Avalanche Risk and Forecasting using small, uncrewed Aircraft Systems

The study objectives include the development of a small, uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS)-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system to assess avalanche risk and forecasting. The difference between this research and R219.03 - UASnow is that the research team will take advantage of prior University of Southern California (USC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assets and investments. This particular research will advance the team's previous design to provide data that can be used to assess avalanche risk in real-time using a platform, which will provide a low-cost, rapid, and high-resolution tool for field assessments of snow properties that may be indicative of avalanche risk. The purpose is to provide a platform where real-time decisions can be made to implement corrective measures after an avalanche-prone area has been identified. The integration of a Radio Frequency System on a Chip (RFSoC) will allow for faster sUAS flights, radar processing, and communications to the ground control system. Other platforms such as lidar-based sUAS will be collocated to validate the SD GPR data and conventional ground-based snowpack observations. Flights and field data collection will be conducted at an avalanche risk area along the U.S. 550 Mountain Corridor and specifically in the area of Coal Bank or Molas Pass. sUAS and ground-based snowpack data (snow cores, snow pits, and snow probes) will be collected to validate the lidar and SD GPR returns; however, extreme care will be taken when entering avalanche prone areas. Lidar flights will be conducted during snow-on and snow-off periods to map bare-earth elevations and spatial variations in snow depths derived from difference maps. The study objectives include the following: Top of snow; Bare earth; Snow depth; Bare earth, aspect and slope and snow surface slope (lidar derived); Spatial distribution of snowpack properties; Snow grain type at the surface (assuming a nominal 1mm diameter for snow grains, achieving this objective can only be assessed after the radar returns are processed); Layering in the snowpack; Snow-density profile; and Snow-water equivalent (SWE).

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $221000
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Colorado Department of Transportation

  Applied Research and Innovation Branch
  Denver, CO  United States  80204
• Managing Organizations:

  Colorado Department of Transportation

  Applied Research and Innovation Branch
  Denver, CO  United States  80204
• Project Managers:

  Tran, Thien

• Performing Organizations:

  United States Geological Survey

  P.O. Box 6200-27
  Portland, OR  United States  97228-6200
• Start Date: 20230823
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Avalanches; Drones; Forecasting; Ground penetrating radar; Laser radar; Real time information; Risk assessment
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01930282
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Colorado Department of Transportation
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 16 2024 8:40AM