Project History
The main objective of the PermaSense project is to build and customize a set of wireless measurement units for use in remote areas with harsh environmental conditions. The second goal is the gathering of environmental data that helps to understand the processes that connect climate change and rock fall in permafrost areas. To this end, two sensor fields will be deployed an operated in the Swiss Alps over several years.
Wireless sensors enable to monitor large and remote permafrost areas with spatially and temporally distributed measurements, leading to better predictions on the consequences of global warming for alpine regions.
Beyond helping the modelling of permafrost processes, this research is also applicable to natural hazard surveillance. Currently, there is lack of easy to deploy geo-monitoring systems that are low-cost, cheap in maintenance, and easily reconfigurable when deployed. With better wireless sensor solutions, larger hazard areas can be permanently monitored and linked to warning system that help to protect human lives.
The consequences of global warming due to permafrost degradation cannot be predicted yet in an appropriate manner. Furthermore, there is an urgent need for continuous environmental monitoring at various time scales. Finally, there is still a lack of cheap and easy to deploy stand-alone monitoring and warning systems.
Where does the project stand now? The project has begun in 2006 with the first prototypes deployed and field experience gathered in the summer of 2006. Successively a second deployment site has been set up on the Matterhorn and a second generation wireless system has been deployed to both sides. From mid summer 2008 the PermaSense project has been actively collecting data, the interpretation of which is currently ongoing.
PermaSense Introductory Material
A general presentation on PermaSense is available here: