According to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, NVE, Norway experiences between 7,000 and 9,000 landslides and rockfalls each year. Many vulnerable areas are remote, with limited or unstable mobile coverage. In such areas, traditional monitoring can be expensive or demanding to operate.
As climate change brings heavier rainfall and faster snowmelt, the need for reliable measurement data from such areas increases. Geonor has contributed to an international consortium that developed a satellite-based IoT solution for precisely this challenge.
The project started as a research and development project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), and was continued as a pilot in the Stjørdalselva catchment area in Trøndelag, with NVE as the primary stakeholder. The pilot demonstrates how geotechnical instrumentation, low-energy IoT, satellite communications, edge computing and cloud-based data management can be combined into one comprehensive solution for geohazard monitoring.
The project was led by Inmarsat, which later became part of Viasat. It was part of ESA's Space Systems for Safety and Security programme, part of the ARTES framework for research into advanced telecommunications, with additional funding from the Norwegian Space Centre and the UK Space Agency.
The goal was to demonstrate that vulnerable areas can be monitored continuously, securely and reliably using satellite communications where the terrestrial network is unstable or missing. The consortium consisted of Inmarsat as project manager and satellite operator, SINTEF as research partner, Insight Terra as provider of the cloud platform, NVE as primary stakeholder and end user, and Geonor as Norwegian instrumentation and integration partner.
In the field, hydrogeological sensors were installed on slopes with documented landslide history in the Stjørdalselva catchment area between Hegra and Meråker, approximately 45 kilometers northeast of Trondheim. The area is prone to water-triggered landslides, mudslides, flash floods, and rockfalls.
The sensor package included volumetric water content, suction and pore pressure measurements, using Geonor's M-600 series vibrating-wire piezometers for pore pressure and groundwater measurements. The sensors were connected to a LoRaWAN node that sent data to an all-weather telecommunications kiosk powered by solar panels and two wind turbines, allowing the entire system to operate autonomously without grid or mobile coverage.
From the kiosk, data was sent via Viasat's L-band ELERA satellite network to a cloud platform operated by Insight Terra on AWS. There, the data was validated and made available to NVE and SINTEF through a secure dashboard and API. SINTEF analyzed the measurement data with a particular focus on how groundwater conditions respond to rain and snowmelt. Such data can be used to improve the understanding of avalanche triggering mechanisms and provide a better basis for assessing avalanche risk.
Geonor contributed as a Norwegian instrumentation and integration partner. The contribution was particularly related to sensor technology, system understanding and experience from geotechnical, hydrological and meteorological instrumentation.
Sensor production. Geonor's M-600 series are vibrating-wire piezometers for measuring pore pressure and groundwater level, and are part of a product line we have further developed since 1963. The instruments are designed for continuous measurements where accuracy and long-term stability are important. Geonor documents accuracy better than 0.5 percent of full scale through performance studies conducted by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute over more than 25 years. Each unit is tested and calibrated individually in our laboratory before delivery, and is supplied with its own calibration chart and conversion equation.
System integration. The project description highlights Geonor as a manufacturer, integrator and service provider with experience from LoRaWAN-based IoT solutions in geohazard environments. In such projects, the value is not only linked to the individual sensor, but to the entire chain from field measurement to accessible and understandable data.
Field and system experience. Norwegian field conditions place high demands on instrumentation, communication and operation. Geonor's experience from demanding Norwegian conditions contributed to the project's work with practical and robust solutions for geohazard monitoring.
The pilot is documented in an open access peer-reviewed article from 2022 in the Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment , written by researchers from SINTEF, NTNU and NVE. The article describes the design, deployment and one-year performance of an IoT-based hydrological monitoring system in the Stjørdalselva catchment, with Geonor's M-600 piezometers as part of the sensor package.
SINTEF's own assessment of the integrated solution describes it as an innovative IoT technology development that will add real value to NVE's operational capacity to monitor geohazards in remote and inaccessible areas.
Norwegian infrastructure is increasingly facing weather and climate stresses that are more demanding than before. Heavier precipitation, faster snowmelt and warmer winters can increase the risk of water-triggered landslides. The extreme weather event Hans, which hit Eastern Norway in August 2023, was a clear reminder of how vulnerable roads, railways and inhabited areas can be to such events.
Better instrumentation in landslide-prone areas can provide earlier insight, fewer surprises, and a better basis for protecting both infrastructure and people. The project showed how reliable monitoring can be established even in areas where ordinary communication is challenging.
For Geonor, this work connects technology and societal benefit: robust measuring instruments, reliable data and better decision-making for climate adaptation, public safety and responsible management of infrastructure. Read more about Geonor's work on sustainability .
The pilot documents how modern geohazard monitoring can be built as a complete data chain: robust sensors in the field, local data collection, satellite-based communication, cloud-based processing and professional analysis.
For Geonor, the project points in a clear direction. The need for reliable measurement data from demanding and exposed areas will increase, both in Norway and internationally. The combination of proven sensors, integration expertise and experience from Norwegian conditions provides a good basis for similar projects in the future.
Viasat/Inmarsat. The project was initially led by Inmarsat, which later became part of Viasat. Inmarsat provided the L-band ELERA satellite link which is the core of the communications solution.
SINTEF. SINTEF contributed as a research partner with analysis of measurement data and avalanche expertise, and has long supported NVE in avalanche monitoring projects.
Insight Terra. Insight Terra delivered the cloud-based platform for receiving, processing, storing and visualizing sensor data, hosted on Amazon Web Services.
NVE. The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate was the primary stakeholder and end user. NVE is responsible for warning and risk management related to, among other things, floods, landslides and other natural hazards.
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