• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.617.2758; http://geoscience-meeting.scnatweb.ch/sgm2005/SGM05_abstracts/11_Natural_hazards/11_PDF/gruber_talk.pdf

Permafrost degradation has been hypothesized and demonstrated to influence rock-wall stability. Both thaw and warming of permafrost (entering the range of-1.5 to 0 °C) as well as the build-up of hydrostatic pressure following thaw are possible mechanisms that link warming to the reduction in strength of ice-bonded rock joints (Haeberli et al. 1997, Davies et al. 2001, Gruber et al. 2004a). Quantitative information on the spatial distribution of this additional, warming-related stability factor is desirable to support the assessment of natural haz-ards in mountain areas. This contribution proposes variables that describe this effect and explores a way to account for the large uncertainty inherent in their modelling.