Completed projects

Funding:

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC [2006-2010]

GIUZ PI:

C. Huggel

Project PIs:

GIUZ Staff

I. Ammann

Keywords:

Landslides, ice-volcano hazards, early warning systems, disaster risk reduction

links

Research database

Geographic focus:

Cordillera Central, Colombia

Colombia is notoriously affected by floods and landslides due to intense rainfall. Additionally, major hazards exist from ice-capped volcanoes, such as lahars. The project designs and implements a flood, landslide and lahar early warning system in the Combeima region of the Central Cordillera. The project includes a technical, institutional and social part, and collaborations of a number of national and regional institutions in Colombia, including the national, regional and local prevention and emergency agencies, INGEOMINAS, IDEAM, the Red Cross and the Civil Defense as well as the University of Tolima.

Funding:

European Commision, FP7 [2009-2012]

GIUZ PI:

C. Huggel

Project PIs:

GIUZ Staff

H. Frey, R. Worni, C. Huggel

Keywords:

Climate change, glacier retreat, water resources, glacier lake outburst floods, adaptation

links

Research database

Geographic focus:

Indian Himalaya

The HighNoon project aims to assess the impact of Himalayan glaciers retreat and possible changes of the Indian summer monsoon on the spatial and temporal distribution of water resources in Northern India. The project further aims to provide recommendations for appropriate and efficient adaptation strategies to hydrological extreme events through a participatory process. The component at the University of Zurich concentrates on extremes, ie, mainly on glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in close collaboration with the Universities of Geneva and Bern (M. Stoffel).

Funding:

SNF [2010-2011]

GIUZ PI:

W. Haeberli

Project PIs:

GIUZ Staff

C. Huggel, M. Künzler, Y. Schaub

Keywords:

glaciers, lakes, climate change, natural hazards, tourism, hydropower, high mountains

links:

Research database
Project website

Geographic focus:

Entire Swiss Alps

New lakes forming as a consequence of anticipated atmospheric warming and glacier vanishing scenarios are modeled and assessed with respect to aspects of natural hazards, hydropower production, tourism, landscape protection and related legal questions.

Funding:

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC [2008-2011]

GIUZ PI:

C. Huggel, N. Salzmann

Project PIs:

GIUZ Staff

N. Salzmann, C. Huggel, C. Jurt, M. Scheel

Keywords:

Climate change, water resources, disaster, food security, adaptation, scientific baseline, Peru, Andes

links

Research database

Geographic focus:

Peru

The PACC project is a pilot project in climate change adaptation in the Andes of Peru. Thematically, the focus lies on water resources, disaster risk reduction and food security. The project is implemented by a consortium led by an NGO (Intercooperation). A scientific collaboration between several Peruvian and Swiss research institutions provides the scientific and technical basis for the adaptation measures. The Swiss Scientific Consortium is led by the University of Zurich and includes MeteoSwiss, Meteodat, WSL-SLF, Agroscope ART and the University of Geneva.

Funding:

Swiss National Science Foundation [2008-2010]

GIUZ PI:

W. Haeberli, C. Huggel

Project PIs:

GIUZ Staff

D. Schneider

Keywords:

Rock-ice avalanches, high mountains, long-runout, natural hazards, rotating drum experiments, avalanche seismicity, avalanche dynamics

links

Research database

Geographic focus:

High-mountain regions worldwide

During the last decades, several rock-ice avalanche events have shown their disastrous potential if they occur close to populated regions. In terms of the ongoing climate change and the supposed intensification of mass movement processes in mountainous regions, the question of the possible consequences of a large rock-ice avalanche close to populated areas as in the European Alps raises. The study consists of 3 main components: (1) numerical modelling of large rock-ice avalanches, (2) physical modelling of rock-ice mixtures in a vertically rotating drum in Vienna and Berkeley, and (3) event documentation of the most important large rock-ice avalanches around the world. The goal is to draw a coherent picture of the dynamic characteristics of such events and to quantify the effect of ice on the friction and hence on the runout distance.

Funding:

FOCUS, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation [2009-2010]

GIUZ PI:

D. Schneider, C. Huggel

Project PIs:

GIUZ Staff

D. Schneider, R. Worni, C. Huggel

Keywords:

Glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF), debris flows, remote geohazards, numerical modelling, FLO-2D, RAMMS

links

Research database

Geographic focus:

Tajikistan

In 2002 a glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) caused several deaths and severe damage of the village of Dasht in the Shakhdara Valley. The TajHaz project - which is led by the Institute of Applied Geology at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna - aims to assess the hazard potential for GLOFs within most high mountain areas of Tajikistan. In a first step, lakes which are prone for outbursts were detected by satellite imagery and within a local helicopter survey. The stability of the dams and local characteristics of selected lakes were assessed in the field. The next step included scenario building for lake outburst floods and numerical modelling of possible flood waves and debris flows. The results should help to constrain populated or cultivated areas which can possibly be affected by remote geohazards and to estimate the arrival times of the flow front. An important aim of the project is also on capacity building and knowledge transfer to the local authorities.