Thibaut Duvanel

My academic background is a mix of geomorphology and geodata science. Since my master’s degree, I have focused my research on the study of rock glaciers using remote sensing. Rock glaciers can be identified in the landscape by their steep frontal and lateral margins, together with their lobed surface with ridges and furrows. Their dynamic is now recognized as a key variable to improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change on high-mountain regions. 

The RoDynAlps research project, financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation and led by the Universities of Fribourg, Lausanne, Zurich and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, aims to better understand the state of the Swiss rock glaciers. My PhD Thesis is part of this project. One of its main objectives is to establish an exhaustive inventory of rock glacier for the Swiss Alps. I am working with remote-sensing techniques such as photo interpretation to locate the rock glaciers, and satellite radar interferometry and optical image correlation to estimate and quantify their activity. I also conduct fieldwork, such as GNSS measurements and UAV surveys.