Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-156
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-156
02 May 2022
 | 02 May 2022

Brief Communication: An Autonomous UAV for Catchment-Wide Monitoring of a Debris Flow Torrent

Fabian Walter, Elias Hodel, Erik Mannerfelt, Nicolas Ackermann, Kristen Cook, Michael Dietze, Livia Estermann, Daniel Farinotti, Martin Fengler, Lukas Hammerschmidt, Flavia Hänsli, Jacob Hirschberg, Brian McArdell, and Peter Molnar

Abstract. Debris flows threaten communities in mountain regions worldwide. Combining modern photogrammetric processing with autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flights at sub-weekly intervals allows mapping of sediment dynamics in a debris flow catchment. This provides important information for sediment disposition that pre-conditions the catchment for debris flow occurrence. At the Illgraben debris-flow catchment in Switzerland, our autonomous UAV launched nearly 50 times in the snow-free periods in 2019–2021 with typical flight intervals of 2–4 days, producing 350–400 images every flight. The observed terrain-changes resulting from debris flows exhibit preferred locations of erosion and deposition, including memory effects as previously deposited material is preferentially removed during subsequent debris flows. Such data are critical for the validation of geomorphological process models. Given the remote terrain, the mapped short-term erosion and deposition structures are difficult to obtain with conventional measurements. The proposed method thus fills an observational gap, which ground-based monitoring and satellite based remote sensing cannot fill as a result of limited access, reaction time, spatial resolution, or involved costs.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

16 Dec 2022
Brief communication: An autonomous UAV for catchment-wide monitoring of a debris flow torrent
Fabian Walter, Elias Hodel, Erik S. Mannerfelt, Kristen Cook, Michael Dietze, Livia Estermann, Michaela Wenner, Daniel Farinotti, Martin Fengler, Lukas Hammerschmidt, Flavia Hänsli, Jacob Hirschberg, Brian McArdell, and Peter Molnar
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4011–4018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4011-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4011-2022, 2022
Short summary
Fabian Walter, Elias Hodel, Erik Mannerfelt, Nicolas Ackermann, Kristen Cook, Michael Dietze, Livia Estermann, Daniel Farinotti, Martin Fengler, Lukas Hammerschmidt, Flavia Hänsli, Jacob Hirschberg, Brian McArdell, and Peter Molnar

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-156', Marcel Hürlimann, 12 May 2022
  • CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-156', Alexander Raphael Groos, 02 Jul 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-156', Velio Coviello, 07 Jul 2022

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-156', Marcel Hürlimann, 12 May 2022
  • CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-156', Alexander Raphael Groos, 02 Jul 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-156', Velio Coviello, 07 Jul 2022

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (08 Sep 2022) by Paolo Tarolli
AR by Fabian Walter on behalf of the Authors (18 Oct 2022)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (01 Nov 2022) by Paolo Tarolli
AR by Fabian Walter on behalf of the Authors (02 Nov 2022)  Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

16 Dec 2022
Brief communication: An autonomous UAV for catchment-wide monitoring of a debris flow torrent
Fabian Walter, Elias Hodel, Erik S. Mannerfelt, Kristen Cook, Michael Dietze, Livia Estermann, Michaela Wenner, Daniel Farinotti, Martin Fengler, Lukas Hammerschmidt, Flavia Hänsli, Jacob Hirschberg, Brian McArdell, and Peter Molnar
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4011–4018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4011-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4011-2022, 2022
Short summary
Fabian Walter, Elias Hodel, Erik Mannerfelt, Nicolas Ackermann, Kristen Cook, Michael Dietze, Livia Estermann, Daniel Farinotti, Martin Fengler, Lukas Hammerschmidt, Flavia Hänsli, Jacob Hirschberg, Brian McArdell, and Peter Molnar
Fabian Walter, Elias Hodel, Erik Mannerfelt, Nicolas Ackermann, Kristen Cook, Michael Dietze, Livia Estermann, Daniel Farinotti, Martin Fengler, Lukas Hammerschmidt, Flavia Hänsli, Jacob Hirschberg, Brian McArdell, and Peter Molnar

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Latest update: 06 Sep 2024
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Short summary
Debris flows are dangerous sediment-water mixtures in steep terrain. Their formation takes place in poorly accessible terrain, where instrumentation cannot be installed. Here we propose to monitor such source terrain with an autonomous drone for mapping sediments, which were left behind by debris flows or may contribute to future events. Short flight intervals elucidate changes of such sediments providing important information for landscape evolution and the likelihood of future debris flows.