Modelling frost creep rates in an alpine environment

Abstract

Field monitoring of soil movement and associated variables was undertaken on high mountain slopes in the Japanese Alps. Painted lines indicated high velocities of surface particles (100–101 cm a−1), mainly resulting from diurnal frost heave activity, and displayed large spatial variations in velocity, reflecting the sediment characteristics. Two mathematical models of frost creep rate are proposed. The first model demonstrates that the surface velocity is proportional to the number of frost heave cycles, the thickness of fine debris layer within the top 15 cm of sediment and the second power of the slope gradient. The second model includes a further variable, the silt and clay content of the fine layer. The field data indicate that both models provide reasonable results, the second model showing slightly higher predictability. These models are applicable to mountain slopes dominated by diurnal frost heaving, although modification is necessary where soil moisture regimes are significantly different from those in the Japanese Alps. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Extensive Frost Weathering Across Unglaciated North America During the Last Glacial Maximum

“…Hillslopes occupy over 90% of unglaciated land (Kirkby, 1978), and our results suggest a re-consideration of the importance of subfreezing temperatures in shaping landscapes in mid-latitude terrain due to the potential for changes in rock damage, frost-weathering-derived sediment production and solifluction-driven transport (Bovy et al, 2016;Marshall et al, 2017;Matsuoka, 1998Matsuoka, , 2001Murton & Belshaw, 2011). Though sparse, mapped periglacial artifacts such as solifluction deposits and rock streams are coincident with our predicted southern extent of frost weathering (French & Millar, 2014).…”

Solifluction rates and environmental controls at local and regional scales in central Austria

“…However, HNE and HSW showed substantially lower velocities, despite their steep slope gradients. Lower velocities despite steeper slopes were also observed by Matsuoka ( 1998b ), who explained this as due to the influence of other factors, most importantly by the characteristics of the transported material. His study, as well as earlier studies (e.g.…”

Seasonal changes in the sediment flux on steep hillslopes in a humid diurnal frost environment

“…Since the height of frost heave is low on days with less soil moisture (Meentemeyer and Zippin, 1981;Boelhouwers et al, 2003;Ueno et al, 2015), it is probable that the frequency of soil creep was even higher when we consider the slower creep on dry days. The importance of diurnal freeze-thaw has also been emphasized with respect to other monitoring sites on mountains in humid monsoon areas (Matsuoka, 1998;Imaizumi et al, 2006), whereas surface erosion during rainfall seasons is the only important sediment transport process in some warmer and lower elevation areas (Kimoto et al, 2002;Miyata et al, 2009). Seasonal changes in the sediment transport mechanism As noted earlier, the difference in the sediment flux between the freeze-thaw and rainfall seasons was most significant for plot LV among all the monitoring plots; the sediment flux in the freeze-thaw season was 5.3-fold higher than that in the rainfall seasons (Figure 4c). Fine sediment (diameter < 10 À2 m), which is easily transported by overland flow (Edeso et al, 1999;Aksoy and Kavvas, 2005;Struk et al, 2015), was absent on the ground surface at LV (Figure 2), resulting in a small proportion of rainfall-induced sediment transport.…”