G01 MOREXPERT – Monitoring Expert System for Hazardous Rock Walls Teilprojekt der K1-Zentrums alpS - Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Technologies

In the context of Global Climate Change the stability of rock walls and slopes in alpine environments become an important issue for the local population, tourism and infrastructure. Within the next decade adaptation strategies are necessary to respond to hazards and risks. This requires an understanding of short and intermediate-term reactions of rock walls and slopes by changing climatic conditions (temperature rise, humidity patterns). Of particular interest are feedbacks of (melting) permafrost - related processes such as slope/rock wall instabilities or enhanced rock fall activity. The project will identify critical conditions (altitude, lithology, exposure, fractures) and on-site thresholds. The project will develop for the first time a combined methodological strategy for slope and rock wall monitoring of surface and subsurface characteristics. This involves the following methods and measurements. • Geomorphological and geological site reconnaissance • Stationary Terrestrial Laser Scanning • Geophysical survey (2D/3D): electrical resistivity tomography, seismic refraction, ground penetrating radar, thermal scans (surface temperature), Environmental measurements and modelling: meteo-station, rock-temperature (surface, subsurface), and thermal modelling (2D/3D) • Geotechnical measurements • Hard- and software development • Wireless sensor techniques for real-time data transmission • Data integration of surface and subsurface variations