POC21 - Harnessing the power of Crowdsourcing for Mountain Monitoring

Description

MountaiNow – a collaborative platform for sharing mountain observations in real-time – is built upon to provide both GLAMOS and PERMOS with relevant crowdsourced observations on glaciers and rock-fall events.

Imagine… Thousands of people sharing what they see in the mountains – via their smartphones. Then, a “living map” compiling instantaneously this crowd-sourced information to give you the latest conditions in the Alps, including geo-localized photos, comments and warnings.

With MountaiNow, sharing observation only takes a few seconds – thanks to an easy interface also available off-line.

The project is made possible by enhancing national collaboration between science and the public and private sectors - building on existing infrastructure and putting together a strong multidisciplinary consortium with in-depth experience in the research, technology, communication, and policy components of mountain monitoring.

Aim

Addressing high-mountain challenges requires the provision of actionable information on Alpine changes. Swiss national monitoring programmes for glaciers and permafrost, GLAMOS and PERMOS, play a fundamental role in the provision of this information, however often lack sufficient real-time in-situ information to develop timely monitoring products.

The present project is about exploring the potential of modern observation methods to fill this information gap, and in particular evaluating the power of crowdsourcing for long-term mountain monitoring, science, and adaptation to climate change.

How to participate

Download the MountaiNow mobile app for free (android or iOS).

Take the chance of being in the mountains to contribute relevant observations via the app, for instance: taking a photo of landscapes featuring glaciers, measuring snowdepth, noting rockfalls details, detecting glacial lakes.

With MountaiNow, sharing observation only takes a few seconds – thanks to an easy interface also available off-line.

Enjoy the app and win Trophies !

Equipment

To take part in the project:  Just a smartphone.

To go to the mountains: Adequate gear and experience !