An early warning system – Near real-time slope stability monitoring

Climate induced hazards impact the safety and availability of roads and railroads. These problems are expected to increase with more frequent and intense extreme precipitation events. Klima 2050 has several activities with the aim of reducing the climate risk to linear infrastructure.

In the pilot project “Railway Corridors” a prototype of an early warning system is developed. At a steep slope facing the new railway at Eidsvoll, several sensors have recently been installed to measure the water content and suction in the slope. These sensors together with the already installed piezometers provide real-time monitoring data remotely accessible. Furthermore, a weather station is to be installed to monitor rainfall and other meteorological variables. All these data are being used to calibrate and validate a hydrogeological model for real-time stability analyses. The slope stability is now constantly monitored, and the calibration of the model is on-going. The final aim is to develop a fully operational local early warning system for the slope facing the high-speed railway north from Oslo. The near-real time estimates of the slope stability, will enable the train operator to act on time.