More Safety in the Mountains Through Digital Recording of Danger Spots

This also affects hiking trails, climbing routes, and mountain huts. Two research projects, which heavily rely on collaboration with local experts, aim to digitally record danger spots and make the mountains safer. The "International Mountain Conference" in Innsbruck is also dedicated to this topic.

"Especially in high alpine areas, the retreat of glaciers and the de-icing of slopes, as well as the thawing of permafrost, lead to increased mass movements such as landslides, rockfalls, and debris flows. This can also affect huts and trails," explained Andreas Mayr from the Institute of Geography at the University of Innsbruck in an interview with APA. However, there is currently no systematic recording of danger spots and hardly any suitable ways to share this knowledge.

With the new app "AlpsWatch," individuals with the necessary expertise and experience, such as mountain guides, air rescuers, or geoscientists, can enter observations of potential danger areas on alpine routes as a "highly qualified crowd" and make them accessible to a broader user base. "Tourism associations, municipalities, or trail maintainers should also benefit from the improved information situation. They can be notified if there are problems in their area," said Mayr ahead of the "International Mountain Conference," which takes place from Sunday (September 14 to 18) and is expected to be attended by more than 1,000 scientists.

Database for On-Site Observations

From a scientific perspective, the goal is to build a reasonably large database of such on-site observations of mass movements in the medium to long term. "These so-called reference data serve to compare model calculations and remote sensing analyses, for example, based on aerial and satellite images," said the expert.

Through the crowd-based approach of the "AlpsWatch" project, funded by the state of Tyrol, in which the new app was developed by the Institute of Geography at the University of Innsbruck together with the Tyrolean Mountain Guide Association and the Austrian Board for Alpine Safety, significantly more data can be collected than before. This creates a good information base about the situation in the mountains.

Map Shows Hazard Potential

The project "AV.GEO.CLIM" also relies on digitalization and the expertise of trail wardens, mountain guides, and hut keepers. The experts can record danger spots and events, such as rockfalls, landslides, and more, using a digital form on their mobile phones. A map then displays and classifies the hazard potential of the hiking trail network, explained Marco Gabl from the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖAV) referring to a prototype.

The second pillar of the project led by Gabl and funded by the Environment Agency Austria are so-called "story maps" on the topics of "hiking" and "natural hazards." They are intended to impart knowledge to those seeking recreation and raise awareness of natural hazards. "The goal is to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change and increase safety in the mountains," said Gabl.

(APA/Red)

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