Radiofrequency sensors for snow conditions monitoring and real time avalanche alerts

The paper presents the realization scheme of a novel sensor, able to analyze with adequate precision, water content within the snow. This parameter is essential to monitor daily variations within snow basins, which are primarily responsible for the formation of stratifications that subsequently cause avalanches. The proposed sensor is constructed by means of two or more alignments of elementary radiators. The radiators belonging to one of them of the them are singly fed separately, one after the other. By monitoring the received power at the other alignments, it is possible to measure the variations caused by the increasing level of water content, which is associated to an increased conductivity of the medium. Mapping the received power changes back into dielectric variations must take into account separate effects on radiators impedance, current distribution, radiators efficiency, medium attenuation. For this reason, a dedicated design procedure has been specifically developed.