Huggel, C., Cochachin, A., Drenkhan, F., Fluixá-Sanmartín, J., Frey, H., García Hernández, J., Jurt, C., Muñoz, R., Price, K., & Vicuña, L. (2020). Glacier Lake 513, Peru : Lessons for early warning service development. WMO Bulletin, 69(1), 45‑52. Glacier shrinkage – accelerated over the last decades due to climate change – is exposing large areas in mountain regions worldwide. But an even dire consequence of the melting ice is the forming of more glacier lakes, which are… Read More

Guerin, A., Jaboyedoff, M., Collins, B. D., Stock, G. M., Derron, M.-H., Abellán, A., & Matasci, B. (2020). Remote thermal detection of exfoliation sheet deformation. Landslides. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01524-1 A growing body of research indicates that rock slope failures, particularly from exfoliating cliffs, are promoted by rock deformations induced by daily temperature cycles. Although previous research has described how these deformations occur, full three-dimensional monitoring of both the deformations and the associated temperature changes has not yet… Read More

Sonney, R., Ornstein, P., Mage, R., & Sartori, M. (2020). Géothermoval II. Potentiel géothermique des conduits à perméabilité élevée à la base de la vallée du Rhône. 6, 7. Le Valais est le canton suisse ayant la plus forte densité de résurgences hydrothermales naturelles en surface (N = 10). Cette densité pourrait être encore plus importante si l’on tient compte des remontées hydrothermales sises à la base du remplissage quaternaire de la vallée du Rhône… Read More

Arnoux, M., Halloran, L. J. S., Berdat, E., & Hunkeler, D. (2020). Characterizing seasonal groundwater storage in alpine catchments using time‐lapse gravimetry, water stable isotopes and water balance methods. Hydrological Processes, 34(22), 4319‑4333. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13884 Alpine areas play a major role in water supply in downstream valleys by releasing water during warm and dry periods. However, the hydrogeology of alpine catchments, which are particularly exposed to the effects of climate change, is currently not well understood…. Read More

Foehn, A., Schwob, A., Pasetto, D., García Hernández, J., & De Cesare, G. (2020). Application of an Ensemble Kalman Filter to A Semi-distributed Hydrological Flood Forecasting System in Alpine Catchments. In P. Gourbesville & G. Caignaert (Éds.), Advances in Hydroinformatics (p. 319‑334). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5436-0_24 One of the key success factors for hydrological forecasts is initial conditions that represent well the conditions of the simulated basin at the beginning of the forecast. Real-time Data Assimilation (DA) has… Read More

Fluixá-Sanmartín, J., Escuder-Bueno, I., Morales-Torres, A., & Castillo-Rodríguez, J. T. (2020). Comprehensive decision-making approach for managing time dependent dam risks. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 203, 107100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2020.107100 Dams are critical infrastructures whose safety must be properly managed. Traditional decision-making approaches often assume the stationarity of factors defining risk. However, dam risk is susceptible to evolve with time. Risk can no longer be considered a static but a time-dependent concept which cumulative value must be… Read More

Blanch, X., Abellan, A., & Guinau, M. (2020). Point Cloud Stacking : A Workflow to Enhance 3D Monitoring Capabilities Using Time-Lapse Cameras. Remote Sensing, 12(8), 1240. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12081240 The emerging use of photogrammetric point clouds in three-dimensional (3D) monitoring processes has revealed some constraints with respect to the use of LiDAR point clouds. Oftentimes, point clouds (PC) obtained by time-lapse photogrammetry have lower density and precision, especially when Ground Control Points (GCPs) are not available or the camera… Read More

Foehn, A., García Hernández, J., De Cesare, G., Rinaldo, A., Schaefli, B., & Schleiss, A. J. (2020, septembre). Estimation spatiale des précipitations et assimilation de données de débit pour la prévision hydrologique en milieu alpin. Wasser Energie Luft. L’étude présentée propose des solutions à certains défis rencontrés dans le cadre du système de prévision et de gestion des crues MINERVE du Canton du Valais, opérationnel depuis 2013. Le premier axe de recherche est dédié… Read More

Michel, A., Brauchli, T., Lehning, M., Schaefli, B., & Huwald, H. (2020). Stream temperature and discharge evolution in Switzerland over the last 50 years : Annual and seasonal behaviour. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 24(1), 115‑142. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-115-2020 Stream temperature and discharge are key hydrological variables for ecosystem and water resource management and are particularly sensitive to climate warming. Despite the wealth of meteorological and hydrological data, few studies have quantified observed stream temperature trends in the Alps…. Read More

Foehn, A. T. (2019). Radar-rain gauge merging and discharge data assimilation for flood forecasting in Alpine catchments. Thèse N° 9777. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne. 214. https://doi.org/10.5075/epfl-thesis-9777 Floods are responsible for one third of the economic losses induced by natural hazards throughout the world. To better protect the population and infrastructures, flood forecasting systems make us of weather forecasts to foresee floods several days in advance, providing more lead time for preventive measures. In the… Read More