FILE PHOTO: Andrin Caviezel, researcher at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) places a measuring sensor into a 3.200kg ferroconcret block before rockfall experiments in Schiers, Switzerland April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
SCHIERS, Switzerland (Reuters) - As a scientist counts down "3-2-1", five neon-colored orbs are lowered from a helicopter hovering overhead and released. The orbs barrel down the Swiss mountain, toppling beech and spruce trees as they pick up speed.
These "test rocks" – the heaviest weighing 3,200 kilograms (7,000 lbs)– are part of research aimed at understanding the growing risk of rockfalls around the world.
