Research

The research project aims to gain new insights into the effectiveness and planning of decentralised retention measures in forests. This includes the systematic survey of existing decentralised technical retention measures in forested catchment areas, the development of a methodology for the systematic evaluation and dimensioning of decentralised retention measures and model approaches for the dimensioning and simulation of the measures, model- and monitoring-based effectiveness assessment, and the creation of a practice-oriented guide and a comprehensive catalogue of measures. The methods used include systematic data collection and evaluation, the further development and application of models such as Zemokost and Raven, the performance of sensitivity analyses, and the integration of monitoring and modelling approaches.

The core cartographic and geographical areas of risk communication comprise those methods and principles that are used to convey spatial hazards and the resulting risks in a comprehensible, precise and action-oriented manner. From a cartographic perspective, the emphasis is on the comprehensible visualisation of hazard areas, the reduction of complex models to clear representations, the utilisation of interactive and digital maps, and the design oriented towards specific target groups. In this context, risk communication is defined as the technology- and data-based communication of spatial risk and hazard information, with the objective of presenting complex geographical contexts in a comprehensible manner, making uncertainties transparent, and enabling affected actors to take informed, prevention- and decision-oriented actions. The RISKCOMM project will provide the basis for this.

This project involves evaluating the first operational data from sensors developed in preliminary projects using UAV/UAS for contactless and non-contact recording of snow data. This method enables interference-free measurement of temperature, humidity, pressure and movement on avalanche slopes. The sensors are deployed in a test field in open terrain using UAV/UAS. A sensor network consisting of several sensor measuring boxes is set up at specific test locations. Regular data collection is carried out via a mobile base station which is stationary or mobile and located on a UAV. Furthermore, a concept is being developed on how avalanche commissions can use the data to assess local avalanche slopes.