Terrestrial Scanning / Topography & Monitoring

Snow Depth Monitoring, Tyrol, Austria 23.09.2007

Knowledge on the spatial and temporal distribution of snow depth is one of the key parameter in the assessment of avalanche hazards, for snow drift and avalanche modelling and model verification. Reliable measurements of snow depth distribution are of interest for practitioners as well as for scientists. Most of the conventional methods like snow pits, probing or profiling deliver point information or transects of snow depth, snow density or snow water equivalent. At that, direct (in situ) measurements are chancy in High Alpine terrain. To overcome these restrictions, remote monitoring techniques are applied. Terrestrial scanning lidar survey represents a powerful tool to map inaccessible alpine terrain. In winter 2005/2006 numerous measurements with the terrestrial scanning lidar have been done at the test site in the Wattener Lizum (Tyrol, Austria). The analysis of the repeated surveys provide changes in the depth of the snow cover.

Mit Fernerkundungstechnologien können heute bereits von einem sicheren Standort aus Schneedecken-parameter gemessen werden. Daher wird intensiv an Methoden gearbeitet, die Aussagen über die räumliche und zeitliche Schneehöhenänderung ermöglichen. Vor allem die bodengestützte Lasermessung (Terrestrial Laser Scanning, TLS) wird den gestellten Anforderungen weitgehend gerecht.