Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH)
Understanding rock slope kinematics in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost is a challenging task. Recent laboratory studies have provided enhanced understanding of rock fatigue and fracturing in cold environments but were not successfully confirmed by field studies. This study presents a unique time...
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ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:135609 2024-10-13T14:10:13+00:00 Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH) Weber, Samuel Beutel, Jan Faillettaz, Jérome Hasler, Andreas Krautblatter, Michael Vieli, Andreas 2017 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135609/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135609/1/2017_Weber_tc-11-567-2017.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-135609 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-567-2017 eng eng Copernicus Publications https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135609/1/2017_Weber_tc-11-567-2017.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-135609 doi:10.5194/tc-11-567-2017 urn:issn:1994-0416 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Weber, Samuel; Beutel, Jan; Faillettaz, Jérome; Hasler, Andreas; Krautblatter, Michael; Vieli, Andreas (2017). Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH). The Cryosphere, 11(1):567-583. Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2017 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-13560910.5194/tc-11-567-2017 2024-09-18T00:49:48Z Understanding rock slope kinematics in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost is a challenging task. Recent laboratory studies have provided enhanced understanding of rock fatigue and fracturing in cold environments but were not successfully confirmed by field studies. This study presents a unique time series of fracture kinematics, rock temperatures and environmental conditions at 3500 m a. s. l. on the steep, strongly fractured Hörnligrat of the Matterhorn (Swiss Alps). Thanks to 8 years of continuous data, the longer-term evolution of fracture kinematics in permafrost can be analyzed with an unprecedented level of detail. Evidence for common trends in spatiotemporal pattern of fracture kinematics could be found: a partly reversible seasonal movement can be observed at all locations, with variable amplitudes. In the wider context of rock slope stability assessment, we propose separating reversible (elastic) components of fracture kinematics, caused by thermoelastic strains, from the irreversible (plastic) component due to other processes. A regression analysis between temperature and fracture displacement shows that all instrumented fractures exhibit reversible displacements that dominate fracture kinematics in winter. Furthermore, removing this reversible component from the observed displacement enables us to quantify the irreversible component. From this, a new metric – termed index of irreversibility – is proposed to quantify relative irreversibility of fracture kinematics. This new index can identify periods when fracture displacements are dominated by irreversible processes. For many sensors, irreversible enhanced fracture displacement is observed in summer and its initiation coincides with the onset of positive rock temperatures. This likely indicates thawing-related processes, such as meltwater percolation into fractures, as a forcing mechanism for irreversible displacements. For a few instrumented fractures, irreversible displacements were found at the onset of the freezing period, suggesting that ... Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost The Cryosphere University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology |
spellingShingle |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology Weber, Samuel Beutel, Jan Faillettaz, Jérome Hasler, Andreas Krautblatter, Michael Vieli, Andreas Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH) |
topic_facet |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology |
description |
Understanding rock slope kinematics in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost is a challenging task. Recent laboratory studies have provided enhanced understanding of rock fatigue and fracturing in cold environments but were not successfully confirmed by field studies. This study presents a unique time series of fracture kinematics, rock temperatures and environmental conditions at 3500 m a. s. l. on the steep, strongly fractured Hörnligrat of the Matterhorn (Swiss Alps). Thanks to 8 years of continuous data, the longer-term evolution of fracture kinematics in permafrost can be analyzed with an unprecedented level of detail. Evidence for common trends in spatiotemporal pattern of fracture kinematics could be found: a partly reversible seasonal movement can be observed at all locations, with variable amplitudes. In the wider context of rock slope stability assessment, we propose separating reversible (elastic) components of fracture kinematics, caused by thermoelastic strains, from the irreversible (plastic) component due to other processes. A regression analysis between temperature and fracture displacement shows that all instrumented fractures exhibit reversible displacements that dominate fracture kinematics in winter. Furthermore, removing this reversible component from the observed displacement enables us to quantify the irreversible component. From this, a new metric – termed index of irreversibility – is proposed to quantify relative irreversibility of fracture kinematics. This new index can identify periods when fracture displacements are dominated by irreversible processes. For many sensors, irreversible enhanced fracture displacement is observed in summer and its initiation coincides with the onset of positive rock temperatures. This likely indicates thawing-related processes, such as meltwater percolation into fractures, as a forcing mechanism for irreversible displacements. For a few instrumented fractures, irreversible displacements were found at the onset of the freezing period, suggesting that ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Weber, Samuel Beutel, Jan Faillettaz, Jérome Hasler, Andreas Krautblatter, Michael Vieli, Andreas |
author_facet |
Weber, Samuel Beutel, Jan Faillettaz, Jérome Hasler, Andreas Krautblatter, Michael Vieli, Andreas |
author_sort |
Weber, Samuel |
title |
Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH) |
title_short |
Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH) |
title_full |
Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH) |
title_fullStr |
Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH) |
title_sort |
quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on matterhorn (ch) |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135609/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135609/1/2017_Weber_tc-11-567-2017.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-135609 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-567-2017 |
genre |
permafrost The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
permafrost The Cryosphere |
op_source |
Weber, Samuel; Beutel, Jan; Faillettaz, Jérome; Hasler, Andreas; Krautblatter, Michael; Vieli, Andreas (2017). Quantifying irreversible movement in steep, fractured bedrock permafrost on Matterhorn (CH). The Cryosphere, 11(1):567-583. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135609/1/2017_Weber_tc-11-567-2017.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-135609 doi:10.5194/tc-11-567-2017 urn:issn:1994-0416 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-13560910.5194/tc-11-567-2017 |
_version_ |
1812817404980363264 |