News
Geopraevent at EGU 2018 in Vienna
The European Geoscience Union (EGU) is Europe's leading geoscientific association and combines earth, planetary and space sciences. The EGU General Assembly 2018 attracted over 15,000 participants from all over the world and took place in Vienna from 7 - 12 April....
Geopraevent is Main Sponsor at ISSW 2018
The ISSW (International Snow Science Workshop) is the largest snow and avalanche conference worldwide and takes place every two years in the US, Canada or Europe, alternately. The 22nd edition of the ISSW will be held from 7 to 12 October 2018 in Innsbruck, Austria....
Power supply at freezing temperatures and in deep snow
Our alarm and monitoring system are frequently located in very remote areas from where they observe avalanche slopes, unstable rock faces, glacial lakes or other areas at risk of natural hazards. System operation requires power for measurement instruments and...
More than 40 avalanches in 24 h on the way to Zermatt
On 4 January 2018, our avalanche detection system on the road to the Swiss tourist resort Zermatt counted more than 40 avalanches within 24 hours. Two avalanche radars continuously monitor the highly avalanche prone slopes called Lüegetli and Schusslobina from their...
Monitoring of instabilities: HD-camera vs radar
The recently introduced surface deformation analysis by HD-camera was challenged last summer when a large part of the Trift glacier accelerated steadily and eventually collapsed on 10 September 2017 (News October). At the Weissmies monitoring station, the HD-camera...
Correct prediction of glacier collapse with radar measurements
The Trift glacier above tourist village Saas Grund in the Swiss alps collapsed in the early morning of 10 September 2017 (Sky News, CTV News, Independent). Approximately 200,000 m³ of ice broke off the glacier in multiple events without causing any damage in the...
Radar system monitors Pizzo Cengalo, Bondo
On 23 August 2017, a large rockfall occurred at Pizzo Cengalo in the Bregaglia region at the Swiss-Italian Border. Around 3 million m³ of rock broke off the unstable North face of the mountain and formed a large debris flow that reached the riverside village of Bondo...
Scientific article on ice avalanches at Eiger glacier
The article published in the journal Cold Regions Science and Technology describes the avalanche and glaciological situation at the hanging glacier on the Eiger west face in the Swiss Alps, the gateway to a major tourist destinations named Jungfraujoch. The historic...
Geopraevent at RocExs 2017 in Barcelona, Spain
Geopraevent participated in the 6th Interdisciplinary workshop on rockfall protection from 22 – 24 May 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. RocExs is the international network of rockfall experts and brings together scientists, engineers, practitioners, decision makers and...
Automatic deformation analysis by novel camera
Our latest addition to monitoring technologies is the novel high-definition (HD) camera with increased sensitivity and a resolution of more than 40 megapixels. The high-quality images allow for deformation analysis of the monitored hazard zone, for example a glacier....
Early Warning: Alarm or Warning System?
Climate change affects natural hazards and will cause more frequent and severe natural disasters in the future (SwissRe, 2014). Alpine regions are expected to face an increase in permafrost melting, floods, debris flows, rockfall and avalanches that can cause serious...
Finding the optimal monitoring location
Monitoring moving objects and natural hazards remotely is becoming more and more frequent. Remote sensing technologies make it possible to monitor large areas from a distance and avoid sending people into a hazardous area. Radars – like for example Geopraevent’s...
Avalanche radar on Gran Sasso, Abruzzo, Italy
Geopraevent installed an avalanche radar above the hotel Rigopiano on Gran Sasso in Southern Italy's Abruzzo region. The system monitors the avalanche area, detects potential follow-up avalanches and alerts rescue workers on site. Learn more about the avalanche radar...
Radar solutions presented at ISSW 2016
Geopraevent attended the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW 16) in Breckenridge, Colorado, USA from October 3 to 7, 2016. Dr. Lorenz Meier, CEO of Geopraevent, presented the latest avalanche radar project from Zermatt. The presentation was very well received...
Why electronic alarm and monitoring systems?
Why and when are electronic alarm and monitoring systems for natural hazards needed? The leading Swiss business newspaper Handelszeitung provided answers to this essential question in their edition on September 22, 2016. Geopraevent CEO Dr. Lorenz Meier explains why...
Ice avalanche of 20’000 cubic meters at Eiger
On August 25, 2016 several ice avalanches with a total volume of 20'000 cubic meters fell down at the Eiger. Geopraevent monitors the glacier since beginning of 2016. An interferometric radar detects the smallest movements of the glacier and sends the data to the...
Geopraevent at ISSW 16, Breckenridge, USA
Geopraevent will be at the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW 16) in Breckenridge, Colorado, USA from October 3 to 7, 2016. We will present the avalanche radar and our latest project in Zermatt as well as publish a new paper about the detection of avalanches....
Geopraevent launches rockfall radar
Geopraevent's latest rockfall radar detects even small rockfall events in all-weather conditions as well as darkness and reliably triggers an alarm within seconds. Transportation routes or threatened areas can be automatically closed off in case of rockfall, allowing...
Radar solutions presented at Interpraevent 2016
Geopraevent's radar solutions have been presented at the international congress for natural hazards Interpraevent 2016. The radar-based systems remotely monitor natural hazards over large areas (several km²) independent of weather conditions. The differentiation...
Geopraevent at Interpraevent 2016
Geopraevent will attend the Interpraevent Congress at the KKL Lucerne, Switzerland from June 30 to July 2. Dr. Lorenz Meier, CEO of Geopraevent, will present the topic "Radar‐based Warning and Alarm Systems for Alpine Mass Movements" at the poster exhibition. We are...
Avalanche radar in Swiss evening news
Geopraevent's avalanche radar in Zermatt was featured on the Swiss evening news show 10vor10 on February 16th 2016. This system is the first of its kind, monitoring a lare area of more than 2 km² thanks to its large range and wide opening angle. When the systems...
New glacier monitoring project at Eiger Glacier
In fall 2015, ETH's Laboratory for Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology detected crevasses appearing near the terminus of a hanging glacier above the Eigergletscher station of the Jungfrau railway, indicating that up to 80'000 m³ of ice might be approaching...
World premiere: Zermatt avalanche radar
To increase the safety on the cantonal road between Zermatt and Täsch in the Canton of Valais, we installed a brand new avalanche warning system in early winter of 2015. Two radars monitor 2 square km of avalanche terrain, automatically closing the road to traffic...
Rockfall radar
Demo-Video: Our new avalanche radar detects avalanche within a large coverage area of approx. 1 km² and up to a distance of 2km independent of visibility conditions. It can even detect people in endangered areas, for example before artificial avalanche release. We are...
Radar Presentation at USGS
Which radar systems can be used for natural hazard monitoring and how do they work? Here's a video of my talk at USGS Menlo Park (CA) from last week. I was invited to present the theoretical principles and some examples of radar-based monitoring projects from...