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Rock slope instability and erosion: toward improved process understanding
Author(s) -
Krautblatter Michael,
Moore Jeffrey R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.3578
Subject(s) - geology , weathering , erosion , rockfall , geomorphology , bedrock , frost weathering , glacial period , instability , permafrost , sediment , slope stability , soil production function , terrain , landslide , geotechnical engineering , soil science , pedogenesis , soil water , oceanography , ecology , physics , biology , mechanics
ABSTRACT Rock slopes in a range of environments are among the landscape elements most sensitive to climate change, the latter affecting rock mass properties, altering slope boundary conditions, and changing geosystem configurations. Major climate‐dependent influences promoting destabilization include stress redistribution with changing glacial ice extents, degradation of mountain permafrost, altered slope hydrology and weathering environments, loading and unloading due to deposition and erosion, and changes in the spectrum of magnitude and frequency of driving forces. In steep bedrock terrain, erosional processes control slope morphology by modulating rates of: (i) weathering in response to climate and pre‐disposition, (ii) rock slope retreat in response to magnitude and frequency of detachment, and (iii) channel incision or valley infilling in response to variable sediment supply. Modelling landscape evolution and anticipating natural hazards in these environments thus requires deeper insights into the processes driving rock slope instability and erosion. This special issue emphasizes new understanding of rock slope processes through a collection of manuscripts at the forefront of research in the field. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.