Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps
Abstract On August 14 2015 a large debris flow initiated by the occurrence of two slope failures at the front of the Lou rock glacier flooded part of the town of Lanslevillard, France. The present study aims to understand the meteorological and geomorphological context that led to these failures. In...
Published in: | Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
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crwiley:10.1002/ppp.2035 2024-06-23T07:56:08+00:00 Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps Marcer, Marco Ringsø Nielsen, Steffen Ribeyre, Charles Kummert, Mario Duvillard, Pierre‐Allain Schoeneich, Philippe Bodin, Xavier Genuite, Kim European Regional Development Fund 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2035 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fppp.2035 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppp.2035 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ppp.2035 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Permafrost and Periglacial Processes volume 31, issue 1, page 15-30 ISSN 1045-6740 1099-1530 journal-article 2020 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2035 2024-06-06T04:23:23Z Abstract On August 14 2015 a large debris flow initiated by the occurrence of two slope failures at the front of the Lou rock glacier flooded part of the town of Lanslevillard, France. The present study aims to understand the meteorological and geomorphological context that led to these failures. Investigations were conducted by combining meteorological data, surface movements, and geophysical transects. The analysis indicates that the Lou rock glacier is directly connected to an active torrential channel and has a natural predisposition to frontal failure due to the steepness of its front. The slope failures were triggered after a heat wave followed by a three‐week period of almost continuous rainfall. Water flowing on top of the permafrost table was observed in the two head scarps, suggesting that regressive erosion consecutive to this concentrated subsurface water flow triggered the failures. For one of the slides, traces of previous failures were observable on historical aerial imagery dating back to the 1950's, while the second slide corresponded to a novel event and developed on the frontal slope of a fast‐moving and destabilized rock glacier lobe. We also discuss the increase in local predisposition to failure related to the remarkable morphological modifications such as frontal advance and development of surface cracks associated with the lobe destabilization. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Permafrost and Periglacial Processes Wiley Online Library Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 31 1 15 30 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
description |
Abstract On August 14 2015 a large debris flow initiated by the occurrence of two slope failures at the front of the Lou rock glacier flooded part of the town of Lanslevillard, France. The present study aims to understand the meteorological and geomorphological context that led to these failures. Investigations were conducted by combining meteorological data, surface movements, and geophysical transects. The analysis indicates that the Lou rock glacier is directly connected to an active torrential channel and has a natural predisposition to frontal failure due to the steepness of its front. The slope failures were triggered after a heat wave followed by a three‐week period of almost continuous rainfall. Water flowing on top of the permafrost table was observed in the two head scarps, suggesting that regressive erosion consecutive to this concentrated subsurface water flow triggered the failures. For one of the slides, traces of previous failures were observable on historical aerial imagery dating back to the 1950's, while the second slide corresponded to a novel event and developed on the frontal slope of a fast‐moving and destabilized rock glacier lobe. We also discuss the increase in local predisposition to failure related to the remarkable morphological modifications such as frontal advance and development of surface cracks associated with the lobe destabilization. |
author2 |
European Regional Development Fund |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marcer, Marco Ringsø Nielsen, Steffen Ribeyre, Charles Kummert, Mario Duvillard, Pierre‐Allain Schoeneich, Philippe Bodin, Xavier Genuite, Kim |
spellingShingle |
Marcer, Marco Ringsø Nielsen, Steffen Ribeyre, Charles Kummert, Mario Duvillard, Pierre‐Allain Schoeneich, Philippe Bodin, Xavier Genuite, Kim Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps |
author_facet |
Marcer, Marco Ringsø Nielsen, Steffen Ribeyre, Charles Kummert, Mario Duvillard, Pierre‐Allain Schoeneich, Philippe Bodin, Xavier Genuite, Kim |
author_sort |
Marcer, Marco |
title |
Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps |
title_short |
Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps |
title_full |
Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps |
title_fullStr |
Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigating the slope failures at the Lou rock glacier front, French Alps |
title_sort |
investigating the slope failures at the lou rock glacier front, french alps |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2035 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fppp.2035 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppp.2035 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ppp.2035 |
genre |
permafrost Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
genre_facet |
permafrost Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
op_source |
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes volume 31, issue 1, page 15-30 ISSN 1045-6740 1099-1530 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2035 |
container_title |
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
15 |
op_container_end_page |
30 |
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1802649030138789888 |