Abstract
Through a study of glacial geomorphology and retrospective modeling of the stability of the slopes, it has been possible to reconstruct and know the mechanism of the formation of a large landslide induced by the retreat of the glacier corresponding to the Picos de Urbión (Coordillera Ibérica, Spain) during the last glacial cycle. It is a rotational landslide of 150 Mm3 that involved a layer of lutites and clays of the Cameros Basin that outcropped on one of the slopes of the valley, and whose initial geometry was modified by the over-excavation of the glacier tongue, which reached 140 m in height. The breakage occurred when the support of the ice tongue was partially removed. The structural layout and high water table also contributed to the landslide. It is the first time that landslides associated with the deglaciations of the last glacial cycle have been retrospectively modeled, which may be of interest when applied to geomorphological sciences.
Highlights
Introduction andObjectives10.3390/app11094277Slope movements in mountains affected by glacierism can be strongly influenced by the advance and, especially, by the retreat of glaciers
This study indicates that the maximum glacial extent was approximately 18–20 ka, coinciding with the last glacial maximum (LGM)
Landslides caused by deglaciation processes are currently very frequent in the world due to the retreat of glaciers caused by global warming
Summary
Introduction andObjectives10.3390/app11094277Slope movements in mountains affected by glacierism can be strongly influenced by the advance and, especially, by the retreat of glaciers. When the glacier retreats, the slope is left without ice support, the valley is deeper, the excavated slopes steeper, and decompression continues. Steep slopes and greater than 500 m can undergo slow and continuous deformation, characterized by its bulging and the appearance of lateral escarpments parallel to the level lines (“sackung”). It is a gravitational spreading or gravitational slope deformation [1,2,3]. Their formation is usually previous to the generation of large landslides [4,5,6]. If these landslides originated natural dams and lakes upstream, the dating of these lake sediments can be used to assess the risk of flooding due to the collapse of these dams [7], or for paleoclimatic investigations and geomorphological evolution studies, such as improving the information on deglaciation in mountain areas (for example, in the Pyrenees [8])
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