WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF

Order now: 9th edition of the SLF leaflet “Caution Avalanches!”, a concise guide to avalanches and prevention. www.slf.ch/en/about-the...

🏅 Imagine receiving a lifetime achievement award without knowing you’d been nominated. That’s what happened to SLF avalanche expert Stefan Margreth, who received an Honorary Fellowship by the American Avalanche Association. Congrats, Stefan 🎉⁠ More: www.slf.ch/en/news/i-di... ⁠📷️ 1: Liz King / 2: SLF

🌊🌡️ The @hyclimm.bsky.social research group at #SLF and @usyseth.bsky.social is looking for a new postdoctoral researcher to join the research project on riverine heatwaves under climate change. More information and application: apply.refline.ch/273855/1903/...

❄️ A first: no snow at Weissfluhjoch For the first time in 90 years of measurements, there was no #snow cover between July and September 2026 at the #SLF research site (2,536 m). After a hot, dry summer and low-snow winter, glacier snow also disappeared up to around 3,500 m. 📹 Timelapse SLF

Last Monday, experts and practitioners gathered at the #SLF for the #CERC workshop on #satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) to share knowledge, discuss methods and new challenges, and explore opportunities for collaboration. Another workshop in German is planned for May 2027.

In the #FloraRaetica project, the #SLF, together with partner organisations and assisted by volunteers, is investigating how #climatechange is affecting #plant diversity in #Graubünden. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/trac... 📷️ J. Bettzieche @christianrixen.bsky.social @ingridjansen.bsky.social

🪨 Using earthquake sensors, a research team led by WSL has reconstructed the #landslide at #Blatten. This is intended to improve analyses and predictions of such #natural hazards: www.wsl.ch/en/news/seis... @ethz.ch

The Hydrology & Climate Impacts in Mountain Regions research group at #SLF and @usyseth.bsky.social is looking for a doctoral student who is interested in working on the impacts of climate and hydrological extremes on water quality. More: jobs.ethz.ch/job/view/JOP... @manuelaibrunner.bsky.social

From 3D printer to #rockavalanche: Researchers from #SLF and #ETH are using an accurate #3D model of the area around #Blatten to investigate what happens when #water, #ice and more thunder down into a valley. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/3d-p... 📹 R. Oester / SLF #CERC

🍁🚣🏼‍♀️Brown trees and dry riverbeds: WSL Director Rolf Holderegger explains in an interview what needs to be done after the summer of 2026. www.wsl.ch/en/news/the-... #Summer2026 #Drought #Heatwave

Jetzt streamen: SRF Einstein-Folge "Klima-Hotspot Alpen – Wandern im Engadin". Mit dabei vom SLF: @slfyvi.bsky.social über alpine Fernerkundungsmethoden am Piz Buin Pitschen und @annekempel.bsky.social über Murmel- und andere Tiere in einer wärmer werdenden Umwelt: www.srf.ch/play/tv/eins... 📷️ SRF

❄️ #SLF scientists are constantly out and about in spectacular landscapes and experience awe-inspiring moments – such as these #snow researchers carrying out snow profile and #albedo measurements on the #Jungfraufirn in August 2026.⁠ ⁠ 📷️ Ruzica Dadic⁠

Training course «Practice meets science» – register now: From 15 to 19 February 2027, the #SLF will once more organise an advanced training course on #snow and #avalanches. More information and registration: www.slf.ch/en/about-the... 📷️ SLF

❄️ In #Canada, Pascal Haegeli was the only #avalanche researcher; now he heads the research unit Snow Avalanches and Prevention at the #SLF. In the interview, he explains how he intends to further develop his field of research: www.slf.ch/en/news/in-c... 📷️ J. Bettzieche / SLF #CERC

Gone with the Wind: The #SLF uses a unique research station to measure individual #snowflakes and how the #wind carries them. The findings improve #avalanche forecasting and #snow modelling, and help with planning of alpine #photovoltaic systems. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/gone... 📷️ R. Oester / SLF

🍁🚣🏼‍♀️Forest trees which had turned brown by July, and water bodies with record-low levels: the summer of 2026 was extremely dry and hot. Experts from WSL and SLF answer frequently asked questions. www.wsl.ch/en/metanavig... #Drought #WaterShortage #forestecology #Forest #Energy #Heat

🔥 What is a #forestfire? 🌎 What impact does #climatechange have? 🫕 What is the situation in #Switzerland? In our article on forest fires, our experts answer the most frequently asked questions: www.slf.ch/de/naturgefa... 📷️ Fachy Marin / Unsplash @wslresearch.bsky.social #WSL #CERC

🔥When the deodorant spray gets too hot: a little experiment – not for research purposes this time, but for safety. ⁠ ⁠ This is what the fire safety training looked like for SLF staff. 💥 ⁠ 📸 SLF⁠ ⁠ #SLF #Fire #FireSafety #Training #Safety #Explosion

⛰️ Wie entstehen #Bergstürze und Gerölllawinen? Und wie untersuchen Forschende solche und andere #Massenbewegungen? Das zeigen WSL- und ETH-Forschende auf der #Scientifica im ETH Hauptgebäude anhand von #Simulationen und #Experimenten: scientifica.ch/ausstellunge... @slfdavos.bsky.social

🔥Trees damaged by #fire – a feast for #barkbeetles? 🌲SLF forest ecologist @alebottero.bsky.social assesses the risk in an interview. 🪳 Read the article here: www.slf.ch/en/news/fore... 📸 Theresa Banzer / SLF #SLF #SLFDavos #Forestfire

🪲Looking for #insects, 🌱making seed bombs, ❄️testing snowballs for hardness and 🧊thawing #permafrost – that’s what the holiday activity programme at the SLF looked like this week. The #snowball fight at the end is, of course, a must. 😎 📸SLF #SLF #SLFDavos #holidayactivity #kids #experiments

#SLF Geologin Livia Pierhöfer schreibt in der Bündner Woche, was sie über die Abläufe des #Bergsturz am #PizScerscen am 14. April 2024 herausfand und welchen Einfluss Wasser hatte: academiaraetica.ch/assets/forsc... 📷️ D. Hunziker #CERC @vaw-glaciology.bsky.social

🔥SLF #forest #fire expert Julia Miller joins us for an interview to explain why so many 🌲forests in Europe are burning, why the situation is not going to improve - and why such #extreme events will become more frequent in the coming decades. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/were... 📸 Roman Oester / SLF

New #flood projections based on hourly rather than daily #data show that 100-year floods could be 5 to 15 per cent more intense in the future and occur every 45 to 80 years. The main reason are short, more intense heavy #rainfall events. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/how-... 📷️ M. Brunner / SLF

Dancing #snow at the #SLF #avalanche test site in the Vallée de la Sionne (Arbaz, VS), captured on a high-speed camera. A robust data-acquisition system is required to collect such videos and information from 185 sensors. After 20 years, it has been replaced. www.slf.ch/en/news/new-... 📹 I. Calic

Coffee break – especially whilst installing a measuring station on the #Jungfraufirn. Over the next few years, the station will collect #weather data so that researchers can investigate the impact of #climatechange on #firn #snow. 📷️ Horst Machguth @unifr.bsky.social @ethz.ch

#Job at #SLF in #Davos: For our #Snow and #Atmosphere research unit, we are looking for a PhD student who will validate and deploy DMAPS muon sensors for measuring Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) in alpine environments in collaboration with @psi.ch. More information: apply.refline.ch/273855/1876/...

🌞 Light is energy, snowmelt, life and more. This makes it all the more important to know when, where and how much light reaches the ground in #Switzerland. #SLF researchers are now making precisely this data available to the public. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/new-... 📷️ M. Bolliger / C. Webster

💧Too little rain and snow, too little water in the rivers: An interview with SLF hydrologist Manuela Brunner on the causes of the ongoing drought in Switzerland. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/the-... 📸Manuela Brunner / SLF #SLF #Snow #Rain #drought #snowmelt #water #river #lake #watershortages

Plenty of water, fine-rich sediments and a steep slope – that's all it takes to create a hazardous #debrisflow. #SLF researchers studied ten different debris-flow channels in #Switzerland to gain a fuller understanding of flows. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/reci...

To be prepared for the future, we need to understand the past and the present. That is why our researchers at WSL and @slfdavos.bsky.social collect data, build models and carry out observations. Read about how they do this and what they discover in the DIAGONAL magazine www.wsl.ch/en/publicati...

#Job at #SLF in #Davos: For our Snow Physics research group we are looking for a PostDoc in Snow Isotope Modelling ❄️ More information and application: apply.refline.ch/273855/1873/...

New #SLF management team: the renowned Davos-based institute is now being co-led by the four on-site heads of unit, with effect from 1 June 2026. Ruzica Dadic is the first woman in the SLF's top role and has taken over as head of the board. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/new-... @wslresearch.bsky.social

This week we welcomed Samuel Weber from SLF Davos to our glaciological seminar! He presented a physically based framework for understanding permafrost rock slope destabilization, combining lab experiments, field data, and mechanical modelling, with the Matterhorn as study site. @slfdavos.bsky.social

Time to set up our @bugnet.bsky.social field sites for the season in @slfdavos.bsky.social after the snow has melted: Carole Schöpfer doing a great job in assembing all #opentopchambers and in creating this nice video 🥰

"Die Vorstellung eines Klebers, der den Berg zusammenhält, ist für grosse Hanginstabilitäten [...] unpassend", sagt #SLF Forscher Robert Kenner über die gängige Meinung, #Permafrost sei wie ein Kleber. Details: www.slf.ch/de/news/perm... 📷️ 1: Marcello Negrini / 2: Stefan Suhner #CERC

Even Antarctica is seeing stronger heatwaves due to climate change. Using #CSCS’s #Alps supercomputer, SLF researchers studied one of the continent’s most severe recent heatwaves and its impact on the Antarctic ice sheet. Discover more: www.cscs.ch/science/eart... @slfdavos.bsky.social

Our #AnnualReport is out! The document highlights funded projets and contributions to Swiss #polarscience in 2025: swisspolar.ch/wp-content/u... @unil.bsky.social | EPFL | @wslresearch.bsky.social | @ethz.ch | UZH | @unibe.ch | @sbfi.admin.ch | @scnat.ch | @edadfae.bsky.social | Canton VS

#Satellite radar #InSAR is transforming how we map and monitor #alpinehazards. Join the #CERC one-day workshop to learn how it works, its pros/cons, and how to apply it for mapping, monitoring and risk management. 📅 28 September 2026 📍 Davos Register now: cerc.slf.ch/en/workshop/

#Avalanches: When will the house of cards collapse?⁠ #SLF PhD student Jakob Schöttner has examined 63 samples of weak layers in the cold laboratory – the tests show how great the compressive and shear forces must be for a fracture to occur. More: www.slf.ch/de/news/lawi... 📹️ J. Schöttner

☀️Only half of atmospheric heatwaves trigger riverine ones because high discharge and meltwater act as buffers while low discharge strengthens the air–river temperature link. @manuelaibrunner.bsky.social @slfdavos.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s43...

🇨🇭🌡️ Die #Schweiz erwärmt sich doppelt so schnell wie der globale Durchschnitt - mit welchen #Folgen und welchen Handlungsoptionen? Der neueste #Bericht der @scnat.ch bietet eine aktuelle Übersicht über die wichtigsten wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zum #Klimawandel 👉 proclim.scnat.ch/de/id/GJt7A?...

🇨🇭🌡️ La #Suisse se réchauffe deux fois plus vite que la moyenne mondiale : quelles #conséquences et surtout quelles #solutions ? Le nouveau #rapport de la @scnat.ch fait le point sur les #connaissances scientifiques actuelles sur le #changementclimatique 👉 proclim.scnat.ch/fr/id/GJt7A?...

📢 Lancement des inscriptions pour le 5e Congrès suisse du #paysage! Il se tiendra les 3 et 4 septembre à Davos, co-organisé par @wslresearch.bsky.social et le #FoLAP de la @scnat.ch. Vers le programme et les excursions ▶️ congrespaysage.ch/programme/ Pour s'inscrire 👉 congrespaysage.ch/inscription/

📢 Jetzt anmelden! Der 5. Schweizer #Landschaftskongress findet am 3. und 4. September in Davos statt - organisiert von @wslresearch.bsky.social und das #FoLAP der @scnat.ch. Zum Programm & Exkursionen ▶️ landschaftskongress.ch/programm/ Zur Anmeldung 👉 landschaftskongress.ch/anmeldung/

In CH, #forests account for 20-30% of total #snow storage in #winter. On south-facing slopes, snow usually lingers longer in alpine forests than in the neighbouring open terrain. On north-facing slopes, the opposite is true, as SLF researchers found. More: www.slf.ch/en/news/how-... 📷️ V. Haagmans