Automated Terrestrial Laser Scanner measurements of small-scale snow avalanches : Poster presented at the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW), 7-11. October 2013, Grenoble / Chamonix Mont Blanc
Remote sensing is a powerful and versatile tool for measuring the spatial and temporal distribution of snow. In this study, an Automated Terrestrial Laser Scanner (ATLS) was employed to scan a mountainside in the ski area Lech Zürs (Austria). During the winter 2012/13, the ATLS gathered data on the snow depth distribution at the test site twice a day. In order to reduce the risk of avalanches to skiers, seven avalanche towers were placed on this slope by the ski resort operating company. A mitigation measure called Snowcatcher was constructed in the runout zone for research purposes. It was instrumented with several load-measuring devices, to record forces in the system during an avalanche event. These sensors are supplemented by a network camera, which recorded images of the test site every 15 min. The combination of this data allows: I) monitoring the spatial distribution and height change of the snowpack throughout the winter; II) estimating the volume of artificially released and spontaneous avalanches; III) cross-referencing the estimated avalanche masses with the exerted forces on the Snowcatcher, when impacted by an avalanche. The potential of these combined measurements is presented in two showcases: I) snow depth change within a 37 h period, where an avalanche was artificially released and impacted the Snowcatcher; II) recording the volume of multiple spontaneous avalanche events, which occurred on 4 June 2013. It is shown, that the ATLS setup provides a very valuable data source for a wide range of applications in snow science and practice. Automated terrestrial laser scanning, Snowcatcher, avalanche control
