Permafrost degradation and slope instability in the Italian Alps

Modelling of high-mountain relief

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
This short paper stresses the role of permafrost degradation in inducing slope instability and mass movements in the Italian Alps, with special reference to debris flows. The role of permafrost degradation in triggering landslides from hard rock slopes as a response to climatic warming has been pointed out only recently. Geotechnical investigations demonstrate that ice-filled fractured rock slopes at temperatures between -2° and 0°C are less stable than when in an unfrozen state. The Val Pola rockslide, whose accumulation mass included ice-cemented blocks, could be explained therefore as the result of strength reduction along pre-existing potential sliding surfaces, filled with warming ground-ice.


Type de document :
Article de monographie

Source :
Geographia polonica, issn : 0016-7282, 2008, vol. 81, n°. 1, p. 19-28, nombre de pages : 10, Références bibliographiques : 1,5 p.

Date :
2008

Editeur :
Pays édition : Pologne, Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe