Yves Bühler, Urs Wegmüller, Christine Pielmeier, Regula Frauenfelder, Geospatial World Forum, Geneva

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Yves Bühler, Urs Wegmüller, Christine Pielmeier, Regula Frauenfelder, Christian Jaedicke, Andreas Wiesmann, Rafael Caduff, Gabriele Bippus Christian Jaedicke, Andreas Wiesmann, Rafael Caduff, Gabriele Bippus

Geospatial World Forum, Geneva

Space Technologies Empowering Geosmart Applications in Switzerland May 8th ₂₀₁₄

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• ESA IAP Call for User Ideas on the Alpine Region: June 2011

• Proposal submission: September 2012 • Proposal submission: September 2012

• Project start: September 2013 • Project start: September 2013

• User Workshop: November 2013 • User Workshop: November 2013

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• W SL Inst it ut e for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF • W SL Inst it ut e for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF

– Prime, Switzerland, 40% of funding

• Norwegian Geotechnical Institute NGI • Norwegian Geotechnical Institute NGI

– Subcontractor, Norway 30% of funding • GAMMA Remote Sensing AG GAMMA

– Subcontractor, Switzerland, 15% of funding • ENVEO IT GmbH ENVEO

– Subcontractor, Austria, 15% of funding

Strong background in Avalanche Warning, Earth Observation, GNSS and communication Applications in high alpine Terrain

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WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche research SLF

• Part of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and • Part of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and

Landscape Research WSL and the ETH Domaine

• Founded in 1936, long term experience in snow and

avalanche research avalanche research

• Personnel: 130 (WSL 530) in 4 research units • Interface for research and practical applications • Interface for research and practical applications

• Operational Avalanche Forecast for Swiss Alps and Jura

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Norwegian Geotechnical Institute NGI

• Private foundation with office and laboratory in Oslo, branch • Private foundation with office and laboratory in Oslo, branch office in Trondheim and daughter company in Houston, Texas • Main working sectors: Offshore Energy

• Main working sectors: Offshore Energy

Building, Construction and Transportation Natural Hazards -Environmental Technology.

• More than 200 highly qualified employees • More than 200 highly qualified employees

• Leading member of International Centre for Geohazards

• Avalanche warning service for selected areas in Skandinavia • Avalanche warning service for selected areas in Skandinavia

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Gamma Remote Sensing AG

• Private Swiss corporation founded in 1995 • Private Swiss corporation founded in 1995

• Main objectives: conduct research studies and to provide consulting and processing services in the field of microwave remote sensing

remote sensing

• GAMMA develops and sells COTS (commercial off the shelf) radar data processing software and hardware

radar data processing software and hardware

• Extensive experience in active and passive microwave remote sensing techniques, theoretical and empirical modeling,

applications and hardware engineering applications and hardware engineering

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ENVEO IT GmbH

• Private Austrian corporation founded in 2001

• Research & development for remote sensing applications in • Research & development for remote sensing applications in hydrology, water management, meteorology and cryosphere • Long term experience in remote sensing of alpine snowcover • Satellite based environmental monitoring

• Consultation and Evaluation of earth observation activities of ESA, NASA and EC

ESA, NASA and EC

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• Assess the user needsand requirements(User Workshop) • Collecting the state-of-the-Art concerning available satellite • Collecting the state-of-the-Art concerning available satellite

technologies

• Identify potential solutionsto close existing information gaps • Specify an integrated solution and associated services for the

user community

• Evaluate the financial and non-financial viability of such a • Evaluate the financial and non-financial viability of such a

service

• Prepare a potential follow-up demonstration project • Prepare a potential follow-up demonstration project

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Project Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Date (2013/14) Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Date (2013/14) Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

Major milestones KO PM1 MTR PM2 FP D7, D8, WP 0100 Project Management D7, D8, D9 WP 1100 User Requirements Definition UW D1 Definition WP 2100 State-of-the-Art D2

WP 3100 System and Service

Definition D3 WP 3100 Definition D3 WP 4100 Proof-of-Concept D4 WP 5100 Viability Analysis D5 WP 5100 Viability Analysis D5 WP 6100 Roadmap D6

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• 11/ 12 Novem ber 2013 @ SLF in Davos • 11/ 12 Novem ber 2013 @ SLF in Davos • 17 key user from 7 European count ries • Prelim inary m arket assessm ent

• Prelim inary m arket assessm ent

Ident ified m ain gaps: Ident ified m ain gaps:

1. Inform at ion on avalanche activity 2. Inform at ion on t he snow surface

3. Stability of t he snow pack 3. Stability of t he snow pack

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• Extensive review of available satellite technology and products

products

• Earth observation, GNSS and SatCom • Overview on specifications and costs • Gap analysis

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• Focus on avalanche act ivit y and snow surface inform at ion • Focus on avalanche act ivit y and snow surface inform at ion • All w eat her capabilit y

• High t em poral resolut ion (daily) • High t em poral resolut ion (daily) • High spat ial resolut ion (< 5m )

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Information on avalanche activity and snow surface

Existing national/ regional hazard information systems

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• Mapping and monitoring of avalanche outlines using satellite SAR

using satellite SAR

• Avalanche detection and mapping using Terrestrial Radar

• Detection of skier using Terrestrial Radar • Detection of skier using Terrestrial Radar • Detection of snow creep

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New avalanche

detection for second detection for second date (relative to first date) using TerraSAR-X backscatter data. X backscatter data. The image shows

second backscatter in red and the first

red and the first backscatter in blue and green.

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using satellite SAR

2014-03-14 2014-03-14 09:32 – 09:34 (dt=2min)

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using satellite SAR

2014-03-14 2014-03-14 09:32 – 09:34 (dt=2min)

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Webcam – Inform at ions: Terrest rial Radar coherence

W ebcam – Inform at ions: Terrest rial Radar coherence

2014-02-26 10:00 – 10:05 Skier locat ion w it h Tim e 2014-02-26

10:00 – 10:05 (dt =5m in)

Skier locat ion w it h Tim e Ski t rack

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189 188 187 783 782 781 2014-03-11

Wrapped LOS Displacement

0 cm 10 cm Monitoring over time 2014-03-11 00:00 – 10:00 (dt=10h) 0 cm 10 cm over time

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• High demand for information on – Avalanche activity

– Avalanche activity

– Snow surface (height change, wetness, snow type) • Radar applications are promising due to:

• Radar applications are promising due to:

– Weather/ daylight independent data acquisition – High sensitivity for changes in the snow surface • SAR satellites: data availability & temporal resolution • SAR satellites: data availability & temporal resolution

insufficient today

• Market potential is small due to limited budgets for • Market potential is small due to limited budgets for