The split mountain Hochvogel is particularly exciting for scientists from Munich.
Because new studies show: The mountain makes sounds - and sends messages in an emergency.
Oberstdorf - This mountain doesn't call - it sings and sends text messages to the cell phone.
If Professor Michael Krautblatter receives such a text message with the sender "
Hans Hochvogel
", the alarm bells
ring
for him.
Because that means: The 2592 meter high
Hochvogel near Oberstdorf
in the Oberallgäu threatens to break off.
The Hochvogel doesn't type the text messages himself, of course. They are sent out by the systems that Krautblatter and his team have installed high up on the summit.
If the rock moves remarkably fast, a device activates the SMS dispatch.
In an emergency, Berg Hochvogel even sends the researchers a message on their cell phones
Scientists
have been taking measurements
on the
Hochvogel
for years.
The mountain is a very special one for them.
Its summit is crossed by a large gap.
Cracks in the rock are common in nature, but they can be dangerous.
"The gap in the Hochvogel gets three to four centimeters wider every year," explains Michael Krautblatter, head of the slope movement department at the Technical University of Munich.
As a result, it is estimated that more than
260,000 cubic meters of rock could
break off
in the near future
(we reported).
Krautblatter would like to warn of this in good time.
Preferably up to a week in advance so that roads and hiking trails can be closed.
Since 2018, the geologist has been observing movements of the Hochvogel summit with several geotechnical devices.
"The systems measure down to a hundredth and send an update every hour," reports Krautblatter.
So far, the researchers have found that the rock picks up acceleration especially after a heavy rainy season.
The tension in the rock suddenly increases, whereupon the measured frequency rises, for example, from 26 to 29 Hertz.
"We'll pay attention if it doesn't slow down afterwards," says Krautblatter.
Because if the movements don't slow down, the boulder could break off very soon.
Therefore, an SMS from "Hans Hochvogel" should warn the scientists as quickly as possible.
Oberstdorf: Hochvogel sometimes lets out a melody - it gets pretty intimate
But the
mountain on the border between Bavaria and Tyrol
can not only write messages, it also sings its own melody.
The movements in the Hochvogel are triggered by cracks and breaks in the interior of the mountain.
These in turn generate tones that are recorded by the seismic measuring devices on the Hochvogel.
“It's a deep, dull crack,” says Krautblatter, describing the sound.
It only lasts for a few seconds.
The human ear cannot perceive this.
“But once, when we were up on the mountain, we could feel a break under our feet.” Sometimes it goes on for five days and a kind of melody is created that the devices record.
Then the mountain falls silent again.
It gets a bit intimate: "The high bird reveals a lot about what it is inside with its tones," says Michael Krautblatter.
For example, how big a boulder is, whether it is cracked or torn through.
"We try to understand his language." With the measurements, this succeeds better and better.
The first
project of the Technical University of Munich
on the Hochvogel started in 2018. Since December, the research team has been investigating the reliability and potential of early warning systems for natural hazards in a three-year study.
Research on slope movements is not only carried out on the Hochvogel, but also in the Zillertal and the Ötztal Alps.
"Mountaineers are currently coming safely to the summit cross from the Bavarian side," says Krautblatter.
Those who climb the Hochvogel in their free time do not receive a text message, nor can they hear the Allgäu mountain humming and humming.
Once at the top, however, mountaineers are rewarded with a spectacular view of the up to 80 meter deep crevice.
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