Dr. Tobias Nicollier

Function

Visiting scientist

Mountain Hydrology and Mass Movements

Torrents and Mass Movements

Contact

tobias.nicollier(at)wslto make life hard for spam bots.ch

Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf

Site

Birmensdorf Bi LG E 07

Education and professional experience

2017 - 2018 Research assistant in the "Exploration and Environmental Geophysics" group of the ETH Zurich in the NASA InSight project
2015 - 2017 IDEA League Joint Master in Applied Geophysics, TU Delft / ETH Zurich / RWTH Aachen
2011 - 2014 Bachelor in Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich

Research interests

Geophysical methods (Seismics, ERT, Georadar, EM)
Signal processing (Frequency analysis, Design of filters,...)
Bedload transport as a stocastic process and natural hazard
Dynamic of mountain streams and torrents
Prevention of natural hazards in the Alpine region

FURTHER INFORMATION

Projects

Using different sensor types to improve the signal interpretation

Indirect bedload transport measurements help to better understand how coarse solid particles are transported in steep streams (torrents) and mountain rivers. We use three different sensor types to improve the signal interpretation: geophone, accelerometer, and microphone.

The Swiss plate geophone system

This project aims to further develop the Swiss plate geophone system, a passive seismic method to measure bedload transport in water courses, with a new set of controlled experiments and field calibration measurements.

Publications WSL

Scientific publication article peer reviewed

Brinkman, N.; Schmelzbach, C.; Sollberger, D.; Ten Pierick, J.; Edme, P.; Haag, T.; Kedar, S.; Hudson, T.; Andersson, F.; Van Driel, M.; Stähler, S.; Nicollier, T.; Robertsson, J.; Giardini, D.; Spohn, T.; Krause, C.; Grott, M.; Knollenberg, J.; Hurst, K.; ... Banerdt, W.B., 2022: In situ regolith seismic velocity measurement at the InSight landing site on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127, 10: e2022JE007229 (23 pp.). doi: 10.1029/2022JE007229

Rickenmann, D.; Ammann, L.; Nicollier, T.; Boss, S.; Fritschi, B.; Antoniazza, G.; Steeb, N.; Chen, Z.; Wyss, C.; Badoux, A., 2022: Comparison of calibration characteristics of different acoustic impact systems for measuring bedload transport in mountain streams. Earth Surface Dynamics, 10, 6: 1165-1183. doi: 10.5194/esurf-10-1165-2022

Nicollier, T.; Antoniazza, G.; Ammann, L.; Rickenmann, D.; Kirchner, J.W., 2022: Toward a general calibration of the Swiss plate geophone system for fractional bedload transport. Earth Surface Dynamics, 10, 5: 929-951. doi: 10.5194/esurf-10-929-2022

Chen, Z.; He, S.; Nicollier, T.; Ammann, L.; Badoux, A.; Rickenmann, D., 2022: Finite element modelling of the Swiss plate geophone bedload monitoring system. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 60, 5: 792-810. doi: 10.1080/00221686.2022.2059585

Antoniazza, G.; Nicollier, T.; Boss, S.; Mettra, F.; Badoux, A.; Schaefli, B.; Rickenmann, D.; Lane, S.N., 2022: Hydrological drivers of bedload transport in an Alpine watershed. Water Resources Research, 58, 3: e2021WR030663 (27 pp.). doi: 10.1029/2021WR030663

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Further scientific publications

Rickenmann, D.; Nicollier, T.; Boss, S.; Badoux, A., 2020: Four years of bedload transport measurements in the Swiss Mountain River Albula. In: Uijttewaal, W.; Franca, M.J.; Valero, D.; Chavarrias, V.; Ylla Arbós, C.; Schielen, R.; Crosato, A. (eds), 2020: River flow 2020. Proceedings of the 10th conference on fluvial hydraulics. River flow 2020, Delft, Netherlands. 1749-1755. doi: 10.1201/b22619-245

Nicollier, T.; Rickenmann, D.; Boss, S.; Travaglini, E.; Hartlieb, A., 2020: Calibration of the Swiss plate geophone system at the Zinal field site with direct bedload samples and results from controlled flume experiments. In: Uijttewaal, W.; Franca, M.J.; Valero, D.; Chavarrias, V.; Ylla Arbós, C.; Schielen, R.; Crosato, A. (eds), 2020: River flow 2020. Proceedings of the 10th conference on fluvial hydraulics. River flow 2020, Delft, Netherlands. 901-909. doi: 10.1201/b22619-127

Nicollier, T.; Rickenmann, D.; Hartlieb, A., 2019: Field calibration of the Swiss plate geophone system at the Albula stream and comparison with controlled flume experiments. In: 2019: SEDHYD 2019, Reno, NV. 8 pp..

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