Kinematic investigations on the Furggwanghorn Rock Glacier, Switzerland

Buchli, Thomas; Kos, Andrew; Limpach, Philippe; Merz, Kaspar; Zhou, Xiaohai; Springman, Sarah M.

doi:10.1002/ppp.1968

Cited by 69 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…A direct influence of a warmer atmospheric temperature on rock glacier acceleration due to permafrost warming has been indicated by some authors (e.g Kääb et al, 2007;Delaloye et al, 2010), particularly for rock glaciers with 'warm' permafrost (i.e., close to the melting point). However, other studies did not confirm this direct relationship (e.g., Buchli et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…There are detailed investigations and long‐term monitoring programmes for selected rock glaciers, encompassing the last decades, and a summary for the European Alps is reported in Kellerer‐Pirklbauer et al (). These studies combine repeated annual surveys of surface kinematics, continuous ground surface temperature monitoring, geophysical investigations of the internal structure, borehole drillings and monitoring of internal properties such as water content, temperature and displacement along vertical profiles (Kenner et al, ; Buchli et al, ). Recently, the installation of GPS dataloggers has enabled the continuous monitoring of the surface displacement at seasonal or sub‐seasonal resolution, which has been combined with on‐site micro‐meteorological data provided by automatic weather stations (Wirz et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decoupled kinematics of two neighbouring permafrost creeping landforms in the Eastern Italian Alps

Seppi

Carturan

Carton

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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An overall acceleration of rock glacier displacement rates in the Alps has been observed in recent decades, with several cases of destabilization leading to potential geomorphological hazards. This behaviour has been attributed to the rising permafrost temperature, induced by atmospheric warming and regulated by thermo‐hydrological processes. Landforms derived from the interaction of glacier remnants and permafrost are widespread in mountain areas, but are less studied and monitored than talus rock glaciers. This work presents a comparative study of a talus rock glacier and a glacial‐permafrost composite landform (GPCL) in the Eastern Italian Alps. The two landforms are only 10 km apart, but have rather different elevation ranges and main slope aspects. The kinematics and ground thermal conditions were monitored from 2001 to 2015 along with geomorphological surveys, analyses of historical maps and remote sensing data. The dynamic behaviour of the rock glacier was similar to the majority of monitored rock glaciers in the Alps, with an acceleration after 2008 and a velocity peak in 2015. In contrast, the GPCL had a nearly unchanged displacement rate during the observation period. Statistical analyses of kinematic vs. nivo‐meteorological variables revealed a dynamic decoupling of the two landforms after 2008 that corresponds with increased winter snow accumulation. Although the kinematics of both landforms respond to ground surface temperature variations, the collected evidence suggests a different reaction of ground surface temperature to variations in the precipitation regime. This different reaction is likely due to local topo‐climatic conditions that affect snow redistribution by wind. The different reactions of the two systems to the same climatic forcing is likely a legacy of their different origins. GPCL dynamics result from interaction of permafrost and residual glacial dynamics that are associated with possible peculiarities in the internal/basal meltwater circulation, whose future response is uncertain and requires improved understanding. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupled kinematics of two neighbouring permafrost creeping landforms in the Eastern Italian Alps

Seppi

Carturan

Carton

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…For instance, [31] used multi-temporal LiDAR DEMs to derive velocity fields on a very fast rock glacier (surface velocities 2-7-times higher than the Laurichard case), whereas [32] compared TLS-derived DEMs to airborne orthophoto on a variety of moving landforms, including rock glaciers. Nevertheless, our study is the first to assess the accuracy of LiDAR-and SFM-MVS-derived DEMs for quantifying multi-temporal surface displacements of rock glacier with 'normal' velocities (<2 m/yr).…”

Section: Limits and Perspectives Of The Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Annual Kinematics of an Active Rock Glacier Quantified from Very High-Resolution DEMs: An Application-Case in the French Alps

et al. 2018

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Rock glaciers result from the long-term creeping of ice-rich permafrost along mountain slopes. Under warming conditions, deformation is expected to increase, and potential destabilization of those landforms may lead to hazardous phenomena. Monitoring the kinematics of rock glaciers at fine spatial resolution is required to better understand at which rate, where and how they deform. We present here the results of several years of in situ surveys carried out between 2005 and 2015 on the Laurichard rock glacier, an active rock glacier located in the French Alps. Repeated terrestrial laser-scanning (TLS) together with aerial laser-scanning (ALS) and structure-from-motion-multi-view-stereophotogrammetry (SFM-MVS) were used to accurately quantify surface displacement of the Laurichard rock glacier at interannual and pluri-annual scales. Six very high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs, pixel size <50 cm) of the rock glacier surface were generated, and their respective quality was assessed. The relative horizontal position accuracy (XY) of the individual DEMs is in general less than 2 cm with a co-registration error on stable areas ranging from 20-50 cm. The vertical accuracy is around 20 cm. The direction and amplitude of surface displacements computed between DEMs are very consistent with independent geodetic field measurements (e.g., DGPS). Using these datasets, local patterns of the Laurichard rock glacier kinematics were quantified, pointing out specific internal (rheological) and external (bed topography) controls. The evolution of the surface velocity shows few changes on the rock glacier's snout for the first years of the observed period, followed by a major acceleration between 2012 and 2015 affecting the upper part of the tongue and the snout.

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“…High‐resolution remote sensing techniques have gained importance because they provide area‐wide data coverage at a sufficient level of detail. Besides digital photogrammetry and space‐borne differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has recently become an established technique for permafrost monitoring on rock glaciers in terms of volumetric change detection, derivation of flow velocity, deformation monitoring, and surface change analysis, both on a local and on a regional scale . LiDAR is an active remote sensing technology that provides high‐accuracy and high‐precision 3D measurements with high spatial resolution, represented by the spacing between point measurements across the surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides digital photogrammetry 14,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] and space-borne differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry, [32][33][34] light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has recently become an established technique for permafrost monitoring on rock glaciers in terms of volumetric change detection, derivation of flow velocity, deformation monitoring, and surface change analysis, both on a local and on a regional scale. 17,22,23,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] LiDAR is an active remote sensing technology that provides high-accuracy and high-precision 3D measurements with high spatial resolution, represented by the spacing between point measurements across the surface. This allows the capture of objects at the decimeter scale, thereby enabling the extraction of detailed geomorphometric information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐temporal 3D point cloud‐based quantification and analysis of geomorphological activity at an alpine rock glacier using airborne and terrestrial LiDAR

Zahs

Hämmerle

Anders

et al. 2019

Permafrost & Periglacial

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Change analysis of rock glaciers is crucial to analyzing the adaptation of surface and subsurface processes to changing environmental conditions at different timescales because rock glaciers are considered as potentially unstable slopes and solid water reservoirs. To quantify surface change in complex surface topographies with varying surface orientation and roughness, a full three‐dimensional (3D) change analysis is required. This study therefore proposes a novel approach for accurate 3D point cloud‐based quantification and analysis of geomorphological activity on rock glaciers. It is applied to the lower tongue area of the Äußeres Hochebenkar rock glacier, Ötztal Alps, Austria. Multi‐temporal and multi‐source topographic LiDAR data are used to quantify surface changes and to reveal their spatial and temporal characteristics at different timescales within the period 2006–2018. LiDAR‐based examinations are complemented with subsurface characteristics obtained from electrical resistivity tomography. This combined approach reveals active and variable spatial and temporal surface dynamics in the investigated area, with minimum detectable change between 0.09 and 0.65 m at 95% confidence. Given that this approach overcomes current uncertainties in established methods of differentiating complex rock glacier surfaces, we consider it a valuable addition that can be applied to objects of similar properties such as landslides or glaciers.

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Kinematic investigations on the Furggwanghorn Rock Glacier, Switzerland

Cited by 69 publications

References 34 publications

Decoupled kinematics of two neighbouring permafrost creeping landforms in the Eastern Italian Alps

Decoupled kinematics of two neighbouring permafrost creeping landforms in the Eastern Italian Alps

Multi-Annual Kinematics of an Active Rock Glacier Quantified from Very High-Resolution DEMs: An Application-Case in the French Alps

Multi‐temporal 3D point cloud‐based quantification and analysis of geomorphological activity at an alpine rock glacier using airborne and terrestrial LiDAR

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