Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland)
Abstract High mountain environments are increasingly affected by rockfall‐related hazards, driven by climate change. Studying rockfall in these environments is, however, challenging due to the inaccessibility of mountain ridges and the complex interaction between controlling factors. In this study,...
Published in: | Earth Surface Processes and Landforms |
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crwiley:10.1002/esp.5333 2024-09-15T18:11:37+00:00 Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland) Hendrickx, Hanne Le Roy, Gaëlle Helmstetter, Agnès Pointner, Eric Larose, Eric Braillard, Luc Nyssen, Jan Delaloye, Reynald Frankl, Amaury Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.5333 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/esp.5333 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/esp.5333 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Earth Surface Processes and Landforms volume 47, issue 6, page 1532-1549 ISSN 0197-9337 1096-9837 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5333 2024-09-03T04:24:14Z Abstract High mountain environments are increasingly affected by rockfall‐related hazards, driven by climate change. Studying rockfall in these environments is, however, challenging due to the inaccessibility of mountain ridges and the complex interaction between controlling factors. In this study, the rock wall of Grosse Grabe North Pillar in the Matter valley (Western Swiss Alps) was studied in detail over a timespan of 4 years (2017–2021). Data was collected from time‐lapse photography, terrestrial laser scanning, unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry and seismic measurements. The presented dataset is unique because data collection started before the onset of the rock wall destabilization, allowing us to understand precursory indicators of large‐scale events. In total, we recorded 382 rock‐ and cliff fall events (100–31 300 m 3 ), with a total volume of 204 323 ± 8173 m 3 , resulting in a scar depth of ~40 m. An associated rock wall retreat rate of 71.2 ± 2.8 mm year −1 was calculated for the 1991–2021 period. Highly fractured south‐exposed gneiss lithology is viewed as the main predisposition for the observed rock‐ and cliff fall events, allowing high‐temperature oscillations to cause irreversible movements at fracture level. Cliff falls (10 4 –10 6 m 3 ) were preluded by an outward movement of the rock wall that started to increase 1.5 years before any significant collapse of the rock wall, reaching locally up to 30 cm. All cliff fall events occurred in summer, exposing ice in the clefts. This is assumed to be the base of the permafrost from the north side. Rapid permafrost degradation is viewed as a triggering factor after its exposure, causing progressive failure of the rock wall, leading to very high rock wall retreat rates on a decadal timescale. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost Wiley Online Library Earth Surface Processes and Landforms |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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language |
English |
description |
Abstract High mountain environments are increasingly affected by rockfall‐related hazards, driven by climate change. Studying rockfall in these environments is, however, challenging due to the inaccessibility of mountain ridges and the complex interaction between controlling factors. In this study, the rock wall of Grosse Grabe North Pillar in the Matter valley (Western Swiss Alps) was studied in detail over a timespan of 4 years (2017–2021). Data was collected from time‐lapse photography, terrestrial laser scanning, unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry and seismic measurements. The presented dataset is unique because data collection started before the onset of the rock wall destabilization, allowing us to understand precursory indicators of large‐scale events. In total, we recorded 382 rock‐ and cliff fall events (100–31 300 m 3 ), with a total volume of 204 323 ± 8173 m 3 , resulting in a scar depth of ~40 m. An associated rock wall retreat rate of 71.2 ± 2.8 mm year −1 was calculated for the 1991–2021 period. Highly fractured south‐exposed gneiss lithology is viewed as the main predisposition for the observed rock‐ and cliff fall events, allowing high‐temperature oscillations to cause irreversible movements at fracture level. Cliff falls (10 4 –10 6 m 3 ) were preluded by an outward movement of the rock wall that started to increase 1.5 years before any significant collapse of the rock wall, reaching locally up to 30 cm. All cliff fall events occurred in summer, exposing ice in the clefts. This is assumed to be the base of the permafrost from the north side. Rapid permafrost degradation is viewed as a triggering factor after its exposure, causing progressive failure of the rock wall, leading to very high rock wall retreat rates on a decadal timescale. |
author2 |
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hendrickx, Hanne Le Roy, Gaëlle Helmstetter, Agnès Pointner, Eric Larose, Eric Braillard, Luc Nyssen, Jan Delaloye, Reynald Frankl, Amaury |
spellingShingle |
Hendrickx, Hanne Le Roy, Gaëlle Helmstetter, Agnès Pointner, Eric Larose, Eric Braillard, Luc Nyssen, Jan Delaloye, Reynald Frankl, Amaury Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland) |
author_facet |
Hendrickx, Hanne Le Roy, Gaëlle Helmstetter, Agnès Pointner, Eric Larose, Eric Braillard, Luc Nyssen, Jan Delaloye, Reynald Frankl, Amaury |
author_sort |
Hendrickx, Hanne |
title |
Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland) |
title_short |
Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland) |
title_full |
Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland) |
title_fullStr |
Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (Mattertal, Switzerland) |
title_sort |
timing, volume and precursory indicators of rock‐ and cliff fall on a permafrost mountain ridge (mattertal, switzerland) |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.5333 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/esp.5333 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/esp.5333 |
genre |
Ice permafrost |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost |
op_source |
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms volume 47, issue 6, page 1532-1549 ISSN 0197-9337 1096-9837 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5333 |
container_title |
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms |
_version_ |
1810449201630281728 |