Installed at Teleccio, Serrù and Agnel, in the territories of Locana and Ceresole Reale. Made by researchers from the University of Padua, they exploit cosmic rays
LOCANA. Revolutionary sensors have been installed above the hydroelectric basin of the Teleccio dam, in the territory of the Municipality of Locana, and at high altitude, between the Serrù and Agnel lakes, in that of Ceresole Reale, which through cosmic rays help prevent droughts and avalanches. . The newly conceived probes were made by Finapp (Applied Nuclear Physics) a start-up founded in 2018 by Luca Stevanato with two other researchers, Marcello Lunardon and Sandra Moretto, researchers from the University of Padua.
The probes wanted by iren
Those that appear today in Alta Valle Orco, were commissioned by the Iren group, the energy giant, which decided to “marry” this innovative technology to detect the snow water equivalent, that is a data that allows to detect the density of snow. «These are probes with practically zero environmental impact, since they use cosmic rays to measure the density of snow – explain the Finapp technicians -. They are extremely compact instruments that can work independently, allowing daily analyzes of the state of the snow. The data obtained will be fundamental for the preventive regulation of water basins and to allow water to be exploited in the generation of energy without the risk of making the basins themselves fall below the minimum necessary level. In fact, it will be possible to know the total amount of water available and, thus, to regulate the flows in the Valle dell’Orco, trying to preserve the necessary resources even in the event of drought ».
Stop risks for detections
Up to now, these surveys were carried out by alpine guides who periodically went up to altitude to carry out surveys that were, however, not only less precise, but also extremely more risky, in particular for the operator. Getting there was certainly not easy, given the inaccessible paths, but from now on, the surveys can be daily, more complete and without risks for the employees.
A third probe was installed by Arpa Piemonte at the snow station at Colle del Sestriere. Piedmont is the second Italian region to use this technology for snow density control and the first that counts the interest of a multi-service company. In Veneto there are two other probes: one for the detection, in fact, of the snow above Falcade, and a second in the Padua area, aimed at measuring the quantity of water in the land for the intelligent management of crops. Also in Lombardy and Emilia Romagna there are some sites, of the respective Arpa, which have adopted this technology for surveys in the agricultural and environmental fields. –