Morphometric analysis of solifluction lobes and rock glaciers in the Swiss Alps

被引:47
作者
Matsuoka, N [1 ]
Ikeda, A
Date, T
机构
[1] Univ Tsukuba, Grad Sch Life & Environm Sci, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058572, Japan
[2] Natl Inst Polar Res, Tokyo 1738515, Japan
关键词
solifluction lobe; rock glacier; morphometry; seasonal frost; permafrost; Swiss Alps;
D O I
10.1002/ppp.517
中图分类号
P9 [自然地理学];
学科分类号
0705 ; 070501 ;
摘要
Solifluction lobes and rock glaciers show similar geometry with a wide range of sizes. Morphometric analysis classifies these lobate landforms in the eastern Swiss Alps into five subgroups. A bouldery rock glacier has an active layer composed of matrix-free boulders, whereas a pebbly rock glacier consists of matrix-supported debris derived from less resistant rocks. Both move by permafrost creep at 5-30 m depth, but the former tends to have a longer tread. A high solifluction lobe, having a riser 0.2-3 m high, originates mainly from annual gelifluction operating within the top 0.5 m of sediment, and its variation, a mudflow-affected high solifluction lobe, occurs where prolonged snowmelt triggers a rapid flow of the thawed surficial layer. A low solifluction lobe has a riser up to 0.2 m high and occurs where thin fine-grained debris responds mainly to diurnal frost creep. These lobes show, on the whole, positive relations between the tread length (L), width (W) and the riser height (H). However, a regression analysis separates the rock glaciers from the solifluction lobes by a distinct gap at W (or L) = 30 m and H = 3 m and provides different regression lines for the two populations. The morphometry primarily determined by the transport process is H, which approximates or slightly exceeds the maximum depth of movement. The depth of movement also affects the horizontal extent of a moving mass, which defines W. A lobe appears where horizontal homogeneity exceeds 3H, and advances with time until reaching a maximum L controlled by climatic or dynamic conditions. Lobe morphometry can be used as an environmental indicator. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
引用
收藏
页码:99 / 113
页数:15
相关论文
共 50 条
  • [31] Ground-penetrating radar surveys on rock glaciers in the Vanoise Massif (Northern French Alps): methodological issues
    Monnier, Sebastien
    Camerlynck, Christian
    Rejiba, Faycal
    GEOMORPHOLOGIE-RELIEF PROCESSUS ENVIRONNEMENT, 2009, (02): : 129 - 140
  • [32] Rock-glacier dynamics and magnitude-frequency relations of debris flows in a high-elevation watershed: Ritigraben, Swiss Alps
    Lugon, Ralph
    Stoffel, Markus
    GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE, 2010, 73 (3-4) : 202 - 210
  • [33] How rock glacier hydrology, deformation velocities and ground temperatures interact: Examples from the Swiss Alps
    Kenner, Robert
    Pruessner, Luisa
    Beutel, Jan
    Limpach, Philippe
    Phillips, Marcia
    PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, 2020, 31 (01) : 3 - 14
  • [35] Estimating Non-Conductive Heat Flow Leading to Intra-Permafrost Talik Formation at the Ritigraben Rock Glacier (Western Swiss Alps)
    Luethi, Rachel
    Phillips, Marcia
    Lehning, Michael
    PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, 2017, 28 (01) : 183 - 194
  • [36] INTERNAL STRUCTURE, ICE CONTENT AND DYNAMICS OF OLGRUBE AND KAISERBERG ROCK GLACIERS (OTZTAL ALPS, AUSTRIA) DETERMINED FROM GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
    Hausmann, Helmut
    Krainer, Karl
    Brueckl, Ewald
    Ullrich, Christian
    AUSTRIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, 2012, 105 (02): : 12 - 31
  • [37] Towards a sediment transfer capacity index of rock glaciers: Examples from two catchments in South Tyrol, (Eastern Italian Alps)
    Kofler, Christian
    Mair, Volkmar
    Comiti, Francesco
    Zebisch, Marc
    Schneiderbauer, Stefan
    Steger, Stefan
    CATENA, 2022, 216
  • [38] CONTRIBUTION TO THE MORPHOMETRIC COMPARISON ANALYSIS OF GLACIER OF THE ALPS AND MASSIVE OLD EUROPEAN CIRCUSES
    Huguet, Francis
    PHYSIO-GEO, 2012, 6
  • [39] Linking rock weathering, rockwall instability and rockfall supply on talus slopes in glaciated hanging valleys (Swiss Alps)
    Messenzehl, Karoline
    Viles, Heather
    Otto, Jan-Christoph
    Ewald, Andreas
    Dikau, Richard
    PERMAFROST AND PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES, 2018, 29 (03) : 135 - 151
  • [40] Seasonally intermittent water flow through deep fractures in an Alpine Rock Ridge: Gemsstock, Central Swiss Alps
    Phillips, Marcia
    Haberkorn, Anna
    Draebing, Daniel
    Krautblatter, Michael
    Rhyner, Hansueli
    Kenner, Robert
    COLD REGIONS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 2016, 125 : 117 - 127