Welcome to the research project alpEWAS - Development and Testing of an Integrative 3D Early Warning System for Alpine Instable Slopes

Especially in alpine terrain areas land slides are one of the most minatory risks to human life, possessions and infrastructure. Even if the trigger for a catastrophe often is a singular circumstance, like e.g. heavy rainfall, most of the threatening slopes are known moving long before and therefore can be monitored. A better understanding of the physical und geological factors as well as the dynamics of the movement and its influencing factors lead to advanced options in rating the risks and, if necessary, take counteractions in time. In the alpEWAS project, this monitoring of an instable test site slope in the Bavarian Sudelfeld will be done using different innovative systems forming an integrative, flexible and efficient geo-sensor-network as a prototype. Mass movements on the surface will be surveyed with highprecision at selective points using autarkic low-cost GNSS, while advanced reflectorless video tacheometry will monitor more extensive areas without the need to apply any targets. Underground movements and sliding layers will be detected along boreholes using Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). Additionally climatic circumstances like rain and snowfall and the hillside water table become acquired. In a combined layout, joint data interpretation and mutual support of the established systems will be developed, while all the quite novel methods will become improved during the project lifetime. As the sensors are connected via WLAN, all necessary functions and data can be maintained remote, which not only saves costs, but also allows to evaluate movements and trigger mechanism effects in nearly real-time and offsite.