The conference gathers stakeholders, scientists and snow professionals from all around the world to address and discuss the ongoing discourses within the snow community.

NORSAR will present our innovative solution for avalanche monitoring based on fiber optic sensing. Our CEO Anne, Head of Solutions Arve and senior researcher Guro will be present with a stand, and Guro will give a presentation about Automated avalanche monitoring, detection and classification system powered by distributed acoustic sensing.

Fiber optic sensing is a new technology that can be utilized to monitor and detect avalanches hitting the road as well as vehicles in the same area. Simultaneous monitoring of traffic and avalanches is invaluable for search and rescue operations, and by closing the road in time, one can prevent further traffic from entering the danger zone.

During the winter 2022/2023, a pilot system was installed in Holmbuktura, southeast of Tromsø. Furthermore, automatic detection algorithms can identify vehicles and categorize them by type, velocity, and direction, all without the need for images to ensure privacy compliance. This data, coupled with accurate avalanche detection, enhances road safety and aids search and rescue efforts, particularly in sparsely populated areas. 

Avalanches pose significant safety challenges both in Norway and in other parts of the world. The need for an advanced avalanche warning system is evident, particularly in regions such as Troms and Finnmark, who have approximately 200 avalanche points on county roads alone. Nationwide, there are around 1,500 avalanche points, half of them with adjacent avalanche zones. The economic burden of physically protecting all avalanche-prone locations is estimated to be NOK 70 billion. The introduction of a fiber-optic avalanche warning system emerges as a life-saving and cost-effective solution.