Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier
Observations in the European Alps show a long-term rise in rock glacier velocities, which is often associated with increased air and ground temperatures and, more recently, water content. Long-term rock glacier acceleration is superimposed by a high interannual variability of the velocity with a par...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b50936463899486ea5e09331c4ae09e2 2024-09-15T18:11:40+00:00 Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier A. Bast R. Kenner M. Phillips 2024-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024 https://doaj.org/article/b50936463899486ea5e09331c4ae09e2 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/3141/2024/tc-18-3141-2024.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/b50936463899486ea5e09331c4ae09e2 The Cryosphere, Vol 18, Pp 3141-3158 (2024) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024 2024-08-05T17:49:00Z Observations in the European Alps show a long-term rise in rock glacier velocities, which is often associated with increased air and ground temperatures and, more recently, water content. Long-term rock glacier acceleration is superimposed by a high interannual variability of the velocity with a particular gap in the quantitative assessment of the role of water in rock glacier kinematics and the factors leading to short-term rock glacier deceleration. To address this research gap, we drilled three vertical boreholes in the Schafberg rock glacier, Swiss Alps, in August 2020. We documented their stratigraphy and equipped one of the boreholes with temperature sensors and piezometers and the other two with cross-borehole electrodes for electrical resistivity tomography measurements. Rock glacier velocities were determined using repeated terrestrial laser scans. Using data from an additional borehole and nearby weather stations and ground surface temperature sensors, we analysed the interactions between meteorological and subsurface conditions during a rock glacier deceleration period, from January 2021 to July 2023. Our findings show that a lowering of the water content in rock glacier shear horizons is crucial for interannual rock glacier deceleration. The impact of the snowpack, both as an insulator and as a water source, is significant for rock glacier kinematics. Winters with little snow and relatively dry summers appear to be ideal for rock glacier cooling and drying, leading to deceleration. Summer heat waves have limited impact on rock glacier velocity if they are preceded by snow-poor winters. Our study uses an innovative combination of borehole data to gain insights into rock glacier temperatures and water contents, allowing us to detect relative changes in ice and/or water contents in ice-rich permafrost. The monitoring techniques used have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of the main drivers of rock glacier kinematics and water availability. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 18 7 3141 3158 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
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Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 A. Bast R. Kenner M. Phillips Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Observations in the European Alps show a long-term rise in rock glacier velocities, which is often associated with increased air and ground temperatures and, more recently, water content. Long-term rock glacier acceleration is superimposed by a high interannual variability of the velocity with a particular gap in the quantitative assessment of the role of water in rock glacier kinematics and the factors leading to short-term rock glacier deceleration. To address this research gap, we drilled three vertical boreholes in the Schafberg rock glacier, Swiss Alps, in August 2020. We documented their stratigraphy and equipped one of the boreholes with temperature sensors and piezometers and the other two with cross-borehole electrodes for electrical resistivity tomography measurements. Rock glacier velocities were determined using repeated terrestrial laser scans. Using data from an additional borehole and nearby weather stations and ground surface temperature sensors, we analysed the interactions between meteorological and subsurface conditions during a rock glacier deceleration period, from January 2021 to July 2023. Our findings show that a lowering of the water content in rock glacier shear horizons is crucial for interannual rock glacier deceleration. The impact of the snowpack, both as an insulator and as a water source, is significant for rock glacier kinematics. Winters with little snow and relatively dry summers appear to be ideal for rock glacier cooling and drying, leading to deceleration. Summer heat waves have limited impact on rock glacier velocity if they are preceded by snow-poor winters. Our study uses an innovative combination of borehole data to gain insights into rock glacier temperatures and water contents, allowing us to detect relative changes in ice and/or water contents in ice-rich permafrost. The monitoring techniques used have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of the main drivers of rock glacier kinematics and water availability. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Bast R. Kenner M. Phillips |
author_facet |
A. Bast R. Kenner M. Phillips |
author_sort |
A. Bast |
title |
Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier |
title_short |
Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier |
title_full |
Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier |
title_fullStr |
Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier |
title_full_unstemmed |
Short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier |
title_sort |
short-term cooling, drying, and deceleration of an ice-rich rock glacier |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024 https://doaj.org/article/b50936463899486ea5e09331c4ae09e2 |
genre |
Ice permafrost The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 18, Pp 3141-3158 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/3141/2024/tc-18-3141-2024.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/b50936463899486ea5e09331c4ae09e2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3141-2024 |
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The Cryosphere |
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18 |
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3141 |
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