Case study by SPH Engineering · Ground Penetrating Radar · Avalanche risk
Drone GPR reveals how much alpine snowpack varies
Avalanche forecasts depend on knowing the snowpack, but point measurements miss how much it changes over short distances. GEORESEARCH flew a Zond Aero 1000 GPR on a drone at Stubai Glacier, Austria, and matched probe measurements closely.
The challenge
Avalanche risk assessment relies on weather forecasts, field observations and snow pits. These give useful but scattered points, so they miss the variation in the snowpack between them. Pits and probing are also slow, tiring and open to human error. With snowfall patterns changing, more frequent and precise measurements are needed.
The solution
GEORESEARCH, a non-profit research institute in Austria, used SPH Engineering's Zond Aero 1000 "NG" GPR integrated system on a drone. Flying the radar gave fast data collection and wide coverage over alpine terrain, cutting survey time.
The results
- Within an area of just 0.07 km², snow depth ranged from less than 1 m to more than 4 m.
- Drone GPR depths agreed closely with probe measurements: R² = 0.93, r = 0.97.
- Radargrams showed the internal layers of the snowpack.
SPH Engineering notes that the method uses readily available drones, so it can scale to other snowpack studies. It also sees avalanche work as one of several snow and ice uses for drone GPR, alongside glacier ice thickness, permafrost and lake ice.
Where this applies in India
- snow depth mapping for avalanche research and forecasting teams;
- snowpack surveys on slopes above mountain roads and settlements;
- snow and glacier studies at universities and research institutes;
- snow data for water and hydropower planning in mountain catchments.
SPH Engineering's GPR training is also available through HobiTech.
The equipment, available from HobiTech
| Ground penetrating radar | RadSys Zond Aero 1000 "NG" |
| Onboard computer | Not named in the case study. We supply SPH Engineering drone GPR systems with SkyHub by SPH Engineering and the SkyHub GPR software. |
| Drone | The drone model is not named in the case study. Ask us for current compatible drones. |
Case study by SPH Engineering, published May 2025. This page summarises it in our own words; the research was carried out by GEORESEARCH, not by HobiTech. Read the original case study on SPH Engineering ↗
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