Abstract
Permafrost degradation is thought as an important triggering factor of rockfall affecting the steep rockwalls of the Mont Blanc massif. We investigate permafrost distribution by a combination of rock temperature measurements, statistical modelling and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). Mean Annual Rock Surface Temperature (MARST) is predicted at regional scale on a 4-m-resolution DEM by implementing a multiple linear regression model with Mean Annual Air Temperature (MAAT) of the 1961–1990 period and Potential Incoming Solar Radiation (PISR) as explanatory variables. Based on recent studies, we assume that fracturation and heterogeneous snow deposit induce a temperature offset between the surface and depth of negligible annual temperature variations that may reach 3 °C. This assumption is supported by temperature measurements in 11-m-deep boreholes at the Aiguille du Midi (AdM, 3842 m a.s.l) and verified with ERT measurements. The underlying hypothesis is that permafrost occurs below MARST ranging up to 3 °C. The preliminary results suggest that permafrost possibly occurs even below warmer MARST than expected.
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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Magnin, F., Deline, P., Ravanel, L., Gruber, S., Krautblatter, M. (2015). Assessment of Permafrost Distribution in the Mont Blanc Massif Steep Rock Walls by a Combination of Temperature Measurements, Modelling and Geophysics. In: Lollino, G., Manconi, A., Clague, J., Shan, W., Chiarle, M. (eds) Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09300-0_45
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09300-0_45
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