Deep permafrost evolution in unstable slopes during the Holocene

Large alpine landslides dynamics are generally associated with Quaternary glacier retreat. Some recent datations demonstrate that several thousand years can separate the slope failure initiation from ice pressure unloading. The current study addresses the question whether the persistence of deep per...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Seguinot, Julien
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:unknown
Published: Center for Open Science 2018
Subjects:
Ice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.31237/osf.io/p4mrh
Description
Summary:Large alpine landslides dynamics are generally associated with Quaternary glacier retreat. Some recent datations demonstrate that several thousand years can separate the slope failure initiation from ice pressure unloading. The current study addresses the question whether the persistence of deep permafrost could produce this time lag. A model of deep permafrost evolution is developed, including heat diffusion, phase change and a ground surface transfer function. It is numerically implemented by a 1D finite difference code on the one hand and into a 2D finite element software on the other hand. Model results reveals the great influence of porosity and near-ground processes in permafrost evolution, and illustrates the possible persistence of a permafrost core into the slope.