Davos snow and avalanche research awarded by WMOt

Published: 20. January 2023

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has named the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos as the world's leading center of excellence for snow observation.

The UN specialized agency, based in Geneva, justified its decision with the high-quality measurement infrastructure and 80 years of research. Since then, researchers at the SLF in Davos have been working to collect snow data more accurately and efficiently. This is accompanied by long-term measurement series on snow depth, water equivalent, snow cover and height of new snow. The best-known measurement site is the test field at the Weissfluhjoch in the Parsenn ski area.

Measurement methods for avalanche forecasting
Researchers are testing various measuring methods in Davos that are currently used locally, but also internationally in practice: These include the 5th generation of the so-called SnowMicroPen, which provides data on the snowpack. The measuring device helps to estimate the snow layer stability. It thus plays an important role in avalanche forecasting and slope characterization in ski racing. Would you like to learn more about the SLF in Davos? Guided tours of the institute are part of our winter guest program. You can also book them directly in our vacation store.

The research location Davos
The SLF is an interdisciplinary research center with about 140 employees. It belongs to the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and thus to the ETH domain, an association of technical universities in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and in Lausanne (EPFL). Davos has made a name for itself as a knowledge town thanks to other research institutions. Six research institutes are active at the Davos research center, employing over 400 people.