The use of ground penetrating radar to search for persons buried by avalanches

Although, in areas at risk from avalanches, skiers outside the safe ski-runs should carry an electronic transmitter with them in case they are buried by an avalanche, there is still an urgent need to locate buried persons exactly by means of an independent sensor in the presence of other objects. A demonstration of the ability of ground penetrating radar to help to find people under a snow cover was carried out in the German Alps under fairly realistic conditions. Of course, these measurements were not performed with real victims: the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service prepared a professional test area for the trials. To prevent the occurrence of avalanches, the Bavarian Avalanche Warning Service regulary checks suspicious snow slopes with the aid of probes. The critical snow layers which are responsible for the production of avalanches were also investigated with the radar.