Martin Rutzinger

University of Innsbruck | UIBK · Institute of Geography

Changes are taking place in mountain regions due to global warming, drought, heavy precipitation and intensive land use. Research into changes on a detailed scale is possible thanks to the development of automated near and remote sensing techniques. However, data acquisition, validation and analysis are a major challenge in these areas. The 5th edi...

Besides environmental sorting, other processes like biotic interactions and dispersal limitation are vital for the assembly of plant communities in high mountains and their re‐assembly under changing climatic conditions. Nevertheless, studies that compare the impact of these factors on plant community assembly above the tree line are largely lackin...

For the development of accurate shallow landslide (translational debris and earth slides with a depth < 2 m) susceptibility assessments and further hazard or risk analyses, it is essential that complete and accurate landslide inventory data is available. Various methods are applied for the construction of shallow landslide inventories. However, it...

Shallow landslide initiation typically results from an interplay of dynamic triggering and preparatory conditions along with static predisposition factors. While data-driven methods for assessing landslide susceptibility or for establishing rainfall-triggering thresholds are prevalent, integrating spatio-temporal information for dynamic large-area...

The development of better, more reliable and more efficient susceptibility assessments for shallow landslides is becoming increasingly important. Physically based models are well‐suited for this, due to their high predictive capability. However, their demands for large, high‐resolution and detailed input datasets make them very time‐consuming and c...

Time series (TS) analysis has always been an important topic in Remote Sensing (RS). Open access to archives of Earth Observation missions, periodically acquired nation-wide aerial imagery and LiDAR point clouds, and various research datasets, together with open tools for TS data processing, have brought new possibilities in RS research but also ch...

Complex topography regulates near‐surface temperature above the treeline. It may thus sustain microrefugia for alpine plants and relax the need of shifting upward when the climate warms. The effectiveness of these microrefugia rests on the premise that plant distributions in alpine landscapes are mainly controlled by fine‐scale topographic variatio...

The international summer school Sensing Mountains, which was held for the first time in 2015 in Obergurgl (Austria), is a biannual event for early career scientists bringing together international researchers from Geosciences, Biosciences and Engineering for mapping and analysing of geospatial data in mountain environments. The summer school takes...

Large-scale landslides and secondary processes threaten human lives and infrastructure. Detecting, monitoring and understanding Alpine mass movements lay the foundation for the establishment of early warning systems and construction of protective structures. Challenges of point cloud based change quantification (e.g., with M3C2) arise when point cl...

Active deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) and interlinked secondary processes such as rockfalls and debris flows pose multiple threats to livelihoods in mountain regions. A currently active part (~0.35 km 2) of the Reissenschuh DSGSD (Schmirn valley, Tyrol, Austria) shows considerable displacement rates of about 1 m per year. Thi...

Most shallow landslides are triggered by prolonged or short intense precipitation events. In dynamic physically-based model approaches for landslide susceptibility assessment, the input precipitation data is often derived from a single or a small number of rain gauges. However, precipitation patterns show a high variance in their spatial distributi...

Shallow landslides are frequently occurring hazards in mountainous landscapes all over the world. These processes are caused by a combination of static (i.e., predisposing factors: topography, material properties) and dynamic controls (i.e., preparatory and triggering factors: heavy rainfall, snow-melt). Data-driven methods have been used to model...

A permanently installed terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) helps to investigate surface changes at high spatio-temporal resolution. Previous studies show that the annual and seasonal glacier volume, and subsequently the mass balance, can be measured by TLSs. This study systematically identifies and quantifies uncertainties and their sources of the per...

Perennial ice deposits in caves are an underexplored component of the cryosphere preserving a largely untapped archive of long‐term changes in landscape and climate whose existence is threatened by climate change. This study demonstrates how terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) can be used to fully and accurately (registration accuracy < 1 cm standard...

Large-scale slope deformations affect mountainous regions around the world and can have severe impacts on infrastructure and livelihoods of exposed communities. The research object of this study is a deepseated gravitational slope deformation (DSGSD) located in the Schmirn valley (Tyrol, Austria). Overall aim is to assess and investigate landslide...

Landslides of the slide-type movement represent a potential threat to people and infrastructure in mountain areas all over the world. At regional scales, data-driven models are typically used to assess landslide susceptibility, i.e., to map where landslides are more or less likely to occur. Such assessments frequently serve as basic input for lands...

Sensing mountains by close-range and remote techniques is a challenging task. The 4th edition of the international Innsbruck Summer School of Alpine Research 2022 – Close-range Sensing Techniques in Alpine Terrain brings together early career and experienced scientists from technical-, geo- and environmental-related research fields. The interdiscip...

Continuous and slow-moving deep-seated landslides entail challenges for the effective planning of mitigation strategies aiming at the reduction of landslide movements. Given that the activity of most of these landslides is governed by pore pressure variations within the shear zone, profound knowledge about their hydrogeological control is required....

Point clouds derived from UAV-borne laser scanning and UAV-borne photogrammetry provide new opportunities for 3D topographic monitoring in geographic research. The airborne acquisition strategy overcomes common challenges of ground-based techniques, such as limited spatial coverage or heterogeneous measurement distribution, and allows flexible repe...

Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) pose serious threats to buildings and infrastructure in mountain regions. The understanding of past movement behavior are essential requirements for enhancing process knowledge and potential mitigation measures. In this context historical aerial imagery provides a unique possibility to assess an...

We analyse surface change by using ULS and DIM point clouds of 2019 and 2021 as input for two state-of-the-art methods for pairwise surface change analysis: (1) The Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Comparison (M3C2) algorithm and (2) a recent M3C2-based approach (CD-PB M3C2) using plane correspondences to reduce the uncertainty of quantified change....

Vegetation cover and plant species distribution in high mountain regions strongly depend on climatic, topographic, and geomorphic conditions, which often vary at small spatial scales. This contribution presents a concept and first results for producing high-resolution maps of soil and surface temperature, snow cover and geomorphic disturbance. Thes...

Disturbance by geomorphic processes is a key factor for current and potential plant species distributions in high mountain regions. We implemented and tested an approach for the detection, quantification, and geomorphological classification of 3D topographic change using airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. This approach is applied to two point clou...

Land Surface Temperature (LST) products from thermal infrared imaging rely on information about the spatial distribution of Land Surface Emissivity (LSE). For portable, broadband thermal cameras for drone- or ground-based measurements with camera to object distances up to a few kilometres and with meter-scale resolution, threshold-based retrieval o...

The stability of the permanently installed terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) in a high mountain environment at Hintereisferner glacier, O¨ tztal Alps, Austria, is tested. From previous studies it is already known that the uncertainty of the permanent setup results from scanning geometry, atmospheric conditions and instrumental limitations. This study...

A permanent long-range terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) system is installed at Hintereisferner, Ötztal Alps, Austria to validate snow cover dynamics such as simulated by high-resolution atmospheric models. Snow cover dynamics include several processes such as snow fall, compaction, metamorphism, snow redistribution by wind, avalanches and melt man...

Landscape evolution underlies geological, geomorphological and hydrological processes organized in cascades and in a net of interlinked dynamics and sediment transport systems. In the case of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) the mass movement as primary process can trigger a couple of secondary processes such as rock falls at t...

Continuous and slow-moving deep-seated landslides entail challenges for the effective planning of mitigation strategies aiming at the reduction of landslide movements. Given that the activity of most of these landslides is governed by pore pressure variations within the shear zone, profound knowledge about their hydrogeological control is required....

The analysis and interpretation of 3D topographic change requires methods that achieve low uncertainties in change quantification. Many recent geoscientific studies that perform point cloud-based topographic change analysis have used the Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Comparison (M3C2) algorithm to consider the associated uncertainty. Change measu...

Earth observation time series are well suited to monitor global surface dynamics. However, data products that are aimed at assessing large-area dynamics with a high temporal resolution often face various error sources (e.g., retrieval errors, sampling errors) in their acquisition chain. Addressing uncertainties in a spatiotemporal consistent manner...

Fernerkundungsdaten finden in zahlreichen Forschungsfeldern der Geographie Verwendung. In den letzten Jahrzehnten sind für den gesamten Globus flächendeckende zeiträumliche Datenarchive in unterschiedlichen Maßstäben entstanden, die ein digitales Labor darstellen und verschiedenste, auch in der Zeit zurückblickende Analysen, ermöglichen. Der Ableit...

Purpose This paper aims to discuss research ethics in mixed-methods research (MMR) and MMR development with a focus on ethical challenges that stem from working with technical instruments such as mobile eye-trackers. Design/methodology/approach The case of an interdisciplinary mixed-methods development study that aimed at researching the impacts o...

Fresh water is a vital natural resource. Earth observation time-series are well suited to monitor corresponding surface dynamics. The DLR-DFD Global WaterPack (GWP) provides daily information on globally distributed inland surface water based on MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images at 250 m spatial resolution. Operating on t...

The increasing global driver of digitalization in both research and scientific education demands for new initiatives developing and offering of online teaching and e-learning content in various geographic domains. Pan-European collaborations make it possible to connect minds and build new innovative teaching and learning settings following open edu...

A terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) of the type RIEGL VZ-6000 has been permanently installed and automated at Hintereisferner glacier located in the Ötztal Alps, Austria, to identify snow (re)distribution from surface height changes. A first case study is presented that shows and discusses detected snow distribution at the glacier after a snowfall ev...

New geospatial technologies and ubiquitous sensing allow new insights into people’s spatial practices and experiences of public spaces. These tools offer new data streams for analysis and interpretation of social phenomena. Mobile augmented reality tools such as smartphones and wearables merge the experience of entangled online and offline spaces i...

Chapter 2 describes the principles that guide NBS performance and impact evaluation to support the development of an appropriate, scientifically robust NBS monitoring and evaluation plan. The chapter presents general steps along with advice on how these steps can be tailored to suit a specific NBS context.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) for hydro-meteorological risks (HMRs) reduction and management are becoming increasingly popular, but challenges such as the lack of well-recognised standard methodologies to evaluate their performance and upscale their implementation remain. We systematically evaluate the current state-of-the-art on the models and tool...

Spatio‐temporal variations of precipitation are presumed to influence the displacement rate of slow moving deep‐seated landslides by controlling groundwater recharge, pore‐water pressure and shear strength. Phases of landslide acceleration responding to long lasting rainfall and snowmelt events occur under site‐ and event‐specific time delays. Asse...

To bring to fruition the capability of nature-based solutions (NBS) in mitigating hydro-meteorological risks (HMRs) and facilitate their widespread uptake require a consolidated knowledge-base related to their monitoring methods, efficiency, functioning and the ecosystem services they provide. We attempt to fill this knowledge gap by reviewing and...

In this paper we present a low-cost approach to mapping vegetation cover by means of high-resolution close-range terrestrial photogrammetry. A total of 249 clusters of nine 1 m2 plots each, arranged in a 3 × 3 grid, were set up on 18 summits in Mediterranean mountain regions and in the Alps to capture images for photogrammetric processing and in-si...

The European Alps: peaks, glaciers, ski resorts, Ötzi the iceman, crowded heritage sites, plants conquering high altitudes, abandoned areas, natural disasters—this is how they come across in the media. In everyday usage, the Alps often just mean mountains: on Instagram, #Alpen returns 1.5 million hits, #Berge 2.2 million; of the 7 million entries f...

Fresh water is vital for life on the planet. Satellite remote sensing time-series are well suited to monitor global surface water dynamics. The DLR-DFD Global WaterPack (GWP) provides daily information on inland surface water. However, operating on diurnal- and global spatiotemporal resolution comes with certain drawbacks. As the time-series is pri...

The aim of this document is to critically analyse and document hydro-meteorological hazards, their negative consequences and good practice examples of NBS to manage the associated risks in OPERANDUM OALs. The outcomes of this deliverable serve as a foundation for the various tasks in other WPs of OPERANDUM. For instance, the evidence summarised fro...

AoIR and the Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society (JICES) share common interests in critical reflection on the ethical and social dimensions of the internet and internet-facilitated communication, and have begun a collaboration aimed at collecting ethically-focused AoIR conference submissions for presentation and critique at...

Erosion with the subsequent loss of soil and soil fertility is one of the urgent environmental problems worldwide. On grassland slopes from the montane to the alpine elevation zones of the European Alps, shallow erosion is a widespread and regionally increasing phenomenon. This group of mechanical denudation processes includes shallow landslides an...

Optical satellite imagery with high temporal and spatial resolution, such as acquired by Sentinel-2, is increasingly becoming available and is used to derive maps of tree species. Such mapping products are required in the scope of operational and sustainable forest management. Existing studies that employ Sentinel-2 imagery have already evaluated d...

The 3rd edition of the international summer school “Close-range Sensing Techniques in Alpine terrain” took place in Obergurgl, Austria, in June 2019. This article reports on results from the training and seminar activities and the outcome of student questionnaire survey. Comparison between the recent edition and the past edition in 2017 shows no si...

Unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (ULS) has recently become available for operational mapping and monitoring (e.g. for forestry applications or erosion studies). It combines advantages of terrestrial and airborne laser scanning, but there is still little proof of ULS accuracy. For the detection and monitoring of small-magnitude surfaces change...

Mountain environments are particularly vulnerable to ongoing climatic and environmental changes. Specifically, alpine grasslands are seriously threatened by shallow erosion which has been increasingly detected during the last decades on alpine meadows and pastures. It has been suggested that a high plant species diversity of alpine grassland commun...

This poster was presented on the EGU General Assembly 2020. It refers to the abstract submitted describing high precision hyperspectral UAV investigations to map grassland communities in South-Tyrol, Italy.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are being promoted as adaptive measures against predicted increasing hydrometeorological hazards (HMHs), such as heatwaves and floods which have already caused significant loss of life and economic damage across the globe. However, the underpinning factors such as policy framework, end-users’ interests and participation...

Large-area remote sensing time-series offer unique features for the extensive investigation of our environment. Since various error sources in the acquisition chain of datasets exist, only properly validated results can be of value for research and downstream decision processes. This review presents an overview of validation approaches concerning t...

Change analysis of rock glaciers is crucial to analyzing the adaptation of surface and subsurface processes to changing environmental conditions at different timescales because rock glaciers are considered as potentially unstable slopes and solid water reservoirs. To quantify surface change in complex surface topographies with varying surface orien...

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In complex mountainous terrain the mapping efficiency is a crucial factor. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based laser scanning (ULS) has the capability for efficient mapping, as it allows realizing higher flight velocities, higher flying altitude above ground level (AGL) and larger distances between neighbouring flight strips, compared to image base...

Today point clouds from close-range sensing are used for operational erosion and landslide monitoring. Distances between points from multi-temporal acquisitions can indicate surface deformation, while a designation of the underlying geomorphological processes is often handicapped by complex terrain structures and vegetation. We present an approach...

Slow moving deep-seated gravitational slope deformations are threatening infrastructure and economic wellbeing in mountainous areas. Accelerating landslides may end up in a catastrophic slope failure in terms of rapid rock avalanches. Continuous landslide monitoring enables the identification of critical acceleration thresholds, which are required...

Multi-temporal 3D point clouds acquired with a laser scanner can be efficiently used for an area-wide assessment of landslide-induced surface changes. In the present study, displacements of the Vögelsberg landslide (Tyrol, Austria) are assessed based on available data acquired with airborne laser scanning (ALS) in 2013 and data acquired with an unm...

With this contribution we assess the potential of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based laser scanning for monitoring shallow erosion in Alpine grassland. A 3D point cloud has been acquired by unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (ULS) at a test site in the subalpine/alpine elevation zone of the Dolomites (South Tyrol, Italy). To assess its accurac...

Im Zuge der voranschreitenden Digitalisierung und der damit verbundenen steigenden Verfügbarkeit von digitalen Daten gewinnen geografische Informationssysteme zur Analyse und Verwaltung von Geodaten in vielen technisch-wissenschaftlichen Bereichen, einschließlich der Siedlungswasserwirtschaft, immer mehr an Bedeutung. Rund 90 % der weltweit verfügb...

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission provides synthetic aperture radar (SAR) acquisitions over large areas with high temporal and spatial resolution. This new generation of satellites providing open-data products has enhanced the capabilities for continuously studying Earth surface changes. Over the past two decades, several studies have demonstrated...

Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) endanger settlements and infrastructure in mountain areas all over the world. To prevent disastrous events, their activity needs to be continuously monitored. In this paper, the movement of the Reissenschuh DSGSD in the Schmirn valley (Tyrol, Austria) is quantified based on point clouds acquired...

Recent improvements in topographic LiDAR technology allow the detailed characterization of individual trees at both branch and leaf scale, providing more accurate information to support phenological and ecological research. However, an effective methodology to map single leaves in 3-D is still missing. This letter presents a point cloud segmentatio...

Terrestrial and airborne 3D imaging sensors are well-suited data acquisition systems for the area-wide monitoring of landslide activity. State-of-the-art surveying techniques, such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and photogrammetry based on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery or terrestrial acquisitions have advantages and limitations associa...