Abstract
Abstract. Rockfalls are common instabilities in alpine areas and can cause significant damage. Since high mountains have been affected by an increasing number of these phenomena in the last years, a possible correlation with permafrost degradation induced by climate change has been hypothesized. To investigate this topic, a monitoring system, made of 5 triaxial geophones and 1 thermometer, was installed in 2007 at the Carrel hut (3829 m a.s.l., Matterhorn, North-western Alps), in the frame of the Interreg IIIA Alcotra project n. 196 "Permadataroc". The preliminary data processing relates to the classification of recorded signals, the identification of the significant microseismic events and the analysis of their distribution in time and space. The first results indicated a possible correlation between clusters of events and temperature trend, and a concentration of events in specific sectors of the rock mass. Research is still in progress. The recording of data for a longer period is planned to fully understand seasonal trends and spatial distribution of microseismic activity, and possible relations with permafrost degradation. Nevertheless, the preliminary observations prove that the monitoring system can detect noises generated by rock slope deformation. Once fully developed, this technique could become a helpful tool for early warning and preliminary stability assessments.
Highlights
The progressive growth of socio-economic activities in alpine areas has led to an increase in the risks related to natural hazards like rockfalls, landslides and debris flows (Jomelli et al, 2007)
The project aimed to investigate possible correlations between permafrost degradation and increased rock slope instability in high altitude alpine areas, and to identify the most suitable investigation techniques to follow up slope evolution and related hazards
The monitoring system installed at the Carrel hut is made of an 18-channel acquisition system, which is placed inside the hut, five triaxial transducers for boreholes, a gps receiver, a power supply group connected to solar panels
Summary
The progressive growth of socio-economic activities in alpine areas (e.g. tourism) has led to an increase in the risks related to natural hazards like rockfalls, landslides and debris flows (Jomelli et al, 2007). Due to the difficulties of processing and interpreting the recorded signals, and to the interference of environmental noises (e.g. traffic, animals, wind), the above technique has been considered the only one capable of giving helpful insight on the analysed processes, considering that rockfall events, at least at this stage, are usually small in size, but frequent and widespread on alpine slopes, and cannot be correlated in advance to specific rupture surfaces Once tested, these techniques could be used as a tool for early warning when meteorological conditions change, which favour the initiation of rock slope instabilities. Future perspectives of the monitoring activity, along with its potential as a earlywarning tool, will be outlined
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