Mountains are not silent. They vibrate, creak and shift. And now, algorithms are learning to listen to them. Swiss researchers are experimenting with artificial intelligence to analyse seismic signals and detect avalanches at an early stage, with the goal of preventing accidents. Avalanche risk is currently at its highest level in different parts of Switzerland. Fresh snow is gathering on weak, “sugary” layers within the snowpack which previously formed during long periods of cold, dry weather. Strong winds create uneven snowdrifts, and additional snowfall – or the weight of a single skier – can cause a fracture and trigger the collapse of entire parts of the mountain. This process does not happen silently. “When an avalanche is in motion, it produces sound waves and ground vibrations with specific time-frequency characteristics,” says Cristina Pérez, a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). In the past, the methods designed to ...
