Articles | Volume 18, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3231-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3231-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Brief communication: On the potential of seismic polarity reversal to identify a thin low-velocity layer above a high-velocity layer in ice-rich rock glaciers
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padua, Italy
Mirko Pavoni
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padua, Italy
Alexander Bast
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Flüelastrasse 11, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, Flüelastrasse 11, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Samuel Weber
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Flüelastrasse 11, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, Flüelastrasse 11, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland
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Nicola Cenni, Jacopo Boaga, Filippo Casarin, Giancarlo De Marchi, Maria Rosa Valluzzi, and Giorgio Cassiani
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Matthias Meyer, Samuel Weber, Jan Beutel, and Lothar Thiele
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Monitoring rock slopes for a long time helps to understand the impact of climate change on the alpine environment. Measurements of seismic signals are often affected by external influences, e.g., unwanted anthropogenic noise. In the presented work, these influences are automatically identified and removed to enable proper geoscientific analysis. The methods presented are based on machine learning and intentionally kept generic so that they can be equally applied in other (more generic) settings.
Benjamin Mary, Luca Peruzzo, Jacopo Boaga, Myriam Schmutz, Yuxin Wu, Susan S. Hubbard, and Giorgio Cassiani
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5427–5444, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5427-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5427-2018, 2018
Philipp Mamot, Samuel Weber, Tanja Schröder, and Michael Krautblatter
The Cryosphere, 12, 3333–3353, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3333-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3333-2018, 2018
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Most of the observed failures in permafrost-affected alpine rock walls are likely triggered by the mechanical destabilisation of warming bedrock permafrost including ice-filled joints. We present a systematic study of the brittle shear failure of ice and rock–ice contacts along rock joints in a simulated depth ≤ 30 m and at temperatures from −10 to −0.5 °C. Warming and sudden reduction in rock overburden due to the detachment of an upper rock mass lead to a significant drop in shear resistance.
Samuel Weber, Jan Beutel, Jérome Faillettaz, Andreas Hasler, Michael Krautblatter, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 11, 567–583, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-567-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-567-2017, 2017
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We present a 8-year continuous time series of measured fracture kinematics and thermal conditions on steep permafrost bedrock at Hörnligrat, Matterhorn. Based on this unique dataset and a conceptual model for strong fractured bedrock, we develop a novel quantitative approach that allows to separate reversible from irreversible fracture kinematics and assign the dominant forcing. A new index of irreversibility provides useful indication for the occurrence and timing of irreversible displacements.
G. Cassiani, J. Boaga, D. Vanella, M. T. Perri, and S. Consoli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2213–2225, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2213-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2213-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents an integrated approach to monitoring root water uptake and link this information to the plant transpiration measured by sap flow and eddy covariance. The monitoring of soil conditions is achieved using 3-D electrical resistivity tomography. This ensemble of data can be used jointly to model the soil-plant interactions and identify the extent and efficiency of the root zone in front of existing irrigation schemes. A case study is presented regarding an orange orchard in Sicily.
N. Ursino, G. Cassiani, R. Deiana, G. Vignoli, and J. Boaga
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 1105–1118, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1105-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1105-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Discipline: Frozen ground | Subject: Alpine Glaciers
Modal sensitivity of rock glaciers to elastic changes from spectral seismic noise monitoring and modeling
Antoine Guillemot, Laurent Baillet, Stéphane Garambois, Xavier Bodin, Agnès Helmstetter, Raphaël Mayoraz, and Eric Larose
The Cryosphere, 15, 501–529, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-501-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-501-2021, 2021
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Among mountainous permafrost landforms, rock glaciers are composed of boulders, fine frozen materials, water and ice in various proportions. Displacement rates of active rock glaciers can reach several m/yr, contributing to emerging risks linked to gravitational hazards. Thanks to passive seismic monitoring, resonance effects related to seasonal freeze–thawing processes of the shallower layers have been monitored and modeled. This method is an accurate tool for studying rock glaciers at depth.
Cited articles
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Short summary
Reversal polarity is observed in rock glacier seismic refraction tomography. We collected several datasets observing this phenomenon in Switzerland and Italy. This phase change may be linked to interferences due to the presence of a thin low-velocity layer. Our results are confirmed by the modelling and analysis of synthetic seismograms to demonstrate that the presence of a low-velocity layer produces a polarity reversal on the seismic gather.
Reversal polarity is observed in rock glacier seismic refraction tomography. We collected...