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Les châteaux d’eau des montagnes, mesurés.

Les glaciers et la neige saisonnière stockent l’eau dont dépendent les rivières en aval, et ils changent plus vite que presque tout le reste. Des stations sur et autour des glaciers mesurent la neige, la glace, la météo et le ruissellement, pour que gestionnaires de l’eau, services de prévention des risques et scientifiques sachent ce que les montagnes retiennent encore.

Industrie

Climat

Mesures

5

Sources citées

5

1. Climat · Glaciers, neige et eau des montagnes

   Water towers, melting

   Glaciers and seasonal snow store the water that rivers below depend on through dry summers, and they are changing faster than almost anything else on Earth. Water managers, hazard services and scientists need to know what the mountains still hold, measured where the ice is, through storms and darkness.

2. Ce qui est mesuré

   Snow, ice, weather and runoff

   Snow stations at several heights up the mountain measure depth and water equivalent. On the glacier, surface height sensors, stakes and weather stations measure melt, GNSS receivers measure flow and lowering, and time-lapse cameras watch the front. River gauges below measure what runs off.

   Instruments

   Snow sensors · Surface height · GNSS · Time-lapse cameras · River gauges

3. Le nœud de base

   Melt, computed on the ice

   The node computes snow water equivalent and surface lowering from its sensors, flags rapid changes that may signal a hazard, reduces images to what matters and sends compact reports when power or link is short, keeping everything for the summer visit.

4. Radio et liaisons

   Satellite from the summits

   High mountain stations are beyond terrestrial networks. Broadband satellite carries data and images, and a narrowband direct-to-device path keeps essential values flowing when snow buries the broadband antenna or power runs low through a long storm. Everything else waits for the summer visit.

   Liaisons

   Broadband satellite · Narrowband satellite

5. Comment ça marche

   From melting snow to a water allocation

   In late spring the snow stations show the snowpack melting weeks early on the middle slopes. The node reports falling water equivalent each day, runoff peaks early, and the water agency adjusts its summer allocation before the reservoirs fall, with the evidence on record.

6. De la commande à l’exploitation · Commande

   Scope the water and the hazards

   The scope reads the basins, the water users downstream, glacier and snow hazards, existing stations and the access seasons. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the station plan from valley to summit, power and satellite design, and a price per station and per year.

   Planifier un déploiement

7. De la commande à l’exploitation · Relevé

   Survey in the melt season

   Crews and glaciologists visit candidate sites in the short melt season: stable ground or ice, avalanche paths, snow drifting, the sky view for satellite and the safest access. Findings are recorded with photographs and coordinates. Findings shape the kit for each site before anything is built.

8. De la commande à l’exploitation · Autorisations

   Protected areas and helicopters

   Most glaciers lie in protected areas; work is approved by park and land authorities, helicopter flights are planned with aviation and wildlife rules, and every approval is kept with the station record. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place.

9. De la commande à l’exploitation · Fabrication

   Build for ice and storms

   Stations are built to stand on moving ice or rock, tested in a cold chamber and run on their dark-season power. GNSS receivers, snow and surface sensors are calibrated, nodes enrolled with their identities and kits packed for helicopter lifts.

   Ouvrir le configurateur de stations

10. De la commande à l’exploitation · Installation

    Install by helicopter

    Crews fly kits to each site, set stations on tripods that ride the ice surface or on rock anchors, drill stakes, mount cameras facing the glacier front and install river gauges below. Every part is photographed and recorded before the weather closes in.

11. De la commande à l’exploitation · Mise en service

    Commission with the surveys

    Chaque nœud prouve son identité. Snow and surface readings are compared with manual surveys, GNSS positions with a reference, runoff with discharge measurements, and data are checked as they arrive by satellite. The station enters the network before winter. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover.

12. De la commande à l’exploitation · Exploitation

    Follow the melt

    Water managers see snow water equivalent and runoff by basin, hazard services see rapid glacier changes and lake levels, and scientists see daily mass balance and flow. Every value keeps its station and calibration. Every alert and action is kept on the record.

13. De la commande à l’exploitation · Maintenance

    Reset stations each summer

    Each summer crews reset stations that the ice has carried or tilted, redrill stakes, swap sensors, check power and update software. The annual mass balance survey closes the year, and every change is kept with the station record. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life.

    Réserver des services sur le terrain

14. Produits de données

    For water, hazards and science

    Water managers and hydropower receive snow water equivalent by basin; scientists and glacier monitoring services receive mass balance and flow; hazard services receive rapid change and lake alerts; hydrologists receive runoff from glacier basins, each tied to station, altitude band and time.

    Voir les produits de données

15. Preuves

    Agreed terms, essential variables

    Mass balance follows the internationally agreed glossary and methods, glaciers and snow are reported as essential climate variables, snow is measured to the instrument guide and cryosphere watch, and runoff is gauged to hydrological practice. Every value keeps its calibration and station record.

    Référentiels

    Glossary of Glacier Mass Balance and Related Terms · GCOS-244 · WMO-No. 8 · WMO-No. 1160 · WMO-No. 168

16. Ce que vous obtenez

    Réseaux d’observation hydrométéorologique et des inondations

    Stations de jaugeage, pluviomètres, radars météorologiques et stations météorologiques automatiques construits selon les pratiques de la WMO, qui transmettent par WIS 2.0 lorsque l’organisme l’exige. Fourni sous forme de matériel + logiciel, service géré et construction-exploitation-transfert, pour services météorologiques et hydrologiques nationaux, organismes de bassin, services publics.

    Parler aux ventes

17. Étape suivante

    Planifier avec nous : glaciers, neige et eau des montagnes

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for glaciers, snow and mountain water. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Planifier un déploiementOuvrir le configurateur de stationsOuvrir le Studio

01Le lieu et ses dangers

Où il fonctionne, et ce qui peut mal tourner.

Operating contextGlacier mass balance is measured and reported with internationally agreed terms and methods, glaciers, snow and permafrost are essential climate variables, snow is measured to the WMO instrument guide and the global cryosphere watch, and runoff from glacier basins is gauged to hydrological practice.

Dangers

• Glaciers retreating and thinning faster than records can follow
• Snowpacks that melt earlier, shifting water supply
• Glacier lake outbursts and ice avalanches
• Stations buried, tilted or carried away by moving ice
• Months of darkness and storms with no access

02Ce qu’il faut mesurer

Quoi, où, à quelle fréquence, et selon quelles règles.

Chaque mesure indique où elle est prise, à quelle fréquence, et la norme ou la réglementation publique qui la fonde. Les numéros de la colonne des sources ouvrent la source citée plus bas.

03La pile d’observation

D’un module de base à un réseau.

Les mêmes briques à chaque échelle : des instruments et un nœud de base, un site avec sa radio, une flotte exploitée comme un tout, et un réseau fédéré sur le protocole ouvert.

1. 01

   Unité de base

   A station: weather and snow sensors, a surface height sensor, a GNSS receiver and a time-lapse camera on a sensor hub and node.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   A site: stations on the glacier, in the forefield and on the river below, with solar power and satellite backhaul.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Parc

   A mountain range’s stations run as one network, with one plan for the short summer visits.

   Managed offers →
4. 04

   Réseau

   Services and scientists share snow, glacier and runoff data through WMO and the glacier monitoring community.

   The open protocol →

• 01Station météorologique automatique (classe OMM)
• 02Limnimètre
• 03Station géodésique GNSS
• 04Caméra fixe
• 05Passerelle de capteurs et d’instruments
• 06Micronœud (Nano)
• 07Terminal plat LEO
• 08Terminal NTN 3GPP
• 09Champ solaire
• 10Poteau

Radio et liaisons

Satellite

High mountain stations are beyond terrestrial networks; broadband satellite carries data and images.

Radio et liaisons

Satellite

A narrowband direct-to-device path keeps essential data flowing when snow buries the broadband antenna.

Edge computeThe node computes snow water equivalent and surface lowering from its sensors, flags rapid changes that may signal a hazard, reduces images to what matters and sends compact reports when power or link is short.

PowerSolar panels mounted steep to shed snow, with batteries for the dark season; stations drop to minimal power through long storms.

04Comment ça marche

De l’instrument au produit.

Le parcours d’une observation, niveau par niveau, avec l’interface de chaque liaison et une nomenclature en dessous ; puis comment ce nœud devient un site, une flotte et des réseaux fédérés.

05De la commande à l’exploitation

Chaque étape, du premier appel à un site en service.

La même équipe et le même dossier portent le travail, du cadrage à la maintenance.

1. 01 Order

   Scope the water and the hazards

   The scope reads the basins, the water users downstream, glacier and snow hazards, existing stations and the access seasons. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the station plan from valley to summit, power and satellite design, and a price per station and per year. 4

2. 02 Survey

   Survey in the melt season

   Crews and glaciologists visit candidate sites in the short melt season: stable ground or ice, avalanche paths, snow drifting, the sky view for satellite and the safest access. Findings are recorded with photographs and coordinates. Findings shape the kit for each site before anything is built. 1

3. 03 Permits

   Protected areas and helicopters

   Most glaciers lie in protected areas; work is approved by park and land authorities, helicopter flights are planned with aviation and wildlife rules, and every approval is kept with the station record. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place.

4. 04 Build

   Build for ice and storms

   Stations are built to stand on moving ice or rock, tested in a cold chamber and run on their dark-season power. GNSS receivers, snow and surface sensors are calibrated, nodes enrolled with their identities and kits packed for helicopter lifts.

5. 05 Install

   Install by helicopter

   Crews fly kits to each site, set stations on tripods that ride the ice surface or on rock anchors, drill stakes, mount cameras facing the glacier front and install river gauges below. Every part is photographed and recorded before the weather closes in.

6. 06 Commission

   Commission with the surveys

   Chaque nœud prouve son identité. Snow and surface readings are compared with manual surveys, GNSS positions with a reference, runoff with discharge measurements, and data are checked as they arrive by satellite. The station enters the network before winter. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover. 35

7. 07 Operate

   Follow the melt

   Water managers see snow water equivalent and runoff by basin, hazard services see rapid glacier changes and lake levels, and scientists see daily mass balance and flow. Every value keeps its station and calibration. Every alert and action is kept on the record. 2

8. 08 Maintain

   Reset stations each summer

   Each summer crews reset stations that the ice has carried or tilted, redrill stakes, swap sensors, check power and update software. The annual mass balance survey closes the year, and every change is kept with the station record. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life. 3

06Produits de données et intégration

Ce qu’il fournit, à qui, et dans quels systèmes.

Produits de données

• Snow water equivalent by basinWater managers and hydropower
• Glacier mass balance and flowScientists and glacier monitoring services
• Rapid change and lake alertsHazard services
• Runoff from glacier basinsHydrologists

Intégration

• Hydrological servicesSnow and runoff data enter forecasting systems in their formats.
• Glacier monitoringMass balance is reported with the agreed terms and methods.
• Hazard servicesRapid change alerts reach the services that warn valleys below.

Exchanged through WMO WIS 2.0, OGC SensorThings API, RINEX.

07Questions des acheteurs

Avant de cadrer votre projet.

Will stations survive on moving ice?

They ride the ice surface and are reset each summer.

How is data sent?

By satellite, with a low-power second path.

Can it warn of glacier lake outbursts?

It flags rapid changes and lake levels for hazard services.

Does it replace manual surveys?

No. Surveys calibrate it and close each year.

08Ressources

Les sources de cette page.

Normes, réglementations et lignes directrices publiques, citées là où elles s’appliquent. Chacune ne s’applique que dans sa juridiction ou son champ.

1. 1WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization
2. 2WMO-No. 1160: Manual on the WMO Integrated Global Observing SystemWorld Meteorological Organization
3. 3Glossary of Glacier Mass Balance and Related Terms (IHP-VII Technical Documents in Hydrology No. 86)UNESCO International Hydrological Programme · 2011
4. 4GCOS-244: The 2022 GCOS Implementation PlanGlobal Climate Observing System · 2022
5. 5WMO-No. 168: Guide to Hydrological PracticesWorld Meteorological Organization

09Voir aussi

Cas d’usage et solutions.

10Climat : domaines spécialisés

Les autres domaines de cette industrie.

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