ABSTRACT. Historical data about ancient avalanches are scarce in the Pyrenees.Dendrochronology can provide new data about past avalanches and their return period, but up to now little research has been carried out with this purpose. The Aludex project aims to obtain information about the frequency and extent of extreme avalanches, using a dendrochronological and a nivo-meteorological approach. In this paper, we present the results of a dendrochronological study of the Canal del Roc Roig avalanche path which was affected by two extreme avalanches in February 1996. This first dendrochronological study has permitted us to assess the tree-ring signals due to avalanche events in 53 out of 132 dated trees. The trees presented a variety of responses to the 1996 avalanche events. It is shown that the type of tree-ring signal depends on tree age. The methodology has proved successful in detecting the 1996 and 1972 documented avalanche events, and provided outstanding evidence of undocumented past events such as one in 1930.
ABSTRACT. Slushfl ows were first recorded in the Iberi a n Peninsul a on 18 D ecember 1997. Three slushfl ows wer e rel eased at the ski resort of El Port d el Comte, in th e Catala n Pyrenees, northeast Spa in, d uring inte nse rainfa ll. Two of the slu shflows ori gin a ted on the pistes, and th e third affected a noth er pi ste. Three ski lifts were damaged. This p ap er anaIyzes th e h ydrogeological cha rac teristics of the m ass if, th e geom orphic features o f the terrain a nd th e meteorological a nd snow pac k co nditi ons th a t ca used the re lease of th e slushflows. M a n's role in tri gge ring the slushflows by compac ting snow on the pi stes is also considered. Drain age co ntrol for reducing th e haza rd is o utlin ed , taking into co nsiderati on th e low frequency of th e phenomenon.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.