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Introduction
I am the Co-Managing director at GEORESEARCH, Salzburg, Austria. My research focuses on the impacts of climate change on natural hazards and geomorphological processes in high-alpine regions (e.g. at the Open-Air-Lab Kitzsteinhorn).
Additional affiliations
Position
- Project Manager
October 2010 - present
September 2010 - present
Education
October 2001 - April 2008
Publications
Publications (49)
Rock slope instabilities and failures from permafrost rocks are among the most significant alpine hazards in a changing climate and represent considerable threats to high-alpine infrastructure. While permafrost degradation is commonly attributed to rising air temperature and slow thermal heat propagation in rocks, the profound impact of water flow...
Since 2010, comprehensive geoscientific monitoring has been established in the summit region of the Kitzsteinhorn (“Open-Air-Lab Kitzsteinhorn”), which focuses on the investigation of high-alpine climate change impacts in four monitoring domains: air temperature, glaciation, permafrost, and rock stability. Air and near-surface permafrost temperatur...
Rock slope instabilities and failures from permafrost are among the most significant alpine hazards in a changing climate and represent considerable threats to high-alpine infrastructure. While permafrost degradation is commonly attributed to rising air temperature and slow thermal heat propagation in rocks, the profound impact of water flow in bed...
The active layer thickness (ALT) refers to the seasonal thaw depth of a permafrost body and is an essential parameter for natural hazard analysis, construction, land-use planning and the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions in periglacial regions. The aim of this study is to model the annual maximum thaw depth for determining ALT based on tempera...
Over the last 5–10 years new satellite missions and improved analytical
procedures led to significant progress in satellite-based radar interferometry (SB-InSAR) and have enabled the identification of ground movements at millimetre accuracy over large surface areas. SB-InSAR thus represents a valuable tool for natural hazard analysis and is of cent...
While optical remote sensing has demonstrated its capabilities for landslide detection and monitoring, spatial and temporal demands for landslide early warning systems (LEWSs) had not been met until recently. We introduce a novel conceptual approach to structure and quantitatively assess lead time for LEWSs. We analysed “time to warning” as a seque...
While optical remote sensing has demonstrated its capabilities for landslide detection and monitoring, spatial and temporal demands for landslide early warning systems (LEWS) were not met until recently. We introduce a novel conceptual approach for comprehensive lead time assessment and optimisation for LEWS. We analysed time to warning as a sequen...
SeisRockHT installed seismological networks at two prominent alpine north-faces in the ’Hohe Tauern’ region to continuously monitor rockfall activity with a long-term perspective. The Sonnblick, as well as the Kitzsteinhorn investigation site hosts renowned environmental monitoring programs which provided a suite of complementary data. Additional r...
In the European Alps, almost half the glacier volume has disappeared over the past 150 years. The loss is reflected in glacier retreat and ice surface lowering even at high altitude. In steep glacial cirques, surface lowering exposes rock to atmospheric conditions probably for the very first time in several millennia. Instability of rockwalls has l...
Cirque erosion contributes significantly to mountain denudation and is a key element of glaciated mountain topography. Despite long-standing efforts, rates of rockwall retreat and the proportional contributions of low-, mid- and high-magnitude rockfalls have remained poorly constrained. Here, a unique, terrestrial-lidar-derived rockfall inventory (...
Abstract. In the European Alps almost half the glacier volume disappeared over the past 150 years. The loss is reflected in glacier retreat and ice surface lowering even at high altitude. In steep glacial cirques surface lowering exposes rock to atmospheric conditions for the very first time in many millennia. Instability of rockwalls has long been...
Abstract. Cirque erosion contributes significantly to mountain denudation and is a key element of glaciated mountain topography. Despite long-standing efforts, rates of rockwall retreat and the proportional contributions of low-, mid- and high magnitude rockfalls have remained poorly constrained. Here, a unique, terrestrial LiDAR-derived rockfall i...
Processes destabilising recently deglaciated rocks, driving cirque headwall retreat, and putting alpine infrastructure at risk are poorly understood due to scarce in situ data. We monitored fracture deformation at a cirque headwall in the Austria Alps. We found thermo-mechanical expansion and freeze-thaw action as dominant processes for deformation...
Processes destabilising recently deglaciated rockwalls, driving cirque headwall retreat, and putting high alpine infrastructure at risk are poorly understood due to a lack of in situ monitoring data. Deglaciation initiates internal stress redistribution and drastically increases atmospheric forcing rendering cirque headwalls particularly prone for...
Glacier retreat is one of the most significant consequences of 20th and 21st century temperature rise in the Eu-ropean Alps, most obvious at glacier tongues but also at glacier cirques. As cirque headwalls deglaciate, internal stress redistribution occurs and atmospheric forcing intensifies rendering deglaciating headwalls particularly prone to roc...
A lasting legacy of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008 was the promotion of the Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN), initially an IPY outreach and education activity by the International Permafrost Association (IPA). With the momentum of IPY, PYRN developed into a thriving network that still connects young permafrost scientists, e...
In this presentation we introduce the worldwide first research site for long-term monitoring of stability-relevant processes inside a randkluft. The interdisciplinary setup comprises the monitoring of rock and ice temperatures, seismic signals induced by frost cracking, and a series of meteorological parameters.
Der europäische Alpenraum ist vom Klimawandel besonders stark betroffen. Das Verschwinden der Gletscher ist mittlerweile fest im Bewusstsein vieler Menschen verankert. Wenn dazu noch im Sommer die großen Flüsse aus den Alpen extremes Niedrigwasser haben, sodass der Schiffsverkehr eingestellt werden muss, werden auch die Folgeerscheinungen des Klima...
Many peaks and slopes in high mountains are under permafrost conditions. Changes in the state of mountain permafrost induced by rising air temperatures can contribute significantly to the formation of natural hazards like rock fall or debris flow. Permafrost distribution and conditions are highly diverse and strongly dependent on local conditions....
Glacier headwalls recently experience increasing instability through deglaciation and permafrost degradation. In situ monitoring of fracture dynamics contributes to understanding of magnitude and timing of stability-relevant processes.
WE CLOSELY MONITORED
the rockwalls and glacier surfaces of the Kitzsteinhorn tourist area for six years (2011-2017) with terrestrial laserscanning.
WE FOUND THAT
77 % of all rockfall source areas were located less than 20 m above the current glacier surface. That is a lot...
SO THE LOGICAL QUESTION IS
what causes this exceptional pattern? Ou...
Within the research project SeisRockHT an extensive terrestrial laserscanning (TLS) campaign is carried out since 2015 to systematically check for rockfall detachment areas in the north face of the Sonnblick. Aside from a general assessment of rockfall activity in the rock face, the TLS-derived detachment zones are used to validate and calibrate th...
SeisRockHT (‘Seismic Rockfall Monitoring in the Hohe Tauern Region’) investigates the long-term evolution of rockfall activity in the Hohe Tauern. SeisRockHT applies Open Hardware and Free Software products, which are continuously advanced to cope with the challenges of a long-term monitoring in harsh environments. The Seis-RockHT investigation sit...
- Research at the Open-Air-Lab Kitzsteinhorn (OPAL) started in 2010 and since then has focused on the combined observation of surface, subsurface and meteorologic conditions, to better understand interactions between climate change, mountain permafrost, and the occurrence of rockfall.
- While many relevant rock- and ice-mechanical processes are we...
The Open Air Lab Kitzsteinhorn (OpAL) was established in 2010 and since then has grown into Austria's most extensive monitoring site for bedrock permafrost and high-alpine rockfall. Surface, subsurface, and atmospheric conditions are monitored based on a combination of borehole measurements, electrical resistivity surveys, terrestrial laserscanning...
Quantitative monitoring data from high-alpine glacial cirques is extremely scarce. To reduce this gap, three long-term monitoring programs were established in the Hohe Tauern range: at the Kitzsteinhorn, at the Oedenwinkel, and at the Sattelkar. The selected sites differ in size, glaciation and lithology and are therefore addressed with different m...
Protective structures against natural hazards are essential for individual and infrastructure safety in steep terrain. However, protective structure inventories are frequently not up-to-date and information on their structural conditions are lacking, representing an underrated risk factor. In this contribution we address the need for quick and cost...
SeisRockHT focuses on open hardware and free software applied for scientific long-term monitoring strategies in harsh enviroments. In detail, SeisRockHT aims at the establishment of two seismic networks to quantitatively observe seismicity and rockfall events at high alpine north faces. Due to the rare character of rockfall events, a continuous and...
- Processes acting at the interface between glaciers and their headwalls (randkluft systems) are not only considered to be an important preconditioning factor for rockfall, they are also assumed to play a critical role in controlling the geomorphological development of glaciated mountains.
- Due to restricted accessibility and harsh measurement co...
The proposed project GlacierRocks will establish the worldwide first research site for long-term monitoring of stability-relevant processes inside a randkluft system. Based on the acquired monitoring data GlacierRocks is pursuing three overall aims at (1) gaining a better understanding of rockfall preconditioning in randklufts and related geomorpho...
Subsurface monitoring of permafrost conditions at depths up to 20–30 m is crucial to assess the safety and reliability of mountain infrastructure, because permafrost degradation critically affects rock slope stability in high mountains. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) provides a straightforward tool for monitoring near-surface bedrock perma...
Rock instability in high mountain areas poses an important risk for man and infrastructure. At 3 p.m. on 18 August 2012 a rock slide event was documented at the Kitzsteinhorn, Austria. The release zone was detected on a north-exposed rock face below the cable car summit station (3.029 m). Analysis of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data delivered...
Spatial and temporal variability of rock fall in a (peri)glacial environment: a LiDAR-based, multi-year investigation of rock fall release zones and volumes, Kitzsteinhorn, Austria Rock instabilities in high mountain areas pose an important threat to man and infrastructure. Numerous observations from the European Alps suggest an increasing occurren...
Bottom temperatures of the winter snow cover (BTS) represent the thermal conditions at the snow-ground interface and serve as a proxy for local permafrost ocurrence. The BTS method has been used in numerous studies to investigate local permafrost evidence and to validate larger scale permafrost distribution models. However, former studies have show...
Analysis of borehole temperature data plays a major role in a large
number of polar and alpine permafrost investigations. Despite its
fundamental importance relatively few scientific contributions address
the technical details and challenges that are associated to the
instrumentation of boreholes in permafrost-affected rock. Frequently
information...
The research project MOREXPERT (“Monitoring Expert System for Hazardous Rock Walls”) investigates short and medium term responses of slope stability to climatic changes in high alpine rock walls. The study contributes to the question how man and infrastructure are potentially affected by these responses. Based on a combination of geophysical, geote...
Within the research project MOREXPERT (‘Developing a Monitoring Expert System for Hazardous Rock Walls’) a new study site for long-term bedrock permafrost monitoring has been initiated. Surface and subsurface thermal conditions in steep rock faces are
monitored based on a combination of borehole, geophysical and meteorological measurements. MOREXPE...
Changes of climate parameters due to global warming generate increased
permafrost warming and deglaciation in alpine regions. In the area of
interest scientists observe increasing rock instability due to the
disappearance of the permafrost inside the Magnetköpfl, a peak
below the Kitzsteinhorn (3203 m a.m.s.l), as well as the decrease of
glacier hi...
Detailed geotechnical analysis of discontinuities in rock walls is the
basic foundation of many civil and mining engineering projects. It is
important to measure and analyse the influence of fractures on rock
constructions, such as tunnels, slopes, underground excavations, mines
and nuclear waste repositories. The quality of this analysis depends o...
The research project MOREXPERT ('Monitoring Expert System for Hazardous
Rock Walls') has initiated a new long-term study site for bedrock
permafrost monitoring in the Austrian Alps (project launched in
September 2010). Based on a combination of thermal, geophysical,
geotechnical and laboratory measurements surface and subsurface
conditions are moni...
Instability of rock faces in high mountain areas is an important risk
factor for man and infrastructure, particularly within the context of
climate change. Numerous rock fall events in the European Alps suggest
an increasing occurrence of mass movements due to rising temperatures in
recent years. Within the MOREXPERT project ('Monitoring Expert Sys...
High alpine regions are very rough terrains influenced by extreme
weather conditions. Steep and inaccessible terrain complicates the
installation and maintenance of monitoring instruments. Among other
hazards lightning stroke, low temperatures and mass movements have a
strong impact on permanently installed instruments. Therefore technical
challeng...
Within the research project MOREXPERT ('Developing a Monitoring Expert System for Hazardous Rock Walls') a new study site for long-term bedrock permafrost monitoring has been initiated. Surface and subsurface thermal conditions in steep rock faces are monitored based on a combination of borehole, geophysical and meteorological measurements. MOREXPE...
The project MOREXPERT (Monitoring expert system for hazardous rock walls) initiates a new long-term monitoring site with the focus on permafrost and mass movement interaction at the Kitzstein-horn (3,203 m), Hohe Tauern, Austria. Based on a combination of geotechnical, thermal, geophysical and laboratory measurements, surface and subsurface conditi...
In the semi-arid high Andes of Argentina and Chile, rock glaciers are more frequent and often larger than glaciers. Aridity and high solar radiation hamper the development of large glaciers, favour permafrost conditions and the generation of rock glaciers. One of the few rock glaciers that have been studied in more detail since more than 20 years i...