Markus Keuschnig

GEORESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH

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...

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...

The emergence of glacial lakes is a significant consequence of global climate change in high mountain regions. Recent developments in ice thickness modelling combined with high-resolution glacier surface data led to the generation of modelling approaches to simulate the ice-free bedrock topography below current glaciers and to detect potential glac...

Accurate remote analyses of high-alpine landslides are a key requirement for future alpine safety. In critical stages of alpine landslide evolution, UAS (unmanned aerial system) data can be employed using image registration to derive ground motion with high temporal and spatial resolution. However, classical area-based algorithms suffer from dynami...

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 (...

The deformation behavior of slow-moving large landslides is often governed by rainfall characteristics. Based on observational data such as precipitation, deformation measurement, and pore water pressure measurements in the slip zone, in many cases a strong correlation between strong rainfall events, a time-delayed increase of pore water pressures...

Traditional methods for surveying the spatial and temporal distribution of snow are often time-consuming, costly, and potentially hazardous. To address these challenges, we propose a novel approach utilizing a newly developed sensor system based on cost-effective industrial lidar sensors. This system is designed to be mounted on cable cars, enablin...

Warming in the last two decades has caused massive rockfall activity with limited mobility in the range of 101-6 m³. However, only a few highly destructive and mobile rock avalanches above 1 Mio. m³ have been documented. Rock-ice mechanical models explaining high-magnitude rock slope failure in permafrost have been postulated but not validated on r...

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...

Accurate and reliable analyses of high-alpine landslide displacement magnitudes and rates are key requirements for current and future alpine early warnings. It has been proved that high spatiotemporal-resolution remote sensing data combined with digital image correlation (DIC) algorithms can accurately monitor ground displacements. DIC algorithms s...

Current methods of snowpack stability assessment primarily rely on professional observations, mainly digging a snow pit. This technique has spatial limitations, is time-consuming, and places observers at risk. The combined usage of UAVs and GPR is capable of providing detailed snowpack layering data at scale without human exposure to potential aval...

Alpine permafrost reacts highly sensitive to the ongoing global warming, which significantly impacts its thermal and hydrostatic regime. This change in subsurface properties, especially in steep permafrost-affected rock faces, critically affects the stability and increase the risk of relevant damages on high alpine infrastructures. Since these infr...

This study aims to investigate the layer structure within an alpine snowpack using UAV-borne GPR. Weak layers are the target of this survey as they are relevant with regards to the formation of slab avalanches, being the most frequent type of avalanche when it comes to avalanche fatalities and infrastructural damage. The main goal is to evaluate th...

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...

The deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for scientific purposes gained a lot of importance during the last years. The new EU regulations for the use of civil drones, in effect since January 2021, set out a new framework for their safe operation in the European skies. With a risk-based approach the purpose of the drone (leisure or civil) is...

Accurate remote analyses of high-alpine landslides are a key requirement for future alpine safety. In critical stages of alpine landslides, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) data can be employed, using image registration techniques to derive ground motion with high temporal and spatial resolution. Nevertheless, the classical area-based algorithms, dyna...

Offer, M., Scandroglio, R., Mamot, P., Keuschnig, M., and Krautblatter, M.: Using combined quantitative geophysical methods to delimit physical properties of low porosity permafrost bedrocks , EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-12546, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-12546, 2022.

Permafrost is perennially frozen ground, such as soil, rock, and ice. In permafrost regions, plant and microbial life persists primarily in the near-surface soil that thaws every summer, called the ‘active layer’. The cold and wet conditions in many permafrost regions limit decomposition of organic matter. In combination with soil mixing processes...

Remote sensing for natural hazard assessment and applications offers data on even vast areas, often difficult and dangerous to access. Today, satellite data providers such as PlanetLabs Inc. and the European Copernicus program provide a sub-weekly acquisition frequency of high resolution multispectral imagery. The availability of this high temporal...

Radioactive waste and the legacies of uranium mining combined with massive landslides pose tremendous risks to vast areas of Kyrgyzstan and their inhabitants. These risks comprise the potential destruction of radioactive legacies and thus, the mobilisation of radioactive material through streams and rivers into intensively cultivated agricultural a...

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...

en Based on mining experience and historical conventional construction processes a new type of construction has evolved – the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). NATM changed the view on the rock mass surrounding the tunnel from the forcing to the load‐carrying component. NATM is a proven methodology for conventional tunnelling applied worldwide...

Over the last few decades, pronounced changes of mountain environments during exceptionally warm summers have raised strong awareness towards changing cryospheric conditions in high mountain areas. Alpine regions are considered particularly sensitive to climate change, observations as well as projections report a significantly higher temperature ri...

Glaciated mountains are zones of high sediment dynamics and at the same time very sensitive to climate change. In times of increased summer temperatures and high melt rates have been related to observed increase in sediment dynamics at various locations. However, this response seems to be highly variable also on regional scales indicating that cont...

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...

With the combination of diverse remote sensing data, one can estimate the detection capabilities of gravitational mass movement dynamics and behaviour. Recent multispectral satellite sensors such as Sentinel-2, RapidEye and PlanetScope offer unprecedented spatiotemporal resolutions, hence reducing data gaps of alpine meteorological constraints. In...

New remote sensing systems offer an increased spatiotemporal resolution and accuracy. These systems increase the chance of snow-and cloud-free multispectral images to detect and monitor landslides for early warning issues. Various studies showed the applicability of multispectral remote sensing systems for landslide detection and monitoring. Howeve...

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...

The aim of this case study was to conduct a participatory approach to socio-economic scenario development in the city of Lienz (East Tyrol) and to suggest this process-oriented approach as an element of an integrated guiding and decision support tool for local resilience and risk management to policy makers, business leaders, and civil society. The...

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...

Since the 19th century, the warming rate in the European Alpine region has been twice as high as the average global rate. Warming-related permafrost degradation has been shown to cause a reduction of bedrock bearing capacities, potentially leading to the destabilization and eventually to the failure of high-alpine infrastructure. The presented stud...

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....

Swarm technology represents a breakthrough in the creation of 3D models using drone-based photogrammetry. The traditional single-drone approach for modelling of large areas(area >5 km²) or spatially complex objects (e.g., buildings, infrastructures) requires long flight times and is frequently associated with variable light-and meteorological condi...

Warming rate in the European Alps is twice the average global rate since the 19th century. Warming-related permafrost degradation is closely linked to changes in mechanical system behavior of rock slopes in high alpine regions. These affect slope stability itself as well as structures built on permafrost-affected bedrock in a potentially stabilit...

Glacier melt is the most apparent consequence of temperature rise in the 20th and 21st century in the European Alps. The space released by the disappearing ice is frequently filled by new glacial lakes that form in the highest parts of the mountains. In Austria, more than 260 new lakes have formed in glacier forefields since the Little Ice Age. The...

In the contribution a new drone based deformation monitoring system is presented that is currently developed by Geodata Group, 3GSM GmbH and Georesearch Forschungsgesellschaft mbH in the funded EUREKA research project Defdrone_3D and practically tested at the recently started Austrian tunnel project Zentrum am Berg (ZaB). The system is designed for...

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...

Glacial lakes constitute a substantial part of the legacy of vanishing mountain glaciation and act as water storage, sediment traps and sources of both natural hazards and leisure activities. For these reasons, they receive growing attention by scientists and society. However, while the evolution of glacial lakes has been studied intensively over t...

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...

An increase of debris-cover on glaciers can be observed at many degrading glaciers in mountain environments. Incremented debris input to glaciers is a result of changing temperature regimes in the surrounding rockfaces leading to rise in sediment production and rockfall activity. Debris cover is thus another indicator of climate change impacts on m...

Glacier melt is one of the most striking consequences of temperature rise in the 20th and 21st centuries in the European Alps. The space released by the disappearing ice is frequently filled by new glacial lakes. Glacial lakes have substantial environmental and socioeconomic impact on high mountain systems including water resource management, sedim...

- 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...

Impacts on structures are exemplarily shown on the Kitzsteinhorn summit station by using a numerical Distinct-Element-Model. Necessary parameters for the model are derived from measured data or estimation based on geological investigations. Different scenarios are created using varying datasets with a focus on those including permafrost affected pa...

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...

High-alpine environments have been demonstrated to react particularly sensitive to recent climate warming. While the thermal response of mountain permafrost to atmospheric warming is usually lagged and attenuated, it is still widely expected to create major engineering problems for high-alpine infrastructures in the foreseeable future. Degradation...

Protective structures against natural hazards such as rockfall or avalanches are essential for safe infrastructure operation in alpine regions. In order to preserve its protection function, protective structures have to be constantly monitored and inspected, frequently under extreme environmental conditions. Advanced unmanned aerial systems (UAS) a...

- 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...

Glacier retreat is one of the most apparent consequences of temperature rise in the 20th and 21th centuries in the European Alps. In Austria, more than 240 new lakes have formed in glacier forefields since the Little Ice Age. A similar signal is reported from many mountain areas worldwide. Glacial lakes can constitute important environmental and so...

Climate change strongly affects alpine landscapes. Cold-climate processes shape the terrain in a typical way and ice-free overdeepenings in cirques and glacial valleys as well as different types of moraines favor the formation of lakes. These water bodies act as sediment sinks and high-alpine water storage but may also favor outburst and flooding e...

Degradation of permafrost in alpine regions causes massive changes in the bearing capacity of buildings’ subsoil in high alpine region. Impacts on structures are exemplarily shown on the Kitzsteinhorn summit station by using a numerical discontinuum-mechanical rock-ice model (Krautblatter et al. 2013). A special focus is placed on geological and st...

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. Thus, developing methods to provide information on thermal and hydrostatic subsurface properties is essential, es...

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...

In times of climatic change, debris flow events from potential periglacial environments are of special interest for engineering hazard assessment. In this contribution, we document and analyze a large debris flow event occurring on July 31 st , 2014, in the Obersulzbach-valley, Sbg. The event originated after heavy rainfall from a cirque valley in...

Zusammenfassung: Der Siedlungsraum im Bereich der Sulzau im Gemeindegebiet von Neukirchen am Großvene-diger war seit jeher von der regen Wildbachtätigkeit des Obersulzbaches geprägt. Die leidvol-len Erfahrungen waren auch dafür ausschlaggebend, dass bereits vor über 100 Jahren mit der Umsetzung erster Schutzmaßnahmen begonnen wurde. Durch dieVerbau...

Das Kitzsteinhornmassiv liegt am Nordrand der Hohen Tauern in den österreichischen Zentralalpen. Die dort weit verbreiteten Kalkglimmerschiefer des Penninikums weisen einen variablen Verkarstungsgrad auf und im Gletschervorfeld des Schmiedinger Keeses hat sich in diesen Gesteinen eine hochalpine Karstlandschaft entwickelt. Mehrere z.T. hunderte Met...