Abstract
The heavy rains of 10-11 July 1972 in Longyear valley, Spitsbergen were an extreme meteorological event Slides and debris flows corresponding to an average denudation of about 1 mm occurred in a small (6.8 km2) catchment area. The debris mantle of slopes in the area investigated has a wide range of particle sizes, and drainage is normally good. Debris flows were not triggered by longlasting rains, but when rainfall intensity increased to values higher than 2 mm/hour, risk of failure was reached. Factors which encouraged debris slides and flows, in addition to the intense rainstorm, were a permafrost table, pre-existing depressions on hillsides and hillside steepness. Judging from the morphology on Longyear valleys slopes and nearby areas, the rapid and sporadic mass movements have a considerable effect upon evolution of slopes in the high arctic area.
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