Articles | Volume 20, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1163-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-20-1163-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) for the internal characterisation of the Flüela rock glacier: overcoming the limitations of seismic refraction tomography
Ilaria Barone
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
Alexander Bast
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Permafrost Research Group, Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Center CERC, Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
Steven Javier Gaona Torres
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
Luca Peruzzo
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
Jacopo Boaga
Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
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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.
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The Cryosphere, 17, 753–760, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-753-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-753-2023, 2023
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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
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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.
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Noetzli, J., Isaksen, K., Barnett, J., Christiansen, H. H., Delaloye, R., Etzelmüller, B., Farinotti, D., Gallemann, T., Guglielmin, M., Hauck, C., Hilbich, C., Hoelzle, M., Lambiel, C., Magnin, F., Oliva, M., Paro, L., Pogliotti, P., Riedl, C., Schoeneich, P., Valt, M., Vieli, A., and Phillips, M.: Enhanced warming of European mountain permafrost in the early 21st century, Nature Communications, 15, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54831-9, 2024.
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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 and noisy data, a situation when SRT may fail. Our results are corroborated by seismic synthetic modelling.
Different geophysical methods such as electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), seismic...