Landslides and relict ice margin landforms in Adventdalen, central Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Sawagaki, Takanobu; Koaze, Takashi

doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.1996.tb00465.x

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Such surficial landslide activity is characteristic for the Adventdalen Group. Numerous smaller and larger landslides termed 'landslips' were described on slopes where the basal sandstone cliffs of the Helvetiafjellet Formation are underlain by weak and easy erodible shales of the Rurikfjellet Formation (Major, 1964;Sawagaki & Koaze, 1996;Dallmann et al, 2001). In contrast, the landslide activity at Forkastningsfjellet created a peculiar morphostructural assemblage of elongated terraces and tilted blocks that may be interpreted either as regionally significant tectonic fault blocks or as products of a massive gravitational slope failure.…”

Section: Geological Setting and Lithostratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomy of a mega-rock slide at Forkastningsfjellet, Spitsbergen and its implications for landslide hazard and risk considerations

Kuhn¹,

Redfield²,

Hermanns³

et al. 2019

NJG

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Rock slope failures are a potential source of danger in polar regions. A causal connection between slope failures and climate-related glacial and deglacial processes has been inferred for the growing number of documented events. In this context, we investigated a large-scale rotational rock slide affecting the coastal ridge of Spitsbergen's Forkastningsfjellet. Based on a detailed structural description, we discuss the kinematics, timing and potential drivers of rock slide activity and present a preliminary landslide hazard assessment. The Forkastningsfjellet rock slide has a footprint of at least 2.03 km². A minimum rock mass volume of 0.10 km³ was displaced either catastrophically or over a longer time period. Initial movement in the hanging wall of a NW-dipping listric sliding surface led to the fragmentation of the sliding mass into separated tilt blocks that created the present-day, stair-stepped morphology. The main rock slide release was probably related to the deglaciation of Isfjorden and the resulting instability of the weakened rock mass along the oversteepened slopes during Allerød times (~13,900-12,700 BP). Mass wasting and seacliff erosion, mainly controlled by the inherent discontinuities of the fractured and tilted rock masses, currently take place along the steep slopes of the coastal tilt blocks. A preliminary hazard analysis suggests a medium to high hazard for a reactivation of the slide or individual blocks, but uncertainty margins for this classification are large due to a lack of data. Poor control of total displacement data in particular contributes to the uncertainty. A high-acceleration reactivation of a large compartment of the slide (e.g., on the order of 10 million m 3 ) could cause a displacement wave several metres high in Longyearbyen. These results indicate a need for further multidisciplinary investigations to better understand the extent and nature of the rock slide and parameters such as displacement velocities to support a more reliable hazard and risk assessment for the Longyearbyen region.

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Section: Geological Setting and Lithostratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomy of a mega-rock slide at Forkastningsfjellet, Spitsbergen and its implications for landslide hazard and risk considerations

Kuhn¹,

Redfield²,

Hermanns³

et al. 2019

NJG

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“…(2) thermal conditions for ice-wedge cracking (Matsuoka 1999); (3) structures and displacements of opensystem pingos (Yoshikawa 1993;Matsuoka et al 2004); (4) distinction between solifluction processes due to onesided and two-sided freezing (Matsuoka and Hirakawa 2000), and (5) bedrock slump associated with deglaciation (Sawagaki and Koaze 1996). A summary report on periglacial processes was presented in Matsuoka et al (2004).…”

Section: High Arctic Svalbardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold Region Geomorphology in Japan

Matsuoka

2013

Geog. Rev. Japan B

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This paper reviews glacial and periglacial geomorphology and associated studies on physical geography and Quaternary geology, undertaken by Japanese researchers during the last three decades. Major progress has been achieved in two aspects. First, overseas fieldwork in a wide range of polar and alpine regions has promoted understanding of present-day glacier and permafrost landforms, processes and sediments. The outcomes have greatly influenced domestic research, improving the interpretation of past glaciation and periglaciation in Japan. Second, Japanese studies have made significant contributions to the international research communities in applying tephrochronology to dating tills and periglacial structures, proposing a distinct feature of glacial advances possibly reflecting climate conditions in eastern Asia, promoting comprehensive monitoring of periglacial processes and understanding periglacial processes in seasonal frost and marginal periglacial conditions.

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Geomorphic Features of the Eastern Pamirs, with a Focus on the Occurrence of Intermontane Basins

Komatsu

2016

Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research

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Landslides and relict ice margin landforms in Adventdalen, central Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Cited by 4 publications

References 22 publications

Anatomy of a mega-rock slide at Forkastningsfjellet, Spitsbergen and its implications for landslide hazard and risk considerations

Anatomy of a mega-rock slide at Forkastningsfjellet, Spitsbergen and its implications for landslide hazard and risk considerations

Cold Region Geomorphology in Japan

Geomorphic Features of the Eastern Pamirs, with a Focus on the Occurrence of Intermontane Basins

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