AI provides debris flow warnings

A debris flow at the lower section of Illgraben. (Photograph: WSL) - When it comes to debris avalanches and mudslides, there is usually very little warning. Using seismic monitoring and machine learning, researchers from ETH Zurich and WSL have developed an alarm system that can provide early warning of debris flows at Illgraben. Debris flows are a mixture of boulders, sediments and water. They often occur during heavy precipitation events in steep alpine terrain and plow through gorges and mountain streams towards the valley in an uncontrolled fashion. In Switzerland alone, there are several hundred occurrences every year. Climate change facilitates this natural phenomenon as permafrost is becoming increasingly unstable and extreme weather events are on the rise.