Respective influence of geomorphologic and climate conditions on debris-flow occurrence in the Northern French Alps

Jomelli, Vincent; Pavlova, Irina; Giacona, Florie; Zgheib, Taline; Eckert, Nicolas

doi:10.1007/s10346-019-01195-7

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…(1) geological-geomorphological (lithology, unconsolidated deposits, slope gradient, altitude), (2) meteorological (extreme rainfall, storms, alternation of dry and rainy periods, extreme temperatures), and (3) land cover and land use. One of the main triggering factors for a debris flow are weather conditions, and nowadays many publications are focused on the impact of climate change on debris flow occurrence (Jomelli, Brunstein, Déqué, Vrac, & Grancher, 2009;Jomelli, Pavlova, Giacona, Zgheib, & Eckert, 2019;Pavlova et al, 2014;Rebetez, Lugon, & *Corresponding author, e-mail: nina@gea.uni-sofia.bg Baeriswyl, 1997;Savi et al, 2016;Turkington, Remaître, Ettema, Hussin, & Westen, 2016;Winter et al, 2010). Kononova and Malneva (2012) analysed the formation of debris flows in connection with atmospheric circulation and showed good correlation between debris flows occurrence and cyclone frequency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debris flows in Kresna Gorge (Bulgaria)-geomorphological characteristics and weather conditions

Krenchev

Kenderova

Matev

et al. 2021

J GEOGR INST CVIJIC

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Over the last decades, numerous extreme climate events such as extreme temperatures, droughts, heavy precipitation, and storms associated with climate change have been recorded in many countries, including Bulgaria. As a result, geomorphological hazards such as landslides, debris flows, mudflows, high-speed soil erosion, etc. often occur on the territory of the country. The debris flow is one of the most common hazardous processes in small catchments of the main river basins in Bulgaria. The Kresna Gorge located in the middle part of Struma River valley is a typical area with such processes which often cause the damages to the E79 international highway. The purpose of the present study is to characterize debris flows in Kresna Gorge (southwestern part of Bulgaria) by comparative analysis between the two events (occurred on May 24, 2009 and July 28, 2019). In order to achieve the aim of the study the geomorphological features and flow type of 2019 event were identified and the results were compared with the previous publications which investigated the event on May 24, 2009. In the present paper, the sediments and the type of transportation of the investigated event (July 2019) were determined by grain-size and clast-shape analysis. The impact of weather conditions on debris flow occurrence was shown by the analysis of the synoptic conditions on the day before the event. The results of the study bring to clarifying the geological-geomorphological and meteorological factors for the occurrence of debris flow and are important for geomorphological hazard management.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debris flows in Kresna Gorge (Bulgaria)-geomorphological characteristics and weather conditions

Krenchev

Kenderova

Matev

et al. 2021

J GEOGR INST CVIJIC

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“…Different land use types affect surface runoff and sediment transport and may control the slope stability [2]. The area proportions of unused land, forested land, grassland, cultivated land, residential land and industrial land in each catchment were calculated to analyze the impact of different land use types on debris flows (Figure 2, Land use).…”

Section: Factors Related To Materials Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are one of the most dangerous material movements because of their high speed, long movement distance, large impact, and abruptness of onset, and for these reasons they are a major threat to life and property [1]. Therefore, it is important to determine the spatial distribution and controlling factors of debris flows in order to prevent them and mitigate their impacts [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hazard analysis of debris flows is typically conducted by establishing a relationship between their cause and occurrence [8]. Different studies have placed different emphases on the various factors influencing debris flows: e.g., geomorphic factors [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]; geological characteristics such as lithology and structural faults [1,2,8,16]; land cover and vegetation cover, which influence the hydrological response and the generation of debris flows [17][18][19][20][21][22]; land use [23]; climate change, such as the number of heavy rainfall events [24][25][26] and rainfall intensity [27,28]; landslides [29,30]; and wildfire [31]. Several studies analyzed the spatial distribution of debris flows [32][33][34][35][36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling the Spatial Distribution of Debris Flows and Analysis of the Controlling Factors: A Machine Learning Approach

Zhao

Meng

et al. 2021

Remote Sensing

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Debris flows are a major geological hazard in mountainous regions. For improving mitigation, it is important to study the spatial distribution and factors controlling debris flows. In the Bailong River Basin, central China, landslides and debris flows are very well developed due to the large differences in terrain, the complex geological environment, and concentrated rainfall. For analysis, 52 influencing factors, statistical, machine learning, remote sensing and GIS methods were used to analyze the spatial distribution and controlling factors of 652 debris flow catchments with different frequencies. The spatial distribution of these catchments was divided into three zones according to their differences in debris flow frequencies. A comprehensive analysis of the relationship between various factors and debris flows was made. Through parameter optimization and feature selection, the Extra Trees classifier performed the best, with an accuracy of 95.6%. The results show that lithology was the most important factor controlling debris flows in the study area (with a contribution of 26%), followed by landslide density and factors affecting slope stability (road density, fault density and peak ground acceleration, with a total contribution of 30%). The average annual frequency of daily rainfall > 20 mm was the most important triggering factor (with a contribution of 7%). Forest area and vegetation cover were also important controlling factors (with a total contribution of 9%), and they should be regarded as an important component of debris flow mitigation measures. The results are helpful to improve the understanding of factors influencing debris flows and provide a reference for the formulation of mitigation measures.

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“…More generally, alterations in the intensity and duration of short-term precipitation control debris-flow activity in all altitudes. Regional studies in the French Alps show that >70 % of all debris flows can directly be attributed to intense precipitation patterns (Jomelli et al, 2019). In 50 many mountain environments worldwide, the number of extreme rainfall events capable of triggering debris flows in the summer months has increased in the last 3 decades of the 20th century (…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A 4,000 year debris-flow record based on amphibious investigations of fan delta activity in Plansee (Austria, Eastern Alps)

Kiefer

Oswald

Moernaut

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. The frequency of debris flows is hypothesized to increase in recent decades with enhanced rainstorm activity. Geological evidence to test this tendency for prehistoric times is scarce due to incomplete sediment records, complex stratigraphy, and insufficient age control especially in Alpine environments. In lacustrine archives, the link between onshore debris-flow processes and the depositional record in lake depocentres is poorly investigated. We present an amphibious characterization of alluvial fan deltas and a continuous 4,000 year debris-flow record from Plansee (Tyrol, Austria) combining Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, swath bathymetry, and sediment core analyses. The geomorphic investigation of two fan deltas in different developmental stages revealed a sediment delivery ratio of 7.9 % for the juvenile fan and no sediment transport into the lake on the mature fan within a 3-month summer period (May 2019–August 2019). Event deposits were dated and categorized according to their causal mechanism in a transect of four sediment cores. Debris flow-induced turbidites feature a more gradual fining-upward grain-size trend and higher TOC and δ13C values compared to earthquake-induced turbidites. Over the last 4,000 years, the record containing 138 debris flow-induced turbidites reveals four different debris-flow activity phases. Phase 1 (2050–1960 before the common era; BCE) depicts the second highest observed event frequencies. Phase 2 (1960 BCE–1550 common era; CE) shows large recurrence intervals. Phase 3 (1550–1905 CE) displays a gradual increase of event frequency. Phase 4 (1905–2018 CE) exhibits a debris-flow frequency increase between 1908 and 1928 CE, followed by the overall highest debris-flow frequency between 1928 and 1978 CE, and lower debris-flow frequencies since 1978 CE, which still exceed those of phase 1 to 3. Most remarkably, we find a ~7-fold increase of debris-flow frequency compared to the reference period 1700–1900 CE. The triggering of debris flows is more controlled by short intense rainstorms than for any other mass movement process and we demonstrate that lacustrine debris-flow records provide a unique inventory of hazard-relevant rainstorm frequencies over decades, centuries, and millennia. In a calibration period of 7 decades, we can show that the debris flow-induced turbidite record matches with the previously published debris-flow volume increase derived from aerial photography coincident to a pronounced rainstorm frequency increase. Here we show a millennium-scale debris-flow record that documents a ~7-fold increase in debris-flow frequencies in the 20th and 21st century coincident to 2-fold enhanced rainstorm activity in the Northern European Alps and provide a novel basis for systematic non-stationary estimation of future debris-flow frequencies in a changing climate.

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Respective influence of geomorphologic and climate conditions on debris-flow occurrence in the Northern French Alps

Cited by 16 publications

References 73 publications

Debris flows in Kresna Gorge (Bulgaria)-geomorphological characteristics and weather conditions

Debris flows in Kresna Gorge (Bulgaria)-geomorphological characteristics and weather conditions

Modeling the Spatial Distribution of Debris Flows and Analysis of the Controlling Factors: A Machine Learning Approach

A 4,000 year debris-flow record based on amphibious investigations of fan delta activity in Plansee (Austria, Eastern Alps)

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