In April 2010, there was a lot happening on Earth: The eruption of the volcano of the same name under the Eyjafjallajökull glacier in Iceland kept the whole of Europe on tenterhooks and the planes on the ground, while in Brazil and South Tyrol landslides claimed numerous lives.

The latter event is closely related to the work of terrestris: Since 2007, terrestris has been involved in the BMBF-funded project “Integrative Landslide Early Warning Systems – ILEWS”, which is led by researchers from the University of Bonn and the University of Vienna. The project focuses on researching an early warning system for mass movements, with one study area in the Swabian Alb and one study area in South Tyrol. The project will end on April 30, 2010, but current events underscore that this research focus has lost none of its relevance for society.