Articles | Volume 18, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5713-2024
© 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-18-5713-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Dec 2024
Research article |
| 06 Dec 2024
| 06 Dec 2024
Spring-water temperature suggests widespread occurrence of Alpine permafrost in pseudo-relict rock glaciers
Luca Carturan
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy
Giulia Zuecco
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Angela Andreotti
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy
Jacopo Boaga
Department of Geosciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Costanza Morino
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy
Mirko Pavoni
Department of Geosciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Roberto Seppi
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Pavia, Italy
Monica Tolotti
Fondazione Edmund Mach – Istituto Agrario San Michele All'Adige, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
Thomas Zanoner
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Pavia, Italy
Matteo Zumiani
Geological Service, Autonomous Province of Trento, Trento, Italy
Related authors
Luca Carturan, Alexander C. Ihle, Federico Cazorzi, Tiziana Lazzarina Zendrini, Fabrizio De Blasi, Giancarlo Dalla Fontana, Giuliano Dreossi, Daniela Festi, Bryan Mark, Klaus Dieter Oeggl, Roberto Seppi, Barbara Stenni, and Paolo Gabrielli
The Cryosphere, 19, 3443–3458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3443-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3443-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Paleoclimatic glacial archives in low-latitude mountains are increasingly affected by melt, causing heavy percolation and removing snow and firn accumulated across months, seasons, or even years. Here we present a proxy system model that explicitly accounts for melt in ice and firn cores. Compared to traditional annual layer counting, the model significantly improved the interpretation and annual dating of the Mt Ortles firn core, in the Italian Alps, which includes the very warm summer of 2003.
Luca Carturan, Fabrizio De Blasi, Roberto Dinale, Gianfranco Dragà, Paolo Gabrielli, Volkmar Mair, Roberto Seppi, David Tonidandel, Thomas Zanoner, Tiziana Lazzarina Zendrini, and Giancarlo Dalla Fontana
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4661–4688, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4661-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4661-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new dataset of air, englacial, soil surface and rock wall temperatures collected between 2010 and 2016 on Mt Ortles, which is the highest summit of South Tyrol, Italy. Details are provided on instrument type and characteristics, field methods, and data quality control and assessment. The obtained data series are available through an open data repository. This is a rare dataset from a summit area lacking observations on permafrost and glaciers and their climatic response.
Mirko Pavoni, Jacopo Boaga, Alberto Carrera, Giulia Zuecco, Luca Carturan, and Matteo Zumiani
The Cryosphere, 17, 1601–1607, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In the last decades, geochemical investigations at the springs of rock glaciers have been used to estimate their drainage processes, and the frozen layer is typically considered to act as an aquiclude or aquitard. In this work, we evaluated the hydraulic behavior of a mountain permafrost site by executing a geophysical monitoring experiment. Several hundred liters of salt water have been injected into the subsurface, and geoelectrical measurements have been performed to define the water flow.
Luca Carturan, Alexander C. Ihle, Federico Cazorzi, Tiziana Lazzarina Zendrini, Fabrizio De Blasi, Giancarlo Dalla Fontana, Giuliano Dreossi, Daniela Festi, Bryan Mark, Klaus Dieter Oeggl, Roberto Seppi, Barbara Stenni, and Paolo Gabrielli
The Cryosphere, 19, 3443–3458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3443-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3443-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Paleoclimatic glacial archives in low-latitude mountains are increasingly affected by melt, causing heavy percolation and removing snow and firn accumulated across months, seasons, or even years. Here we present a proxy system model that explicitly accounts for melt in ice and firn cores. Compared to traditional annual layer counting, the model significantly improved the interpretation and annual dating of the Mt Ortles firn core, in the Italian Alps, which includes the very warm summer of 2003.
Luca Peruzzo, Ulrike Werban, Marco Pohle, Mirko Pavoni, Benjamin Mary, Giorgio Cassiani, Simona Consoli, and Daniela Vanella
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2117, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2117, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Both spatial and temporal information are important in agriculture. Information regarding the above-ground variables ever-increasing in density and precision. On the contrary, below-ground information lags behind and has been typically limited to time series. This study uses methods that map the subsurface spatial variability. A numerical simulations of above- and below water fluxes are then based on such spatial information and additional time-oriented datasets that are common in agriculture.
Ilaria Barone, Alexander Bast, Mirko Pavoni, Steven Javier Gaona Torres, and Jacopo Boaga
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-962, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-962, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Different geophysical methods such as electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), seismic refraction tomography (SRT) and multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) were jointly used to characterize the internal structure of the Flüela rock glacier, Switzerland. We show that the MASW method can efficiently resolve an ice-rich layer even in presence of a supra-permafrost water flow, a situation when SRT may fail. Our results are corroborated by seismic synthetic modelling.
Mirko Pavoni, Luca Peruzzo, Jacopo Boaga, Alberto Carrera, Ilaria Barone, and Alexander Bast
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-405, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-405, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We propose an alternative electrode to perform Electrical Resistivity Tomography measurements in coarse blocky environments, such as rock glaciers. Compared to the traditional steel spike electrodes, which need to be hammered between the blocks, the proposed steel-net electrodes can be easily pushed between the builders by hand and then removed. Furthermore, the steel-net electrode weighs one-sixth of the steel spike, and is, therefore, easier to carry in challenging mountain environments.
Marco M. Lehmann, Josie Geris, Ilja van Meerveld, Daniele Penna, Youri Rothfuss, Matteo Verdone, Pertti Ala-Aho, Matyas Arvai, Alise Babre, Philippe Balandier, Fabian Bernhard, Lukrecija Butorac, Simon Damien Carrière, Natalie C. Ceperley, Zuosinan Chen, Alicia Correa, Haoyu Diao, David Dubbert, Maren Dubbert, Fabio Ercoli, Marius G. Floriancic, Teresa E. Gimeno, Damien Gounelle, Frank Hagedorn, Christophe Hissler, Frédéric Huneau, Alberto Iraheta, Tamara Jakovljević, Nerantzis Kazakis, Zoltan Kern, Karl Knaebel, Johannes Kobler, Jiří Kocum, Charlotte Koeber, Gerbrand Koren, Angelika Kübert, Dawid Kupka, Samuel Le Gall, Aleksi Lehtonen, Thomas Leydier, Philippe Malagoli, Francesca Sofia Manca di Villahermosa, Chiara Marchina, Núria Martínez-Carreras, Nicolas Martin-StPaul, Hannu Marttila, Aline Meyer Oliveira, Gaël Monvoisin, Natalie Orlowski, Kadi Palmik-Das, Aurel Persoiu, Andrei Popa, Egor Prikaziuk, Cécile Quantin, Katja T. Rinne-Garmston, Clara Rohde, Martin Sanda, Matthias Saurer, Daniel Schulz, Michael Paul Stockinger, Christine Stumpp, Jean-Stéphane Venisse, Lukas Vlcek, Stylianos Voudouris, Björn Weeser, Mark E. Wilkinson, Giulia Zuecco, and Katrin Meusburger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-409, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-409, 2024
Revised manuscript under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
This study describes a unique large-scale isotope dataset to study water dynamics in European forests. Researchers collected data from 40 beech and spruce forest sites in spring and summer 2023, using a standardized method to ensure consistency. The results show that water sources for trees change between seasons and vary by tree species. This large dataset offers valuable information for understanding plant water use, improving ecohydrological models, and mapping water cycles across Europe.
Jacopo Boaga, Mirko Pavoni, Alexander Bast, and Samuel Weber
The Cryosphere, 18, 3231–3236, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3231-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3231-2024, 2024
Short summary
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.
Giulia Magnarini, Anya Champagne, Costanza Morino, Calvin Beck, Meven Philippe, Armelle Decaulne, and Susan J. Conway
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 657–678, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-657-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-657-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We show that Icelandic long-runout landslides with longitudinal ridges represent good analogues of Martian landforms. The large record of long-runout landslides with longitudinal ridges emplaced after the Last Glacial Maximum in Iceland offers a unique opportunity to study the possible relation between the development of these landforms and environmental conditions. This could have implications for reconstructing Martian paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental conditions.
Davide Scafidi, Alfio Viganò, Jacopo Boaga, Valeria Cascone, Simone Barani, Daniele Spallarossa, Gabriele Ferretti, Mauro Carli, and Giancarlo De Marchi
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1249–1260, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-1249-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-1249-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our paper concerns the use of a dense network of low-cost seismic accelerometers in populated areas to achieve rapid and reliable estimation of exposure maps in Trentino (northeast Italy). These additional data, in conjunction with the automatic monitoring procedure, allow us to obtain dense measurements which only rely on actual recorded data, avoiding the use of ground motion prediction equations. This leads to a more reliable picture of the actual ground shaking.
Luca Carturan, Fabrizio De Blasi, Roberto Dinale, Gianfranco Dragà, Paolo Gabrielli, Volkmar Mair, Roberto Seppi, David Tonidandel, Thomas Zanoner, Tiziana Lazzarina Zendrini, and Giancarlo Dalla Fontana
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4661–4688, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4661-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4661-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new dataset of air, englacial, soil surface and rock wall temperatures collected between 2010 and 2016 on Mt Ortles, which is the highest summit of South Tyrol, Italy. Details are provided on instrument type and characteristics, field methods, and data quality control and assessment. The obtained data series are available through an open data repository. This is a rare dataset from a summit area lacking observations on permafrost and glaciers and their climatic response.
Alessio Gentile, Davide Canone, Natalie Ceperley, Davide Gisolo, Maurizio Previati, Giulia Zuecco, Bettina Schaefli, and Stefano Ferraris
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2301–2323, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2301-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
What drives young water fraction, F*yw (i.e., the fraction of water in streamflow younger than 2–3 months), variations with elevation? Why is F*yw counterintuitively low in high-elevation catchments, in spite of steeper topography? In this paper, we present a perceptual model explaining how the longer low-flow duration at high elevations, driven by the persistence of winter snowpacks, increases the proportion of stored (old) water contributing to the stream, thus reducing F*yw.
Mirko Pavoni, Jacopo Boaga, Alberto Carrera, Giulia Zuecco, Luca Carturan, and Matteo Zumiani
The Cryosphere, 17, 1601–1607, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In the last decades, geochemical investigations at the springs of rock glaciers have been used to estimate their drainage processes, and the frozen layer is typically considered to act as an aquiclude or aquitard. In this work, we evaluated the hydraulic behavior of a mountain permafrost site by executing a geophysical monitoring experiment. Several hundred liters of salt water have been injected into the subsurface, and geoelectrical measurements have been performed to define the water flow.
Marcia Phillips, Chasper Buchli, Samuel Weber, Jacopo Boaga, Mirko Pavoni, and Alexander Bast
The Cryosphere, 17, 753–760, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-753-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-753-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A new combination of temperature, water pressure and cross-borehole electrical resistivity data is used to investigate ice/water contents in an ice-rich rock glacier. The landform is close to 0°C and has locally heterogeneous characteristics, ice/water contents and temperatures. The techniques presented continuously monitor temporal and spatial phase changes to a depth of 12 m and provide the basis for a better understanding of accelerating rock glacier movements and future water availability.
Mirko Pavoni, Jacopo Boaga, Alberto Carrera, Stefano Urbini, Fabrizio de Blasi, and Jacopo Gabrieli
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-190, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-190, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
The Ice Memory project aims to extract, analyze, and store ice cores from worldwide retreating glaciers. One of the selected sites is the last remaining ice body in the Apennines, the Calderone Glacier. To assess the most suitable drilling position, geophysical surveys were performed. Reliable ground penetrating radar measurements have been positively combined with a geophysical technique rarely applied in glacier environments, the Frequency Domain Electro-Magnetic prospection.
Giulia Zuecco, Anam Amin, Jay Frentress, Michael Engel, Chiara Marchina, Tommaso Anfodillo, Marco Borga, Vinicio Carraro, Francesca Scandellari, Massimo Tagliavini, Damiano Zanotelli, Francesco Comiti, and Daniele Penna
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3673–3689, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3673-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3673-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed the variability in the isotopic composition of plant water extracted by two different methods, i.e., cryogenic vacuum distillation (CVD) and Scholander-type pressure chamber (SPC). Our results indicated that the isotopic composition of plant water extracted by CVD and SPC was significantly different. We concluded that plant water extraction by SPC is not an alternative for CVD as SPC mostly extracts the mobile plant water whereas CVD retrieves all water stored in the sampled tissue.
Cited articles
Amschwand, D., Scherler, M., Hoelzle, M., Krummenacher, B., Haberkorn, A., Kienholz, C., and Gubler, H.: Surface heat fluxes at coarse blocky Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps), The Cryosphere, 18, 2103–2139, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2103-2024, 2024.
Azócar, G. F. and Brenning, A.: Hydrological and geomorphological significance of rock glaciers in the dry Andes, Chile (27°–33° S), Permafrost Periglac., 21, 42–53 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.669, 2010.
Barsch, D.: Eine Abschätzung von Schuttproduktion und Schutttransport imBereich aktiver Blockgletscher der Schweizer Alpen [An estimate of debris production and transport in the area of active rock glaciers in the Swiss Alps], in: Hangformen und Hangprozesse, edited by: Wirthmann, A., Z. Geomorph. N. F., 28, 148–160, 1977.
Barsch, D.: Rockglaciers: indicators for the present and former geoecology in high mountain environments, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 218 pp., https://doi.org/10.2307/3060377, 1996.
Bertone, A., Barboux, C., Bodin, X., Bolch, T., Brardinoni, F., Caduff, R., Christiansen, H. H., Darrow, M. M., Delaloye, R., Etzelmüller, B., Humlum, O., Lambiel, C., Lilleøren, K. S., Mair, V., Pellegrinon, G., Rouyet, L., Ruiz, L., and Strozzi, T.: Incorporating InSAR kinematics into rock glacier inventories: insights from 11 regions worldwide, The Cryosphere, 16, 2769–2792, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2769-2022, 2022.
Binley, A.: Tools and Techniques: Electrical Methods, in: Treatise on Geophysics: Second Edition, vol. 11, Elsevier, 233–259, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53802-4.00192-5, 2015.
Binley, A. and Kemna, A.: DC Resistivity and Induced Polarization Methods, in: Hydrogeophysics, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 129–156, https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3102-5_5, 2005.
Blanchy, G., Saneiyan, S., Boyd, J., McLachlan, P., and Binley, A.: ResIPy, an intuitive open source software for complex geoelectrical inversion/modeling, Comput. Geosci., 137, 104423, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2020.104423, 2020.
Boeckli, L., Brenning, A., Gruber, S., and Noetzli, J.: Permafrost distribution in the European Alps: calculation and evaluation of an index map and summary statistics, The Cryosphere, 6, 807–820, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-807-2012, 2012.
Bolch, T. and Marchenko, S.: Significance of glaciers, rockglaciers and ice-rich permafrost in the Northern Tien Shan as water towers under climate change conditions, in: Assessment of Snow, Glacier and Water Resources in Asia: Selected papers from the Workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2006, edited by: Braun, L. N., Hagg, W., Severskiy, I. V., and Young, G., Koblenz, IHP UNESCO, 132–144, https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-137250, 2009.
Bollati, I. M., Cerrato, R., Lenz, B. C., Vezzola, L., Giaccone, E., Viani, C., Zanoner, T., Azzoni, R. S., Masseroli, A., Pellegrini, M., Scapozza, C., Zerboni, A., and Guglielmin, M.: Geomorphological map of the Val Viola Pass (Italy-Switzerland), Geogr. Fis. e Din. Quat., 41, 105–114, https://doi.org/10.4461/GFDQ.2018.41.16, 2018.
Brenning, A.: Geomorphological, hydrological and climatic significance of rock glaciers in the Andes of Central Chile (33–35° S), Permafrost Periglac., 16, 231–240, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.528, 2005a.
Brenning, A.: Climatic and geomorphological controls of rock glaciers in the Andes of Central Chile: combining statistical modelling and field mapping, Ph.D thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät II, https://doi.org/10.18452/15332, 2005b.
Brighenti, S., Tolotti, M., Bruno, M. C., Engel, M., Wharton, G., Cerasino, L., Mair, V., and Bertoldi, W.: After the peak water: the increasing influence of rock glaciers on alpine river systems, Hydrol. Process., 33, 2804–2823, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13533, 2019.
Brighenti, S., Hotaling, S., Finn, D. S., Fountain, A. G., Hayashi, M., Herbst, D., Saros, J. E., Tronstad, L. M., and Millar, C. I.: Rock glaciers and related cold rocky landforms: Overlooked climate refugia for mountain biodiversity, Glob. Change Biol., 27, 1504–1517, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15510, 2021.
Carturan, L.: Spring-water temperature from rock glaciers in the Val di Sole catchment (Easter Italian Alps), Centro di Ateneo per le Biblioteche dell'Università degli Studi di Padova [data set], https://doi.org/10.25430/RESEARCHDATA.CAB.UNIPD.IT.00001366, 2024.
Carturan, L. and De Blasi, F.: Elaborazione di modelli digitali del terreno con finalità di analisi multi-temporale delle variazioni glaciali in trentino – relazione finale [Processing of digital terrain models with the purpose of multi-temporal analysis of the glacial variations in Trentino – final report], 2021.
Carturan, L., Fontana, G. D., and Borga, M.: Estimation of winter precipitation in a high-altitude catchment of the Eastern Italian Alps: Validation by means of glacier mass balance observations, Geogr. Fis. e Din. Quat., 35, 37–48, https://doi.org/10.4461/GFDQ.2012.35.4, 2012.
Carturan, L., Zuecco, G., Seppi, R., Zanoner, T., Borga, M., Carton, A., and Dalla Fontana, G.: Catchment-Scale Permafrost Mapping using Spring Water Characteristics, Permafrost Periglac., 27, 253–270, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1875, 2016.
Carturan, L., De Blasi, F., Cazorzi, F., Zoccatelli, D., Bonato, P., Borga, M., and Dalla Fontana, G.: Relevance and Scale Dependence of Hydrological Changes in Glacierized Catchments: Insights from Historical Data Series in the Eastern Italian Alps, Water, 11, 89, https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010089, 2019.
Charton, J., Verfaillie, D., Jomelli, V., and Francou, B.: Early Holocene rock glacier stabilisation at col du Lautaret (French Alps): Palaeoclimatic implications, Geomorphology, 394, 107962, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107962, 2021.
Chiesa, S., Micheli, P., Cariboni, M., Tognini, P., Motta, D., Longhin, M., Zambotti, G., Marcato, E., and Ferrario, A.: Note illustrative della Carta Geologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50.000, Foglio 41 Ponte di Legno, Servizio Geologico d'Italia, ISPRA, 160 pp., ISBN 978-88-9311-010-5, 2010.
Colucci, R. R., Forte, E., Žebre, M., Maset, E., Zanettini, C., and Guglielmin, M.: Is that a relict rock glacier?, Geomorphology, 330, 177–189, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.02.002, 2019.
Cossart, E., Perrier, R., Schwarz, M., and Houee, S.: Mapping permafrost at a regional scale: interpolation of field data by GIS application in the Upper Durance catchment (Southern French Alps), GeoFocus, 8, 205–224, ISSN 1578-5157, 2008.
Dal Piaz, G., Castellarin, A., Martin, S., Selli, L., Carton, A., Pellegrini, G., Casolari, E., Daminato, F., Montresor, L., Picotti, V., Prosser, G., Santuliana, E., and Cantelli, L.: Note Illustrative Della Carta Geologica Alla Scala 1:50.000, Foglio 042 – Malè, Servizio Geologico d'Italia, ISPRA, 143 pp., 2007.
Day-Lewis, F. D., Johnson, C. D., Singha, K., and Lane, J. W. J.: Best practices in electrical resistivity imaging: Data collection and processing, and application to data from Corinna, Maine, EPA report, Boston, MA, 2008.
Delaloye, R.: Contribution à l'étude du pergélisol de montagne en zone marginale, 244 pp., https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/299916 (last access: 30 November 2024), 2004.
Delaloye, R. and Lambiel, C.: Evidence of winter ascending air circulation throughout talus slopes and rock glaciers situated in the lower belt of alpine discontinuous permafrost (Swiss Alps), Norsk Geogr. Tidsskr., 59, 194–203, 2005.
Delaloye, R., Reynard, E., Lambiel, C., Marescot, L., and Monnet, R.: Thermal anomaly in a cold scree slope (Creux du Van, Switzerland), in: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference of Permafrost, Zürich, Switzerland, 175–180, ISBN 90 5809 582 7, 2003.
Dlabáčková, T., Engel, Z., Uxa, T., Braucher, R., and Team, A.: 10Be exposure ages and paleoenvironmental significance of rock glaciers in the Western Tatra Mts., Western Carpathians, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 312, 108147, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108147, 2023.
Engelhardt, M., Schuler, T. V., and Andreassen, L. M.: Contribution of snow and glacier melt to discharge for highly glacierised catchments in Norway, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 511–523, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-511-2014, 2014.
Farinotti, D., Huss, M., Fuerst, J. J., Landmann, J., Machguth, H., Maussion, F., and Pandit, A.: A consensus estimate for the ice thickness distribution of all glaciers on Earth, Nat. Geosci., 12, 168–173, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0300-3, 2019.
Frauenfelder, R., Allgöwer, B., Haeberli, W., and Hoelzle, M.: Permafrost Investigations With GIS - A Case Study in the Fletschhorn Area, Wallis, Swiss Alps, in: Seventh International Conference on Permafrost, 291–295, 1998.
Frauenfelder, R., Haeberli, W., Hoelzle, M., and Maisch, M.: Using relict rockglaciers in GIS-based modelling to reconstruct Younger Dryas permafrost distribution patterns in the Err-Julier area, Swiss Alps, Norsk Geogr. Tidsskr., 55, 195–202, https://doi.org/10.1080/00291950152746522, 2001.
Frei, C. and Schär, C.: A precipitation climatology of the Alps from high-resolution rain-gauge observations. Int. J. Climatol., 18, 873–900, https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088(19980630)18:8<873::AID-JOC255>3.0.CO;2-9, 1998.
Gude, M., Dietrich, S., Mausbacher, R., Hauck, C., Molenda, R., Ruzicka, V., and Zacharda, M.: Probable occurrence of sporadic permafrost in non-alpine scree slopes in central Europe, in: Proceedings 8th International Conference on Permafrost, 331–336, ISBN 90 5809 582 7, 2003.
Guglielmin, M.: Il permafrost alpino: concetti, morfologia e metodi di individuazione (con tre indagini esemplificate in alta Valtellina)/di Mauro Guglielmin; con contributi di Adalberto Notarpietro, Centro di studio per la geodinamica alpina e quaternaria, Milano, ISBN 88-86596-04-9, 1997.
Haeberli, W.: Untersuchungen Zur Verbreitung Von Permafrost Zwischen Flueelapass Und Piz Grialetsch (Graubuenden), Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziologie an der ETH, 1975.
Haeberli, W.: Creep of Mountain Permafrost: Internal Structure and Flow of Alpine Rock Glaciers, 1985.
Haeberli, W., Schaub, Y., and Huggel, C.: Increasing risks related to landslides from degrading permafrost into new lakes in de-glaciating mountain ranges, Geomorphology, 293, 405–417, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.02.009, 2017.
Harrington, J. S., Mozil, A., Hayashi, M., and Bentley, L. R.: Groundwater flow and storage processes in an inactive rock glacier, Hydrol. Process., 32, 3070-3088, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13248, 2018.
Harris, S. A. and Pedersen, D. E.: Thermal regimes beneath coarse blocky materials, Permafrost Periglac., 9, 107–120, https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1530(199804/06)9:2<107::AID-PPP277>3.0.CO;2-G, 1998.
Hauck, C. and Kneisel, C.: Applied Geophysics in Periglacial Environments, edited by: Hauck, C. and Kneisel, C., Cambridge University Press, 1–248, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511535628, 2008.
Hauck, C., Bach, M., and Hilbich, C.: A 4-phase model to quantity subsurface ice water content in permafrost regions based on geophysical data sets. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Permafrost, Fairbanks, Alasha, 6 pp., ISBN 978-0-9800179-2-2, 2008.
Hauck, C., Böttcher, M., and Maurer, H.: A new model for estimating subsurface ice content based on combined electrical and seismic data sets, The Cryosphere, 5, 453–468, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-453-2011, 2011.
Hilbich, C., Hauck, C., Hoelzle, M., Scherler, M., Schudel, L., Völksch, I., Vonder Mühll, D., and Mäusbacher, R.: Monitoring mountain permafrost evolution using electrical resistivity tomography: A 7-year study of seasonal, annual, and long-term variations at Schilthorn, Swiss Alps, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 113, F01S90, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000799, 2008.
Hock, R., Rasul, G., Adler, C., Cáceres, B., Gruber, S., Hirabayashi, Y., Jackson, M., Kääb, A., Kang, S., Kutuzov, S., Milner, A., Molau, U., Morin, S., Orlove, B., and Steltzer, H.: High mountain areas, in: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, edited by: Pörtner, H.-O., Roberts, D. C., Masson-Delmotte, V., Zhai, P., Tignor, M., Poloczanska, E., Mintenbeck, K., Alegría, A., Nicolai, M., Okem, A., Petzold, J., Rama, B., and Weyer, N. M., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 131–202, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157964.004, 2019.
Ikeda, A. and Matsuoka, N.: Degradation of talus-derived rock glaciers in the Upper Engadin, Swiss Alps, Permafrost Periglac., 13, 145–161, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.413, 2002.
Ilyashuk, B. P., Ilyashuk, E. A., Psenner, R., Tessadri, R., and Koinig, K. A.: Rock glacier outflows may adversely affect lakes: Lessons from the past and present of two neighboring water bodies in a crystalline-rock watershed, Environ. Sci. Technol., 48, 6192–6200, https://doi.org/10.1021/es500180c, 2014.
Imhof, M., Pierrehumbert, G., Haeberli, W., and Kienholz, H.: Permafrost investigation in the Schilthorn Massif, Bernese Alps, Switzerland, Permafrost Periglac., 11, 189–206, https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1530(200007/09)11:3<189::AID-PPP348>3.0.CO;2-N, 2000.
Isotta, F. A., Frei, C., Weilguni, V., Perčec Tadić, M., Lassègues, P., Rudolf, B., Pavan, V., Cacciamani, C., Antolini, G., Ratto, S. M., Munari, M., Micheletti, S., Bonati, V., Lussana, C., Ronchi, C., Panettieri, E., Marigo, G., and Vertačnik, G.: The climate of daily precipitation in the Alps: Development and analysis of a high-resolution grid dataset from pan-Alpine rain-gauge data, Int. J. Climatol., 34, 1657–1675, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3794, 2014.
Janke, J. R., Bellisario, A. C., and Ferrando, F. A.: Classification of debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers in the Andes of central Chile, Geomorphology, 241, 98–121, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.03.034, 2015.
Janke, J. R., Ng, S., and Bellisario, A.: An inventory and estimate of water stored in firn fields, glaciers, debris-covered glaciers, and rock glaciers in the Aconcagua River Basin, Chile, Geomorphology, 296, 142–152, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.09.002, 2017.
Jones, D. B., Harrison, S., Anderson, K., and Betts, R. A.: Mountain rock glaciers contain globally significant water stores, Sci. Rep., 8, 2834, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21244-w, 2018.
Jones, D. B., Harrison, S., Anderson, K., and Whalley, W. B.: Rock glaciers and mountain hydrology: A review, Earth-Sci. Rev., 193, 66–90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.04.001, 2019.
Juliussen, H. and Humlum, O.: Thermal regime of openwork block fields on the mountains Elgåhogna and Sølen, Central-Eastern Norway, Permafrost Periglac., 19, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.607, 2008.
Kääb, A.: Rock glaciers and protalus forms, in: Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, 2nd Edn., Elsevier, Amsterdam, Vol. 3, 535–541, ISBN 9780444536433, 2013.
Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A.: Aspects of glacial, paraglacial and periglacial processes and landforms of the Tauern Range, Austria, Doctoral Thesis, University of Graz, 2008.
Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A.: Long-term monitoring of sporadic permafrost at the eastern margin of the European Alps (Hochreichart, Seckauer Tauern range, Austria), Permafrost Periglac., 30, 260–277, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2021, 2019.
Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Lieb, G. K., and Kleinferchner, H.: A new rock glacier inventory of the eastern European Alps, Austrian J. Earth Sci., 105, 78–93, 2012.
Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Pauritsch, M., Morawetz, R., and Kuehnast, B.: Thickness and internal structure of relict rock glaciers – a challenge for geophysics: Examples from two rock glaciers in the Eastern Alps, in: EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, 12581, eISSN 1607-7962, 2014.
Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Lieb, G. K., and Kaufmann, V.: The dösen rock glacier in central Austria: A key site for multidisciplinary long-term rock glacier monitoring in the eastern alps, Austrian J. Earth Sci., 110, https://doi.org/10.17738/ajes.2017.0013, 2017.
Kofler, C., Steger, S., Mair, V., Zebisch, M., Comiti, F., and Schneiderbauer, S.: An inventory-driven rock glacier status model (intact vs. relict) for South Tyrol, Eastern Italian Alps, Geomorphology, 350, 106887, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106887, 2020.
Lambiel, C. and Reynard, E.: Regional modelling of present, past and future potential distribution of discontinuous permafrost based on a rock glacier inventory in the Bagnes-Hérémence area (Western Swiss Alps), Norsk Geogr. Tidsskr., 55, 219–223, https://doi.org/10.1080/00291950152746559, 2001.
Lewkowicz, A. G., Etzelmüller, B., and Smith, S. L.: Characteristics of Discontinuous Permafrost based on Ground Temperature Measurements and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Southern Yukon, Canada, Permafrost Periglac., 22, 320–342, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.703, 2011.
Lilleøren, K. S., Etzelmüller, B., Rouyet, L., Eiken, T., Slinde, G., and Hilbich, C.: Transitional rock glaciers at sea level in northern Norway, Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 975–996, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-975-2022, 2022.
Martin, S., Montresor, L., Mair, V., Pellegrini, G., Avanzini, M., Fellin, G., Gambiullara, R., Tumiati, S., Santuliana, E., Monopoli, B., Gaspari, D., Sapigni, M., and Surian, N.: Note illustrative della Carta Geologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50.000, Foglio 025 Rabbi, Servizio Geologico d'Italia, ISPRA, 187 pp., 2009.
Millar, C. I. and Westfall, R. D.: Geographic, hydrological, and climatic significance of rock glaciers in the Great Basin, USA, Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 51, 232–249, https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1618666, 2019.
Montrasio, A., Berra, F., Cariboni, M., Ceriani, M., Deichmann, N., Ferliga, C., Gregnanin, A., Guerra, S., Guglielmin, M., Jadoul, F., Longhin, M., Mair, V., Mazzoccola, D., Sciesa, E., and Zappone, A.: Note illustrative della Carta Geologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50.000 – Foglio 024 Bormio, Servizio Geologico d'Italia, ISPRA, 150 pp., ISBN 978-88-9311-000-6, 2012.
Morard, S., Delaloye, R., and Dorthe, J.: Seasonal thermal regime of a mid-latitude ventilated debris accumulation, in: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Permafrost, Fairbanks, Alaska, 1233–1238, ISBN 978-0-9800179-2-2, 2008.
Pavoni, M., Boaga, J., Carrera, A., Zuecco, G., Carturan, L., and Zumiani, M.: Brief communication: Mountain permafrost acts as an aquitard during an infiltration experiment monitored with electrical resistivity tomography time-lapse measurements, The Cryosphere, 17, 1601–1607, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1601-2023, 2023.
Popescu, R.: Permafrost investigations in Iezer Mountains, Southern Carpathians, Rev. Geomorfol., 20, 102–122, https://doi.org/10.21094/rg.2018.033, 2018.
Rangecroft, S., Harrison, S., and Anderson, K.: Rock glaciers as water stores in the Bolivian Andes: an assessment of their hydrological importance, Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 47, 89–98, https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0014-029, 2015.
RGIK: Guidelines for inventorying rock glaciers: baseline and practical concepts (version 1.0), IPA Action Group Rock glacier inventories and kinematics, 25 pp., https://doi.org/10.51363/unifr.srr.2023.002, 2023.
Salvatore, M. C., Zanoner, T., Baroni, C., Carton, A., Banchieri, F. A., Viani, C., Giardino, M., and Perotti, L.: The state of Italian glaciers: A snapshot of the 2006-2007 hydrological period, Geogr. Fis. e Din. Quat., 38, 175–198, https://doi.org/10.4461/GFDQ.2015.38.16, 2015.
Sannino, C., Borruso, L., Mezzasoma, A., Battistel, D., Ponti, S., Turchetti, B., Buzzini, P., and Guglielmin, M.: Abiotic factors affecting the bacterial and fungal diversity of permafrost in a rock glacier in the Stelvio Pass (Italian Central Alps), Appl. Soil Ecol., 166, 104079, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2021.104079, 2021.
Scapozza, C.: Contributo dei metodi termici alla prospezione del permafrost montano: esempi dal massiccio della Cima di Gana Bianca (Val Blenio, Svizzera), Boll. della Soc. Ticin. di Sci. Nat., 66, 55–66, 2009.
Schaffer, N., MacDonell, S., Réveillet, M., Yáñez, E., and Valois, R.: Rock glaciers as a water resource in a changing climate in the semiarid Chilean Andes, Reg. Environ. Change, 19, 1263–1279, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-01459-3, 2019.
Schrott, L., Otto, J. C., and Keller, F.: Modelling alpine permafrost distribution in the Hohe Tauern region, Austria, Austrian J. Earth Sci., 105, 169–183, 2012.
Scotti, R., Brardinoni, F., Alberti, S., Frattini, P., and Crosta, G. B.: A regional inventory of rock glaciers and protalus ramparts in the central Italian Alps, Geomorphology, 186, 136–149, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.12.028, 2013.
Seppi, R.: I rock glaciers delle Alpi Centrali come indicatori ambientali (Gruppo Adamello-Presanella e settore orientale del Gruppo Ortles-Cevedale) – Rock glaciers of the Central Alps as environmental indicators (Adamello-Presanella Group and eastern sector of the Ortles-Cevedale Group), Phd Thesis, 199 pp., https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1186.5682, 2006.
Seppi, R., Carton, A., and Baroni, C.: Rock glacier relitti e antica distribuzione del permafrost nel Gruppo Adamello Presanella (Alpi Centrali), Alp. Mediterr. Quat., 23, 137–144, 2010.
Seppi, R., Carton, A., Zumiani, M., Dall'Amico, M., Zampedri, G., and Rigon, R.: Inventory, distribution and topographic features of rock glaciers in the southern region of the Eastern Italian Alps (Trentino), Geogr. Fis. e Din. Quat., 35, 185–197, https://doi.org/10.4461/GFDQ.2012.35.17, 2012.
Seppi, R., Carturan, L., Carton, A., Zanoner, T., Zumiani, M., Cazorzi, F., Bertone, A., Baroni, C., and Salvatore, M. C.: Decoupled kinematics of two neighbouring permafrost creeping landforms in the Eastern Italian Alps, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 44, 2703–2719, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4698, 2019.
Strobl, B., Etter, S., van Meerveld, I., and Seibert, J.: Accuracy of crowdsourced streamflow and stream level class estimates, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 65, 823–841, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2019.1578966, 2020.
Strozzi, T., Kääb, A., and Frauenfelder, R.: Detecting and quantifying mountain permafrost creep from in situ inventory, space-borne radar interferometry and airborne digital photogrammetry, Int. J. Remote Sens., 25, 2919–2931, https://doi.org/10.1080/0143116042000192330, 2004.
Tapia-Baldis, C. and Trombotto-Liaudat, D.: Permafrost model in coarse-blocky deposits for the Dry Andes, Argentina (28–33° S), Cuadern. Investig., 46, 33–58, https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.3802, 2020.
Thies, H., Nickus, U., Tolotti, M., Tessadri, R., and Krainer, K.: Evidence of rock glacier melt impacts on water chemistry and diatoms in high mountain streams, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 96, 77–85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2013.06.006, 2013.
Wagner, T., Pauritsch, M., Mayaud, C., Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Thalheim, F., and Winkler, G.: Controlling factors of microclimate in blocky surface layers of two nearby relict rock glaciers (Niedere Tauern Range, Austria), Geogr. Ann. A, 101, 310–333, https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.2019.1670950, 2019.
Wagner, T., Kainz, S., Helfricht, K., Fischer, A., Avian, M., Krainer, K., and Winkler, G.: Assessment of liquid and solid water storage in rock glaciers versus glacier ice in the Austrian Alps, Sci. Total Environ., 800, 149593, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149593, 2021.
Winkler, G., Wagner, T., Pauritsch, M., Birk, S., Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Benischke, R., Leis, A., Morawetz, R., Schreilechner, M. G., and Hergarten, S.: Identification and assessment of groundwater flow and storage components of the relict Schöneben Rock Glacier, Niedere Tauern Range, Eastern Alps (Austria), Hydrogeol. J., 24, 937–953, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-015-1348-9, 2016.
Zemp, M., Frey, H., Gärtner-Roer, I., Nussbaumer, S. U., Hoelzle, M., Paul, F., Haeberli, W., Denzinger, F., Ahlstrøm, A. P., Anderson, B., Bajracharya, S., Baroni, C., Braun, L. N., Cáceres, B. E., Casassa, G., Cobos, G., Dávila, L. R., Delgado Granados, H., Demuth, M. N., Espizua, L., Fischer, A., Fujita, K., Gadek, B., Ghazanfar, A., Ove Hagen, J., Holmlund, P., Karimi, N., Li, Z., Pelto, M., Pitte, P., Popovnin, V. V., Portocarrero, C. A., Prinz, R., Sangewar, C. V., Severskiy, I., Sigurđsson, O., Soruco, A., Usubaliev, R., and Vincent, C.: Historically unprecedented global glacier decline in the early 21st century, J. Glaciol., 61, 745–762, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015JoG15J017, 2015.
Short summary
Pseudo-relict rock glaciers look relict but contain patches of permafrost. They are poorly known in terms of permafrost content, spatial distribution and frequency. Here we use spring-water temperature for a preliminary estimate of the permafrost presence in rock glaciers of a 795 km2 catchment in the Italian Alps. The results show that ~50 % of rock glaciers classified as relict might be pseudo-relict and might contain ~20 % of the ice stored in the rock glaciers in the study area.
Pseudo-relict rock glaciers look relict but contain patches of permafrost. They are poorly known...
