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Monitoring of Periglacial Slope Processes in the Swiss Alps: the First Two Years of Frost Shattering, Heave and Creep
Author(s) -
Matsuoka Norikazu,
Hirakawa Kazuomi,
Watanabe Teiji,
Moriwaki Kiichi
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
permafrost and periglacial processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-1530
pISSN - 1045-6740
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1530(199732)8:2<155::aid-ppp248>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - frost weathering , geology , solifluction , debris , bedrock , geomorphology , rockslide , weathering , frost (temperature) , landslide , crest , meltwater , frost heaving , creep , permafrost , hydrology (agriculture) , geotechnical engineering , glacier , glacial period , soil science , soil water , oceanography , physics , quantum mechanics , materials science , composite material
A synthetic monitoring system was developed in an attempt to evaluate geomorphic processes acting on periglacial rock and debris slopes in the Swiss Alps. The measured parameters include rock joint widening, soil heave and creep, and associated variables. Data loggers provide year‐round records of these parameters. Observations for the first two years highlight rock weathering and soil movement caused by frost action. Rock temperature data demonstrate that the southern exposures and north‐facing ridges experience multiple diurnal freeze–thaw cycles, while north‐facing rockwalls are dominated by the seasonal freeze–thaw action. This contrast may account for the spatial variability in the size of rock debris released from rockwalls. Considerable amounts of joint widening were recorded at the onset of seasonal thawing, when meltwater percolated downward into the frozen bedrock. This observation emphasizes that moisture availability controls to a large degree the magnitude of frost action. Diurnal frost heave and creep prevail on crest debris slopes, while basal debris slopes experience large frost heave during seasonal freezing and thawing. Such a variation in the type of soil movement corresponds to the landform transition from small sorted stripes that predominate on the crest slopes to solifluction lobes on the basal slopes. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.