Snow Institute develops laser to assess avalanche danger
Published: Tuesday, Jul 30th 2024, 11:20
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The Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF is developing a laser system to better assess the risk of avalanches on traffic routes. The all-terrain lasers are intended to shorten the duration of road and rail closures in difficult snow conditions.
The results are promising after the first winter of testing, the SLF in Davos announced on Tuesday. Using two terrain scanners away from the slopes of the Jakobshorn ski area, a known avalanche area, a north-facing slope, was observed.
With data directly from the potential avalanche areas, the laser scanners provide a better basis for assessing whether roads or railways should be closed due to the risk of avalanches. Until now, such decisions have been based on weather and snow data, the avalanche bulletin, local observations and the personal experience of those involved.
Hourly monitoring
The laser scanners now also measure how the snow depths are distributed in the avalanche area. The devices measure every hour and to the nearest decimeter. At around 30,000 Swiss francs for two measuring stations, the costs are also comparatively low.
The devices used are known as LiDAR devices, which are also used in the automotive industry for driver assistance systems. They use laser pulses to measure the distance to objects and the intensity of the light beam reflected by them.
"The high potential of the system is already evident," SLF geomatics expert Pia Ruttner-Jansen is quoted as saying in the press release. Next winter, she wants to expand her results and is planning additional measuring stations at a second location. This time it should preferably be a south-facing slope.
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