Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps
Climate change is seriously affecting the cryosphere in terms, for example, of permafrost thaw, alteration of rain ∕ snow ratio, and glacier shrinkage. There is concern about the increasing number of rockfalls at high elevation in the last decades. Nevertheless, the exact role of climate parameters...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:83f32f9dba3a40d187e11d2a380aa510 2023-05-15T17:57:30+02:00 Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps R. Paranunzio F. Laio M. Chiarle G. Nigrelli F. Guzzetti 2016-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-2085-2016 https://doaj.org/article/83f32f9dba3a40d187e11d2a380aa510 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/16/2085/2016/nhess-16-2085-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1561-8633 https://doaj.org/toc/1684-9981 1561-8633 1684-9981 doi:10.5194/nhess-16-2085-2016 https://doaj.org/article/83f32f9dba3a40d187e11d2a380aa510 Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 16, Iss 9, Pp 2085-2106 (2016) Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-2085-2016 2022-12-31T02:44:03Z Climate change is seriously affecting the cryosphere in terms, for example, of permafrost thaw, alteration of rain ∕ snow ratio, and glacier shrinkage. There is concern about the increasing number of rockfalls at high elevation in the last decades. Nevertheless, the exact role of climate parameters in slope instability at high elevation has not been fully explored yet. In this paper, we investigate 41 rockfalls listed in different sources (newspapers, technical reports, and CNR IRPI archive) in the elevation range 1500–4200 m a.s.l. in the Italian Alps between 1997 and 2013 in the absence of an evident trigger. We apply and improve an existing data-based statistical approach to detect the anomalies of climate parameters (temperature and precipitation) associated with rockfall occurrences. The identified climate anomalies have been related to the spatiotemporal distribution of the events. Rockfalls occurred in association with significant temperature anomalies in 83 % of our case studies. Temperature represents a key factor contributing to slope failure occurrence in different ways. As expected, warm temperatures accelerate snowmelt and permafrost thaw; however, surprisingly, negative anomalies are also often associated with slope failures. Interestingly, different regional patterns emerge from the data: higher-than-average temperatures are often associated with rockfalls in the Western Alps, while in the Eastern Alps slope failures are mainly associated with colder-than-average temperatures. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 16 9 2085 2106 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 R. Paranunzio F. Laio M. Chiarle G. Nigrelli F. Guzzetti Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps |
topic_facet |
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Climate change is seriously affecting the cryosphere in terms, for example, of permafrost thaw, alteration of rain ∕ snow ratio, and glacier shrinkage. There is concern about the increasing number of rockfalls at high elevation in the last decades. Nevertheless, the exact role of climate parameters in slope instability at high elevation has not been fully explored yet. In this paper, we investigate 41 rockfalls listed in different sources (newspapers, technical reports, and CNR IRPI archive) in the elevation range 1500–4200 m a.s.l. in the Italian Alps between 1997 and 2013 in the absence of an evident trigger. We apply and improve an existing data-based statistical approach to detect the anomalies of climate parameters (temperature and precipitation) associated with rockfall occurrences. The identified climate anomalies have been related to the spatiotemporal distribution of the events. Rockfalls occurred in association with significant temperature anomalies in 83 % of our case studies. Temperature represents a key factor contributing to slope failure occurrence in different ways. As expected, warm temperatures accelerate snowmelt and permafrost thaw; however, surprisingly, negative anomalies are also often associated with slope failures. Interestingly, different regional patterns emerge from the data: higher-than-average temperatures are often associated with rockfalls in the Western Alps, while in the Eastern Alps slope failures are mainly associated with colder-than-average temperatures. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
R. Paranunzio F. Laio M. Chiarle G. Nigrelli F. Guzzetti |
author_facet |
R. Paranunzio F. Laio M. Chiarle G. Nigrelli F. Guzzetti |
author_sort |
R. Paranunzio |
title |
Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps |
title_short |
Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps |
title_full |
Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps |
title_fullStr |
Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the Italian Alps |
title_sort |
climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of rockfalls at high-elevation in the italian alps |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-2085-2016 https://doaj.org/article/83f32f9dba3a40d187e11d2a380aa510 |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_source |
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 16, Iss 9, Pp 2085-2106 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/16/2085/2016/nhess-16-2085-2016.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1561-8633 https://doaj.org/toc/1684-9981 1561-8633 1684-9981 doi:10.5194/nhess-16-2085-2016 https://doaj.org/article/83f32f9dba3a40d187e11d2a380aa510 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-2085-2016 |
container_title |
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
2085 |
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2106 |
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