developed our sensor array in the winter periods 2020/21 to 2023/24 and are currently deploying it for full-scale testing in several regions in Austria. The present paper provides an overview of the development process and the results of field tests for sensor validation of the innovative sensor array SnowBox. The analysis of the data on the web-platform SnowView together with the automated event detection as well as the pattern analysis of actual events are covered in a different paper.
Object ID: ISSW2024_P8.6.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Markus Hoffmann; Michael Brauner
Keywords: monitoring, avalanche slopes, event detection, systematic patterns, risk analysis
Page Number(s): 1095 - 1099
-