Towards a palaeoclimatic model of rock-glacier formation in the Swiss Alps
Regula Frauenfelder,Andreas Kääb +1 more
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
In this paper, a study was carried out in the Swiss Alps using two different approaches: (1) kinematic analysis of specific active rock glaciers, and (2) description of the altitudinal distribution of relict rock glaciers.Abstract:
Climate and its long-term variability govern ground thermal conditions, and for this reason represent one of the most important impacts on creeping mountain permafrost. The decoding and better understanding of the present-day morphology and distribution of rock glaciers opens up a variety of insights into past and present environmental, especially climatic, conditions on a local to regional scale. The present study was carried out in the Swiss Alps using two different approaches: (1) kinematic analysis of specific active rock glaciers, and (2) description of the altitudinal distribution of relict rock glaciers. Two theoretical shape concepts of active rock-glacier morphology were derived’ a"monomorphic" type, representing presumably undisturbed, continuous development over several millennia and a ˚polymorphic" type, reflecting a system of (possibly climatically affected) individual creep streams several centuries old. The topoclimatic-based inventory analysis indicated an average temperature increase at relict rock-glacier fronts of approximately +2°C since the time of their decay, which is a sign of rock-glacier ages reaching back to the Alpine Late Glacial. The temperature difference of some tenths of a degree Celsius found for active/inactive rock glaciers is typical for the bandwidth of Holocene climate variations. These results confirm the importance of Alpine rock glaciers as highly sensitive indicators of past temperature evolution.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Permafrost and climate in Europe: Monitoring and modelling thermal, geomorphological and geotechnical responses
Charles Harris,Lukas U. Arenson,Hanne H. Christiansen,Bernd Etzelmüller,Regula Frauenfelder,Stephan Gruber,Wilfried Haeberli,Christian Hauck,Martin Hölzle,Ole Humlum,Ketil Isaksen,Andreas Kääb,Martina A. Kern-Lütschg,Michael Lehning,Norikazu Matsuoka,Julian B. Murton,Jeanette Nötzli,Marcia Phillips,Neil Ross,Matti Seppälä,Sarah M. Springman,Daniel Vonder Mühll +21 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a review of the changing state of European permafrost within a spatial zone that includes the continuous high latitude arctic permfrost of Svalbard and the discontinuous high altitude mountain permaffrost of Iceland, Fennoscandia and the Alps.
Journal ArticleDOI
Permafrost creep and rock glacier dynamics
Wilfried Haeberli,Bernard Hallet,Lukas U. Arenson,Roger Elconin,Ole Humlum,Andreas Kääb,Viktor Kaufmann,Branko Ladanyi,Norikazu Matsuoka,Sarah M. Springman,Daniel Vonder Mühll +10 more
TL;DR: In this article, a review paper examines thermal conditions (active layer and permafrost), internal composition (rock and ice components), kinematics and rheology of creeping perennially frozen slopes in cold mountain areas.
Journal ArticleDOI
Latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacier variations in the European Alps
Susan Ivy-Ochs,Susan Ivy-Ochs,Hanns Kerschner,Max Maisch,Marcus Christl,Peter W. Kubik,Christian Schlüchter +6 more
TL;DR: In the early Holocene, the Egesen stadial moraines can be divided into three or in some cases even more phases (sub-stadials) as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Monitoring high-mountain terrain deformation from repeated air- and spaceborne optical data: examples using digital aerial imagery and ASTER data
TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply standard software to automatically generate digital elevation models (DEM) from aerial photography and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite stereo imagery.
Journal ArticleDOI
Surface Geometry, Thickness Changes and Flow Fields on Creeping Mountain Permafrost: Automatic Extraction by Digital Image Analysis
A. Kb,M. Vollmer +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply commercial software for the automatic generation of elevation models from digital imagery and present a newly developed tool for digital measurement of surface displacements from repeated orthophotos.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Rock glaciers: part 1: rock glacier morphology: classification and distribution
TL;DR: In this paper, a substantial part of the literature and attempt an amalgamation of ideas and a simplification of some terms used in the widespread writings on this subject are reviewed, together with, in the second part, discussion on origin, the models of formation and flow mechanics.
Journal ArticleDOI
Analysing the creep of mountain permafrost using high precision aerial photogrammetry: 25 years of monitoring Gruben rock glacier, Swiss Alps
TL;DR: Aerophotogrammetrical monitoring of Gruben rock glacier over the period 1970 to 1995 results in a unique time series documenting the three-dimensional surface kinematics of creeping mountain permafrost.
Journal ArticleDOI
The climatic significance of rock glaciers
TL;DR: In this paper, a number of diagnostic geomorphological associations of normal glaciers and rock glaciers are analysed in selected regions of central west Greenland, north-east Greenland and Antarctica, and meteorological data are at hand.
Ten years after the drilling through the permafrost of the active rock glacier Murtel, eastern Swiss Alps : Answered questions and new perspectives
TL;DR: In this paper, a core drilling through the active rock glacier Murt¾l (Swiss Alps) opened new perspectives concerning thermal conditions, material properties, rheology, geomorphological evolution and environmental significance of creeping mountain permafrost.