Building an Open Collection of Mass Movements and Their Environmental Drivers in Austria

Global warming and its effects on precipitation and temperature patterns affect the frequency and magnitude of mass movements, particularly the occurrence of rockfalls, debris flows and landslides in high-elevation regions. The expected change in mass movement activity makes a systematic hazard documentation and analysis of possible drivers particularly urgent. An important step toward risk assessment in prone areas is the development of comprehensive mass movement inventories that record time, location, process type and various attributes of past events and ongoing processes. Yet, despite hosting a substantial share of the Alps and having more than 60% mountainous territory, Austria lacks a complete and open-access inventory suitable for analyzing the relationship between mass movements and their drivers. Similarly, high quality data sets of environmental attributes (e.g., precipitation, soil moisture, lithology and topography) exist, but are currently not collected within a single database and linked with mass movement events in the Austrian Alps.

We introduce the open Collection of Mass Movements in Austria (oCoMMA), an expandable harmonized framework provided as FAIR-aligned PostGIS database of mass movement events in Austria, compiling openly available records from peer-reviewed studies and national authorities. Reproducible workflows for type standardization and event de-duplication support consistency and transparency. The continuous integration of updated data sets and transparent documentation facilitates interoperability for researchers and practitioners. Through statistical analysis of mass movement drivers, we aim to reveal new insights into triggers of rockfalls, debris flows and landslides. The objective of oCoMMA is to provide a new open-access foundation for evidence-based risk management in Austria’s mountain regions and to accelerate further research to protect communities and infrastructure.