paraglacial rock slope stability glaciation and deglaciation along with their associated climatic and non climatic processes modify slope stresses and influence slope stability paraglacial slope failures are those that are a part of or influenced by the transition from glacial conditions to non glacial conditions gravitational failure of rock slopes is a primary and dominant process of slope evolution in mountainous terrain and is the subject of this paper which 1 reviews the approaches taken for researching paraglacial rock slope failure patterns and processes 2 summarises the spatial and temporal patterns of post glacial failures 3 assesses the factors influencing slope stability during glaciation and deglaciation 4 explores some of the applications of paraglacial research and 5 highlights some of the outstanding issues to be resolved and provides recommendations for terminology relating to paraglacial slope processes

neotectonic rotations in the orava nowy targ intramontane basin western carpathians an integrated palaeomagnetic and fractured clasts study abstract the objectives of this contribution are 1 to promote the application of fractured clasts analysis in conglomerates for regional stress reconstructions and 2 to advance reconstruction of the western carpathians structural development our results show that the neogene fill of the orava nowy targ intramontane basin underwent ccw rotation of about 30 we infer that the rotation terminated after 8 ma and was related to shift along nw se to nnw sse trending faults at the ne termination of the sinistral mur ilina fault zone our results show that fractured clasts analysis can be good tool for regional tectonic reconstructions the tool is especially useful when other tectonic tools are scarce or absent results of our palaeomagnetic study and fractured clasts analysis verify and supplement each others in the studied case palaeomagnetic results allow to distinguish between regional stress field rotation and rotation of the orava nowy targ basin neogene fill whereas results of fractured clast analysis help to constrain the age of rotation

landslides and climate change in the italian dolomites since the late glacial abstract the paper deals with the relationship between the temporal occurrence of landslides and climatic changes in the italian dolomites since the late glacial after an introduction on the state of the art with particular reference to the alpine region the results of recent investigations in the two study sites are illustrated at cortina d ampezzo several landslides were dated mainly by the radiocarbon method the most ancient landslide event there involved large rock slides which affected the dolomitic slopes following the withdrawal of glaciers after the last glacial maximum lgm and also slides and flows mainly occurring in pelitic materials of the valley floors from 13 000 to 10 000 cal bp a later series of flows occurred between 5500 and 2500 cal bp in the upper badia valley alta badia the most ancient events go back to 10 000 and 9000 cal bp and correspond with earth flows that followed vast rotational slides affecting the bedrock up to a depth of about 50 m more recent earth flows involving more modest amounts of material took place between 6500 and 2300 cal bp by analysing the dates from the two study areas it was possible to correlate the recorded increase of landslide activity with the climatic changes occurring at the boundary between the late glacial and the holocene and between the atlantic and the subboreal and to compare the results with those derived from other european regions the types and causes of landslides taking place in these two periods were substantially different reflecting the different morphoclimatic conditions that existed in the two areas when these mass movements were triggered finally notwithstanding the importance of non climatic causes such as geological structural factors and possible human influences it is concluded that many of the dated landslides can be considered as indicators of climatic change

onset and timing of deep seated gravitational slope deformations in the eastern alps italy abstract a previously unrecognised complex of deep seated gravitational slope deformations dsgsd extends 20 km along upper venosta valley in the eastern alps italy mt watles exhibits spectacular features indicative of dsgsds including double ridges trenches and counterscarps the slope deformation occurs along a nappe boundary now corresponding to the schlinig normal fault is also conditioned by recent faults marked by shallow earthquakes and shows glacial paraglacial controls on slope evolution the mt watles dsgsd is a complex deep seated compound slide along a basal shear zone involving the schlinig fault gravitational reactivation of ne trending fractures formed gravitational scarps counterscarps and half grabens in the upper slope whereas the lower part of the slope partially collapsed although our work indicates the importance of the schlinig fault and recent fracturing on slope failure the trigger seems to be postglacial debuttressing of the valley walls radiocarbon dating of peat deposits within one of the major counterscarps indicates that slope deformation started during the lateglacial period and continued during the holocene in several slope sectors

a giant deep seated slope deformation in the italian alps studied by paleoseismological and morphometric techniques this work proves the existence of a large deep seated gravitational slope deformation dgsd in a hilly region of the southwestern alps whereas dgsd are usually linked with high relief energy in mountain environments moreover we describe the usefulness of applying paleoseismological techniques by means of trench excavation to date and understand the deformation history and genesis of recent morphostructures and we found evidence of causative relationships between dgsd and surface landslides the studied dgsd of mt croce della tola mt scincina italy is the largest of the western alps it is 7 km long and involves a minimum area of 16 km2 with a volume 3 5 km3 probably extending further ne beneath lake maggiore surface several parallel scarps representing the surface expression of slip planes affect the upper part of the slope whereas the lower part presents a convex profile dgsd at mt croce della tola started in the last interglacial period 120 40 ka bp and the following glacial phase was not able to significantly modify the general slope geometry post glacial deformation also occurred especially at mt scincina after 25 ka bp post glacial and active surface landslides developed on the convex lower part of the slope suggesting that they resulted from instability due to the new profile assumed by the slopes during the deep seated deformation the occurrence of mt scincina dgsd with a very low topographic gradient is interpreted as an effect induced by on other large dgsd

basin changes in jervis bay new south wales 1894 1988 abstract a qualitative assessment of the stability of the jervis bay basin based on the hydrological and physical characteristics of the bay suggests that the basin as a whole should be a relatively stable unit in the long term through the employment of a geographic information system gis a quantitative comparison of a historical hydrological chart dated 1894 and a recent hydrological survey of 1988 was performed the comparison revealed that basin has in fact deepened by 0 41 m over the 94 year period the significance of this change was assessed in the light of the many errors inherent in the old chart the error analysis indicated that the basin change was significant further hydrological comparisons based on the subdivision of the basin into smaller geomorphic units indicated that the magnitude and direction of basin change was not uniform over the entire basin over the 94 year period a substantial portion of the northern basin has shallowed whilst the southern basin was dominated by deepening the latter deepening was more pronounced along the nearshore margins and through the entrance channel this spatial pattern of basin change was readily explicable through the spatial expression of the energy regime in jervis bay

holocene glacier fluctuations a global overview of glacier advances and retreats grouped by regions and by millennia for the holocene is compiled from previous studies the reconstructions of glacier fluctuations are based on 1 mapping and dating moraines defined by 14 c tcn osl lichenometry and tree rings discontinuous records time series and 2 sediments from proglacial lakes and speleothems continuous records time series using 189 continuous and discontinuous time series the long term trends and centennial fluctuations of glaciers were compared to trends in the recession of northern and mountain tree lines and with orbital solar and volcanic studies to examine the likely forcing factors that drove the changes recorded a general trend of increasing glacier size from the earlyemid holocene to the late holocene in the extra tropical areas of the northern hemisphere nh is related to overall summer temperature forced by orbitally controlled insolation the glaciers in new zealand and in the tropical andes also appear to follow the orbital trend i e they were decreasing from the early holocene to the present in contrast glacier fluctuations in some monsoonal areas of asia and southern south america generally did not follow the orbital trends but fluctuated at a higher frequency possibly triggered by distinct teleconnections patterns during the neoglacial advances clustered at 4 4e4 2 ka 3 8e3 4 ka 3 3e2 8 ka 2 6 ka 2 3e2 1 ka 1 5e1 4 ka 1 2e1 0 ka 0 7e0 5 ka corresponding to general cooling periods in the north atlantic some of these episodes coincide with multidecadal periods of low solar activity but it is unclear what mechanism might link small changes in irradiance to widespread glacier fluctuations explosive volcanism may have played a role in some periods of glacier advances such as around 1 7e1 6 ka coinciding with the taupo volcanic eruption at 232 5 ce but the record of explosive volcanism is poorly known through the holocene the compilation of ages suggests that there is no single mechanism driving glacier fluctuations on a global scale multidecadal variations of solar and volcanic activity supported by positive feedbacks in the climate system may have played a critical role in holocene glaciation but further research on such linkages is needed the rate and the global character of glacier retreat in the 20th through early 21st centuries appears unusual in the context of holocene glaciation though the retreating glaciers in most parts of the northern hemisphere are still larger today than they were in the early and or mid holocene the current retreat

calibration of cosmogenic 36cl production rates from ca and k spallation in lava flows from mt etna 38 n italy and payun matru 36 s argentina abstract published cosmogenic 36cl production rates from ca and k spallation differ by almost a factor of 2 in this paper we determine production rates of 36cl from ca and k in samples of known age containing little cl ca rich plagioclases and k feldspars were separated from a total of 13 samples collected on the surfaces of four basaltic lava flows at mt etna 38 n italy and from a trachyte lava flow at payun matru volcano 36 s argentina eruption ages determined by independent methods range between 0 4 and 32 ka sample site elevations range between 500 and 2500 m corresponding scaling factors were calculated using five different published scaling models four of which consider paleo geomagnetic field variations integrated over the exposure durations the resulting five data sets were then analyzed using a bayesian statistical model that incorporates the major inherent uncertainties in a consistent way spallation production rates from ca and k considering all major uncertainties are 42 2 4 8 atoms 36cl g ca 1 a 1 and 124 9 8 1 atoms 36cl g k 1 a 1 normalized to sea level and high latitude using the scaling method of stone 2000 scaling models that account for paleo geomagnetic intensity changes yield very similar mean values at most 4 if the uncertainties in the independent ages are neglected in the bayesian model the calculated element specific production rates would be about 12 higher our results are in agreement with previous production rate estimations both for ca and k if only low cl i e 20 ppm samples are considered

paleoproterozoic high δ13c dolomites from the lastoursville and franceville basins se gabon stratigraphic and synsedimentary subsidence implications abstract new data for the isotopic composition of carbon in shallow marine sedimentary carbonates in southeastern gabon franceville and lastoursville sub basins indicate that the seawater value of 13 c in these sediments underwent a large positive excursion around 2 1 ga these carbonate rocks belong to the fc formation of the francevillian group deposited along the margin of the archean chaillu craton in open marine shelf and evaporite settings and experienced locally lower greenschist facies metamorphism four microfacies mf1 mf4 are recognized from subtidal cyanobacterial dolobindstones to inter and supratidal collapse breccias mf4 the dolomites exhibit elevated 13 c values most values are above 0 50 the highest value is 9 74 and the average value is near 4 vs vpdb consistent with deposition during the large worldwide positive excursion between 2 22 and 2 06 ga these positive 13 c values are independent of the microfacies type such high 13 c values are also recorded in reworked carbonates dolomites embedded in coarse grained sandstones and conglomerates interstratified in the black shales of the underlying fb formation suggesting that the dolomites were at least stratigraphically equivalent to the black shale deposits interaction between early structural development and sediment fill lead to the formation of several sub basins with distinct differences in terms of amount and timing of subsidence the 13 c enriched dolomites are probably linked to high burial rate of organic carbon starting with the deposition of the fb sediments in this extensional geotectonic context as a consequence the cherty and dolomitic fc formation cannot longer be considered as a marker interval the end of the positive excursion is located near the top of the francevillian series i e fe and could be used in future studies as a potential chemostratigraphic tool in the paleoproterozoic

uphill facing antislope scarps in the coast mountains southwest british columbia uphill facing scarps are examined at affliction creek a glacierized area within the meager creek volcanic complex of southwest british columbia scarps occur directly downslope of tension cracks and are considered to have developed from a combination of 1 antithetic movement between partly toppled slices of rock defined by a master joint set dipping into the slope and 2 erosion of the upslope face of each tension crack leaving the downslope face prominent as an antislope scarp a kinematic test for toppling failure is described glacial erosion and rapid glacial downwasting are probable causes of toppling lichenometric data indicate significant scarp development since affliction glacier attained its maximum neoglacial dimensions about 140 yr ago dilatancy is cited as a possible mechanism for scarp stabilization

late holocene episodic displacement on fault scarps related to interstratal dissolution of evaporites teruel neogene graben ne spain abstract the mio pliocene formations of the turolian type section teruel graben spain have sagged due to dissolution of the underlying triassic evaporites generating a 1 7 km long monocline and accompanying synform with 130 m of structural relief the crest of the monocline is affected by a graben that counterbalances the shortening caused by passive bending in the adjacent syncline this graben is controlled by a master synthetic fault and a swarm of antithetic and synthetic faults with a conspicuous geomorphic expression after acquiring ground penetrating radar gpr profiles three trenches were excavated in depressions associated with uphill facing fault scarps to our knowledge these are the first trenches excavated across faults caused by deep seated dissolution of evaporites the geometrical relationships observed in two trenches indicate late holocene episodic displacement as many as 3 events some of the parameters estimated for the investigated faults are clearly different from those expectable for tectonic faults in this intraplate area they include high apparent vertical slip rates 0 6 1 mm yr low average recurrence of faulting events 1 2 2 ka and very high displacement per event values 65 cm for surface ruptures less then 200 m long our findings suggest that considering evaporite collapse faults as creeping structures is not a reliable criterion to differentiate between tectonic faults seismogenic and dissolution induced gravitational faults nonseismogenic

late holocene palaeoclimate variability the significance of bog pine dendrochronology related to peat stratigraphy the puścizna wielka raised bog case study orawa nowy targ basin polish inner carpathians abstract the results of dendrochronological and palynological analyses of subfossil pine trees occurring in the peat deposits of the pu cizna wielka raised bog polish carpathians southern poland the only site with numerous subfossil pine trees in the mountainous regions of central europe presently known indicate that the majority of the tree populations grew in the peat bog during the periods ca 5415 3940 cal bp and 3050 2560 cal bp several forestless episodes dated to 5245 5155 cal bp 4525 4395 cal bp and 3940 3050 cal bp were preceded by tree dying off phases caused by an extreme periodical increase in humidity and general climate cooling trends these events are documented based on analyses of pollen and non pollen palynomorph assemblages dendrochronological analyses of the trees as well as numerous radiocarbon datings of the sediment horizons occurring within the peat bog profile the phases of germinations and in turn of tree and shrub invasions of the peat bog areas have been closely connected to drying and occasional warming of the regional climate the last of the forestless periods began about 2600 years ago and continued up to the very recent times currently as a result of desiccation of the peat bog and the lowering of the groundwater level due to improved water drainage system pine trees have returned the peat bog again these results demonstrate that studies of subfossil bog pine trees are quite effective in documenting and reconstructing periods of humidity fluctuation that occurred within the carpathian region over the last several millennia

structural constraints on deep seated slope deformation kinematics abstract a significant sackung type deep seated slope gravitational deformation dsgsd was recognised for the first time by the authors in the middle part of valfurva east of bormio rhaetian alps italy the reconstruction of its kinematics age and state of activity is presented through a detailed description of its morphological geomechanical and structural features an integrated multi disciplinary approach was performed to achieve a clear comprehension of the phenomenon field surveys and aero photo interpretation were carried out in order to clarify the structural geological and geomorphological setting in which the dsgsd developed a kinematic conceptual model of the slope deformation was developed through the analysis of morpho structures of their significance and relationships with lithological markers and quaternary deposits after a geomechanical characterisation of the rock mass involved in the slope deformation numerical modelling was performed to verify the hypotheses made on kinematics and driving factors of the phenomenon the sackung affects pre permian metapelites metabasites and marbles belonging to the upper austroalpine basement of the campo nappe as well as late pleistocene and holocene glacial and rock glacier deposits the deformation started after the late wurmian age 15 000 11 000 years b p and continued until few centuries ago not excluding a present day low rate activity deformation consists in a large oblique sagging along a deep confined sliding surface associated with gravitational reactivation of pre existing late alpine and recent tectonic brittle structures leading to the formation of n s and wnw ese trending gravitational morpho structures the evolution of the wnw ese trending system resulting in asymmetric trenches led to progressive failure of the lower part of the slope during the last 10 000 years as testified by large paleo landslide accumulations and it is still in progress numerical modelling indicates post glacial unloading as the main triggering factor of the slope deformation the importance of this deep seated slope deformation is enhanced by the occurrence of the 30 mm 3 active ruinon landslide in the lower part of the slope such landslide is subjected to rapid evolution and threatens the valley floor establishing an important risk factor connected to human lives and socio economic activities

late quaternary sackungen in the highest mountains of the carpathians sackungen represents a common mode of deep seated rock slope failures in alpine landscapes but proof of their temporal and causal relationship to extrinsic factors such as climatic changes glacier retreat or seismic activity remains elusive based on the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide tcn dating of 18 sackung scarps supported by one radiocarbon dated scarp we reconstructed the post glacial chronology of sackungen in the tatra mts central europe slovakia and poland the highest part of the carpathians the obtained ages 15 7 4 3 ka indicate that sackungen post date the regional lgm and some of them originated soon after the glacier withdrawal from adjacent valleys furthermore systematic decrease of scarp ages with their increasing altitude suggests a direct link between sackung origin and post lgm glacier thinning however substantial lag 5 ka of some sackungen in respect to glacier retreat implies complex relationships between sackung onset and deglaciation where retreat of glaciers acted predominantly as a preparatory not a triggering factor during the genesis of these slope deformations they originated either as a consequence of stress relaxation within the rock mass lasting several ka or alternatively could be triggered by climatic processes or seismicity indeed a significant part of sackung activity took place during predominantly warmer and more humid periods with some dates coinciding with the belling allerod chronozone but especially with the onset of the holocene and the holocene climatic optimum earthquake triggering is less probable as the tatra mts lack significant modern and historic seismic activity and there is no geomorphic evidence of fault offsets on the late quaternary landforms in concert with other recent studies we propose that large rock slope failures in high mountains seldom react immediately to glacier withdrawal but could display temporal delay lasting up to several millennia c 2017 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

lake sediments as natural seismographs a compiled record of late quaternary earthquakes in central switzerland and its implication for alpine deformation central switzerland lies tectonically in an intraplate area and recurrence rates of strong earthquakes exceed the time span covered by historic chronicles however many lakes are present in the area that act as natural seismographs their continuous datable and high resolution sediment succession allows extension of the earthquake catalogue to pre historic times this study reviews and compiles available data sets and results from more than 10 years of lacustrine palaeoseismological research in lakes of northern and central switzerland the concept of using lacustrine mass movement event stratigraphy to identify palaeo earthquakes is showcased by presenting new data and results from lake zurich the late glacial to holocene mass movement units in this lake document a complex history of varying tectonic and environmental impacts results include sedimentary evidence of three major and three minor simultaneously triggered basin wide lateral slope failure events interpreted as the fingerprints of palaeoseismic activity a refined earthquake catalogue which includes results from previous lake studies reveals a non uniform temporal distribution of earthquakes in northern and central switzerland a higher frequency of earthquakes in the late glacial and late holocene period documents two different phases of neotectonic activity they are interpreted to be related to isostatic post glacial rebound and relatively recent re activation of seismogenic zones respectively magnitudes and epicentre reconstructions for the largest identified earthquakes provide evidence for two possible earthquake sources i a source area in the region of the alpine or sub alpine front due to release of accumulated north west south east compressional stress related to an active basal thrust beneath the aar massif and ii a source area beneath the alpine foreland due to reactivation of deep seated strike slip faults such activity has been repeatedly observed instrumentally for example during the most recent magnitude 4 2 and 3 5 earthquakes of february 2012 near zug the combined lacustrine record from northern and central switzerland indicates that at least one of these potential sources has been capable of producing magnitude 6 2 to 6 7 events in the past

deep seated failure propagation in a fractured rock slope over 10 000 years the la clapiere slope the south eastern french alps abstract the la clapiere area tinee valley alpes maritimes france is a typical large complex unstable rock slope affected by deep seated gravitational slope deformations dgsd with tension cracks scarps and a 60 106 m3 rock slide at the slope foot that is currently active the slope surface displacements since 10 ka were estimated from 10be ages of slope gravitational features and from morpho structural analyses it appears that tensile cracks with a strike perpendicular to the main orientation of the slope were first triggered by the gravitational reactivation of pre existing tectonic faults in the slope a progressive shearing of the cracks then occurred until the failure of a large rock mass at the foot of the slope by comparing apertures variations and changes in direction between cracks of different ages three phases of slope surface displacement were identified 1 an initial slow slope deformation spreading from the foot to the top characterized by an average displacement rate of 4 mm yr 1 from 10 5 6 ka bp 2 an increase in the average displacement rate from 13 to 30 mm yr 1 from the foot to the middle of the slope until 3 6 ka bp and 3 development of a large failure at the foot of the slope with fast displacement rates exceeding 80 mm yr 1 for the last 50 years the main finding of this study is that such a large fractured slope destabilization had a very slow displacement rate for thousands of years but was followed by a recent acceleration the results obtained agree with several previous studies indicating that in situ monitoring of creep of a fractured rock slope may be useful for predicting the time and place of a rapid failure

deglaciation chronology and paleoclimate of the pieciu stawow polskich roztoki valley high tatra mountains western carpathians since the last glacial maximum inferred from 36cl exposure dating and glacier climate modelling abstract exposure dating of abraded bedrock surfaces below glacial trimlines in the pieciu stawow polskich roztoki valley using cosmogenic 36 cl has been applied to determine the deglaciation chronology in the study area nineteen rock samples yielded ages between 21 5 and 9 5 ka the spatial distribution of ages provides evidence of progressive downwasting of glaciers within the study area dates of exposure indicate that the onset of ice volume decrease occurred no later than 21 5 ka this provides evidence that the local maximum glaciation occurred in accordance with the global last glacial maximum lgm the first period of deglaciation in the study area was completed around 18 ka further significant loss of ice volume is confirmed between 15 and 13 ka the spatial distribution of chronological data within the pieciu stawow polskich valley indicates post lgm readvances of glaciers around 17 ka and 12 ka using the glacier modelling and paleoclimate proxies from the study area the early late glacial glacier had been stable with a 9 10 c decrease in temperature and 30 50 lower precipitation in relation to modern conditions the subsequent advance took place with temperatures 6 7 c lower and 10 30 less precipitation the timing of the readvances is nearly synchronous with late glacial advances in the european alps southern carpathians and anatolian peninsula this suggests synchronicity of major climatic fluctuations across central europe and the northern margin of the mediterranean basin

geomorphology and geochronology of sackung features uphill facing scarps in the central spanish pyrenees abstract the paper analyses uphill facing scarps and associated troughs developed in the oversteepened slopes of two neighbouring glacial valleys in the central spanish pyrenees previous studies of sackung landforms in the pyrenees have argued for deglacial unloading as the genetic mechanism but this causal and temporal relationship has not been proved due to the lack of chronological data the antislope scarps in the two studied locations vallibierna and estos are developed in palaeozoic metasedimentary rocks parallel to the contour lines and the structural grain occur in the intermediate sector of the hillslope and are up to 0 5 km long and several meters high a trench was excavated in a sackung trough fill in each of the valleys in order to gain information about their chronology and genesis charcoal from the lowermost unit in vallibierna provided an age of 5 9 cal ka for the sackung and extrapolation of the three dates obtained in estos indicates that the trough formed ca 7 6 7 8 cal ka deglaciation of the studied sectors of the valleys occurred between 16 and 13 ka the time lag of 5 ka suggests that glacial erosion and the subsequent debutressing of the oversteepened valley walls created slopes predisposed to sackung development but did not initiate the movement seismic shaking is proposed as a probable triggering factor this hypothesis although supported by the sudden deformation event recorded by a failure plane exposed in vallibierna trench and by the seismic and neotectonic activity of the area cannot be proved due to the lack of chronological information about paleoearthquakes

the landslide response of alpine basins to post little ice age glacial thinning and retreat in southwestern british columbia abstract the role of post little ice age lia neoglacial retreat on landslide activity is investigated in 19 alpine basins along the upper lillooet river valley british columbia we examine how neoglacial scouring and glacial recession have modified hillslope form and slope stability and construct a decision making flowchart to identify landslide hazards associated with glacial retreat this work is based on field mapping gis analysis statistical associations between landslides and terrain attributes and a comparison between neoglaciated and non neoglaciated terrain within each basin the bedrock landslide response to glacial retreat varies appreciably according to lithology and the extent of glacial scour below the lia trimline valleys carved in weak quaternary volcanics show significant erosional oversteepening and contain deep seated slope movement features active rock fall rock slides and rock avalanches near glacial trimlines basins in stronger granitic rock rarely show increased bedrock instability resulting from post lia retreat except for shallow seated rock slides along some trimlines and failures on previously unstable slopes in surficial materials landslides associated with post lia retreat originate in till or colluvium as debris slides or debris avalanches and are concentrated along lateral moraines or glacial trimlines significant spatial association was also observed between recent catastrophic failures gravitational slope deformation and slopes that were oversteepened then debuttressed by glacial erosion eight out of nine catastrophic rock slope failures occurred just above glacial trimlines and all occurred in areas with a previous history of deep seated gravitational slope movement implying that this type of deformation is a precursor to catastrophic detachment

deep seated gravitational slope deformations in the highest parts of the czech flysch carpathians evolutionary model based on kinematic analysis electrical imaging and trenching deep seated gravitational slope deformations dsgsds played an important role during the quaternary evolution of mountain ridges formed by anisotropic flysch rocks of the outer western carpathians owc four dsgsd affected ridges in the highest part of the czech sector of the owc have been subjected to multidisciplinary investigation involving mapping structural and kinematic analysis geoelectrical imaging trenching and dating all the studied dsgsds are strongly predisposed by regional structural fabric given by the intersection of bedding planes joint sets and faults performed research suggests high diversity of mechanisms leading to the origin of individual dsgsds the area of a single dsgsd can be affected by various types of movements such as sackung lateral spreading toppling or incipient sliding electrical imaging and trenching revealed that besides these mechanisms anisotropic flysch massifs formed by thick bedded sandstones are strongly exposed to subsurface opening of air filled voids related to widened crevices such a process is driven by deep seated creep and translational sliding of sandstone beds upon plastic claystones whose strength has been reduced to residual values of the angle of internal friction performed radiocarbon and osl dating revealed that some of the studied dsgsds originated in the holocene period particularly in the atlantic and subboreal chronozones

geomorphological evidence and 10be exposure ages for the last glacial maximum and deglaciation of the velka and mala studena dolina valleys in the high tatra mountains central europe abstract 10be exposure age chronology of the last glaciation was established in a key area at the southern slopes of the high tatra mts western carpathians in situ produced 10be in moraine boulders glacially transformed bedrock surfaces and rockfall accumulations constrains the timing of the last glacial maximum lgm glacier expansion and provides chronological evidence for the post lgm decay of one of the largest paleoglaciers in the range the uncertainty weighted mean age of 22 0 0 8 ka obtained for the terminal moraine in the forefield of the velka studena dolina valley indicates that the oldest moraine was deposited close to the global lgm this finding confirms that well preserved moraines in the range were formed during the last glacial cycle and that glaciation on the southern flank of the range was more extensive than earlier in the last glacial cycle the maximum glacier extent correlates with late wurmian weichselian glacier phases in the alps the bavarian bohemian forest and the krkonose mts but probably postdates the period of maximum glaciation in the southern carpathians re advance moraines at the mouth of the velka studena dolina valley and in the middle part of the mala studena dolina valley were deposited no later than around 20 5 ka and 15 5 ka respectively the timing of these advances is broadly synchronous within the high tatra mts as well as with glacier advances in the alps bavarian bohemian forest and krkonose mts 10be exposure ages obtained from glacially transformed bedrock surfaces range between 20 5 1 7 ka and 10 7 0 3 ka constraining the onset and the final phase of the deglaciation surface exposure dating of four rockfall accumulations produced uncertainty weighted mean ages of 20 2 1 2 ka 17 0 0 7 ka 16 5 0 4 ka and 15 6 0 7 ka these ages indicate that activation of rock slope failures occurred under paraglacial conditions within a few centuries up to 1400 years after the formation of re advance moraines

10be ages reveal 12 ka of gravitational movement in a major sackung of the western alps france abstract the rognier sackung which extends ne sw for more than 9 km is a major gravitational morpho structure located in the western alps we used the 10 be cosmic ray exposure dating method on 23 samples to unravel its history and better understand its genetic mechanism we found that the average slip rate on sackung faults varies from 0 3 to 3 2 mm yr 1 conjugate sackung faults are contemporaneous in agreement with a model in which the whole mountain ridge is involved in the gravitational deformation 600 m thick multiple samples on single faults suggest that the development of this sackung started before 12 ka and that it is still active we cannot exclude the possibility that the dissolution of the underlying triassic evaporites participated in the sagging of mt rognier however the age of this sackung and the presence of the lauziere sackung on the other side of the arcs valley support glacial erosion and debuttressing following the retreat of the valley glacier as the main causes of these large gravitational structures the long and permanent activity of the rognier sackung contrasts with that of the neighbouring arcs sackung which we previously dated using the same method and showed that it is a result of flexural toppling along with the proximity of the rognier sackung to the belledonne border active fault its long history suggests that earthquake shaking contributed to maintain its activity additionally two ages confirm that in the western alps rock glaciers formed mainly during the younger dryas this study allowed the determination of the best sampling strategy for future cre dating of these types of gravitational structures

rock slope failure following late pleistocene deglaciation on tectonically stable mountainous terrain the ages of 31 postglacial rock slope failures rsfs in scotland and nw ireland derived from 89 cosmogenic isotope exposure ages are employed to analyse the temporal pattern of failure and its relationship to the timing of deglaciation rates of glacio isostatic crustal uplift and periods of rapid climate change rsf ages span almost the whole period since ice sheet retreat from 18 2 1 2 ka to 1 7 0 2 ka or from 17 1 1 0 ka to 1 5 0 1 ka depending on the production rate used in 10 be age calculation but catastrophic failure of rock slopes was w4 6 times more frequent prior to w11 7 ka than during the holocene 95 of dated rsfs at sites deglaciated during retreat of the last ice sheet occurred within w5400 years after deglaciation with peak rsf activity 1600e1700 years after deglaciation this time lag is inferred to represent 1 stress release initiated by deglacial unloading leading to 2 time dependent rock mass strength degradation through progressive failure plane development and ultimately 3 to either spontaneous kinematic release or failure triggered by some extrinsic mechanism by contrast 11 dated rsfs at sites reoccupied by glacier ice during the younger dryas stade yds of w12 9e11 7 ka exhibit no clear temporal pattern suggesting that glacial reoccupance during the yds was ineffective in preconditioning a renewed cycle of enhanced rsf activity comparison of timing of individual rsfs with that of deglaciation and rapid warming events at w14 7 ka and w11 7 ka suggests that glacial debuttressing enhanced joint waterpressuresduringdeglaciationandthawofpermafrosticeinrockjointscouldhavetriggeredfailurein only a small number of cases conversely the timing of maximum rsf activity following ice sheet deglaciation corresponds broadly with maximum rates of glacio isostatic crustal uplift suggesting that the two are linked by enhanced seismic activity a seismic failure trigger is consistent with full slope failure at all sites where failure planes are clearly defined our results indicate that numerous rsfs must have occurred in areas that were reoccupied by glacier ice during the yds but have not been identified because runout debris was removed by yds glaciers more generally they provide the first reliably dated body of evidence to support the view that retreat of the last ice sheets in tectonically stable mountainous terrain initiated a period of enhanced rock slope failure due to deglacial unloading and probably lateglacial seismic activity implying that most undated rsfs in such areas are probably of lateglacial or veryearly holocene age they also demonstrate however that a low frequency of rsf activity extended throughout the holocene

10 be exposure age chronology of the last glaciation of the rohacska valley in the western tatra mountains central europe abstract 10 be exposure ages from moraines and bedrock sites in the rohacska valley provide chronology of the last glaciation in the largest valley of the western tatra mts the western carpathians the minimum apparent exposure age of 19 4 2 1 ka obtained for the oldest sampled boulder and the mean age of 18 0 0 8 ka calculated for the terminal moraine indicate that the oldest preserved moraine was probably deposited at the time of the global last glacial maximum lgm the age of this moraine coincides with the termination of the maximum glacier expansion in other central european ranges including the adjacent high tatra mts and the alps the equilibrium line altitude ela of the lgm glacier in the rohacska valley estimated at 1400 1410 m a s l was 50 80 m lower than in the eastern part of the range indicating a positive ela gradient from west to east among the north facing glaciers in the tatra mts lateglacial glacier expansion occurred no later than 13 4 0 5 ka and 11 9 0 5 ka as indicated by the mean exposure ages calculated for re advance moraines this timing is consistent with the exposure age chronology of the last lateglacial re advance in the high tatra mts alps and lower mountain ranges in central europe the ela in the rohacska valley estimated at 1690 1770 m a s l in this period was located 130 300 m lower than in the north facing valleys in the high tatra mts 10 be exposure ages obtained for a rock glacier constrains the timing of this landform stabilization in the salatinska valley and provides the first chronological evidence for the lateglacial activity of rock glaciers in the carpathians

production of cosmogenic radionuclides at great depth a multi element approach abstract for the last two decades in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides are increasingly applied in earth sciences to quantify surface processes in parallel significant reduction of the analytical uncertainties linked to advances in accelerator mass spectrometry ams allows more precise measurements however among all the published works on cosmogenic nuclides only few studies are dedicated to a better understanding of their production systematic or to a better constrain of the physical parameters involved in their production thus an approach to investigate in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides 10 be 26 al and 36 cl along a single 11 meter long core drilled from the surface and composed of carbonates and quartzose conglomerates has been launched these measurements have been used to quantify muon induced productions based on natural samples for each studied nuclide contrary to the current most oftenly used calculation of muon induced production parameters which are based on irradiation experiments at discrete energies productions based on natural samples are considering the entire energy range of particles reaching the ground surface the evolution of 36 cl concentrations with depth needs to agree with those parameters deduced from 10 be and 26 al data this is optimized when considering a fast muon induced 36 cl production contribution and a spallation production rate at sea level high latitude slhl of 42 0 2 0 atoms 36 cl g ca 1 a 1 1 sigma uncertainty

cosmogenic age constraints on post lgm catastrophic rock slope failures in the tatra mountains western carpathians textcopyright 2015 elsevier b v although deglaciation is one of the crucial factors controlling the stability of slopes in high mountains the chronological response of rock slope failure rsf to glacier retreat still remains poorly known here we provide the first cosmogenic 10be age constraints on prominent rock avalanches and rockfalls collectively termed rock slope failures rsfs from the tatra mountains the highest mountain range with the most pronounced glacier morphology within the carpathians six representative rsfs were selected for surface exposure dating in the mountain range two sites are situated in the western part with less pronounced local relief and gentler slope gradient and four come from the highest eastern part with oversteepened rock slopes our dataset also contains the largest known rsf in the tatra mountains the koprova rock avalanche with a volume of 5 4 106m3 based on 26 10be dated boulders the weighted mean ages of individual rsf accumulations range between 20 2 1 2 and 10 1 0 3ka our results suggest that smaller structurally predisposed failures mainly rockfalls in the steepest parts of the mountains reacted immediately i e a few hundred years to deglaciation whereas more complex slope deformations in terrain with lower local relief involving the largest rock avalanche in the tatra mountains experienced a substantial time lag i e several millennia in respect to ice retreat in the case of delayed rsfs their origin can be well correlated with warmer and more humid periods in the lateglacial early holocene such as the bolling allerod chronozone and after the onset of the holocene

late glacial and holocene paleoenvironmental records in the tatra mountains east central europe based on lake peat bog and colluvial sedimentary data a summary review abstract the tatra mountains are the highest massif in the carpathian mountain arc 2655 m and represent a typical alpine landscape developed in the course of pleistocene glaciations but are not glacierized today the glacial relief of the massif offers an abundance of topographic depressions cirque overdeepenings morainic closed depressions where sedimentary sequences may potentially reveal paleoenvironmental changes that may have occurred since the glaciers retreat from the last glacial maximum position 26 18 ka we present a review of late glacial and holocene sedimentary archives from the tatra mountains collected in the polish and non polish literature the data sets 40 sites included 21 lake 13 peat bog and 6 colluvial sediment sites the entire listed sediment sequence features radiometric datings or at the very least a chronological framework is inferred from the biostratigraphy the oldest sampled sedimentary sequences were dated back to the oldest dryas and were obtained from the deepest glacial lakes located in the subalpine zone up to 1700 m shallow lakes

cosmogenic 10be dating of a sackung and its faulted rock glaciers in the alps of savoy france sackungs are the largest gravitational deformation observed in mountains they are characterized by the long term slowness of the movements but their mechanism is still not well understood nowadays cosmic ray exposure cre dating methods allow dating the morphologic structures involved in sackung and can contribute at the understanding of their origin in the alps the 5 3 km long arcs sackung initiated during the activity of rock glaciers three samples from these faulted rock glaciers provide their first cre ages and show that at 2000 m elevation these block accumulations moved during the younger dryas and stopped in early holocene six 10be ages of fault scarps show that the arcs sackung lasted only a few thousand years and stopped at about 8462 432 10be yr they also reveal that deformation migrated upslope in agreement with a mechanism of flexural toppling of vertical layers this unique and long gravitational event characterized by migration of the deformation does not support earthquake shaking as triggering mechanism for individual faults it shows that in the upper isere valley slope deformation was delayed of several thousand years after glacial debuttressing and is not anymore active despite its fresh morphology

structural contraints of neotectonic activity in the eastern part of the western carpathians orogenic wedge abstract the eastern part of the western carpathians orogenic wedge covering the territory eastward from the 20 meridian could serve as an example for close relation between basement rock structural anisotropy and the neotectonic morphostructural pattern the neotectonic evolution of the region has been guided by crustal deformations of the entire main western carpathian fault systems defined by steeply dipping faults of ne sw nw se s n and e w directions the fault sets bound morphostructural units and form the base for the quaternary neotectonic activity and landscape development of the region closely linked to western carpathian lineaments they reflect both the moho topography and directional orientation of adjoining platform margins the fault sets represent inherited poly stage structures genetically correlating to cretaceous fold pattern of the western carpathians being repeatedly reactivated during cenozoic times summarising vertical movement ratios among neotectonic units particularly between the highest uplifted subsiding blocks we have found the maximal quaternary movements rate of the region reaching ca 1315 m and neotectonic movements rate of 1710 m

timing of glacier advances and climate in the high tatra mountains western carpathians during the last glacial maximum during the last glacial maximum lgm long valley glaciers developed on the northern and southern sides of the high tatra mountains poland and slovakia chlorine 36 exposure dating of moraine boulders suggests two major phases of moraine stabilization at 26 21 ka lgm i maximum and at 18 ka lgm ii the dates suggest a significantly earlier maximum advance on the southern side of the range reconstructing the geometry of four glaciers in the sucha woda panszczyca mlynicka and velicka valleys allowed determining their equilibrium line altitudes elas at 1460 1460 1650 and 1700 m asl respectively based on a positive degree day model the mass balance and climatic parameter anomaly temperature and precipitation has been constrained for lgm i advance modeling results indicate slightly different conditions between northern and southern slopes the n s ela gradient finds confirmation in slightly higher temperature at least 1 c or lower precipitation 15 on the south facing glaciers during lgm i the precipitation distribution over the high tatra mountains indicates potentially different lgm atmospheric circulation than at the present day with reduced northwesterly inflow and increased southerly and westerly inflows of moist air masses

are sackungen diagnostic features of de glaciated mountains abstract deep seated gravitational slope deformations dsgsds with characteristic sackung landforms e g double crests trenches uphill facing scarps and toe bulging are considered by some researchers to be diagnostic features indicating past mountain glaciations however an extensive literature review on sackung features throughout the world reveals that in some regions paraglacial processes are not the causes of such phenomena sackungen occur across a diverse spectrum of mountain types with different morphoclimatic histories including regions that have never experienced glaciation to reinforce that sackungen may originate independently of glaciation we also include two case studies from the western carpathians czech republic and slovakia which are supported by detailed geomorphic mapping trenching and absolute dating 10 be 14 c and osl on the ond ejnik ridge outer western carpathians czech republic sackungen occur in the mid holocene in the medium high mountains which are beyond the pleistocene glacial limits on the salatin mt tatra mts slovakia the sackungen which occur in formerly glaciated terrain date between 7 5 and 4 2 ka bp representing a 4 ka time lag after the disappearance of glaciers this suggests that the direct link between the ice retreat and the onset of sackung formation is not obvious even in the case of the once glaciated mountain range although paraglacial stress release is undoubtedly one of the crucial causes of sackung genesis in many mountain regions it is not the only important mechanism therefore despite occurring in numerous de glaciated mountains sackung features cannot be considered as proof of past mountain glaciations e g during analysis of extra terrestrial settings

equatorial glaciations on mars revealed by gravitational collapse of valles marineris wallslopes abstract martian global climate models that account for evidence of past glaciations reported in tropical to mid latitude regions of mars predict accumulation of water ice in valles marineris during past periods of high obliquity observational evidence for such glaciations is given here topographic basement ridges of tectonic origin are common in valles marineris and display sackung features an assemblage of tectonic patterns that are diagnostic of deep seated gravitational slope deformation this deformation is most easily explained by paraglacial ridge failure subsequent to ridge wall debuttressing and decohesion following the retreat of glaciers this interpretation is supported by extensive bibliographic analysis of sackung triggers on earth by morphological evidence of subglacial erosion of the lower parts of valles marineris wallslopes of periglacial erosion of their upper parts and by the presence of various types of glacial landforms on the floors of valles marineris troughs the age of these equatorial glaciations is found to be older than 1 4 gy and younger than 3 5 gy

temporal behavior of deep seated gravitational slope deformations a review abstract deep seated gravitational slope deformations dsgsds are slow moving hillslope scale mass movements featuring characteristic landforms such as double crested ridges and upslope facing scarps that occur in diverse landscapes throughout the world although these deformations have been studied since the 1960s significant insights to the rates of dsgsds have only been gained within the last two decades owing to progress in geochronology remote sensing and instrumental monitoring absolute age and monitoring data indicate that dsgsd movements are observable over long term 102 years and short term future research directions include constraining the lifespan of dsgsds with absolute age dating and precise high resolution monitoring of spatio temporal displacement across dsgsd bodies it is of great importance to include absolute time scales in the numerical models of dsgsds furthermore combining remote sensing techniques such as synthetic aperture radar interferometry with high resolution lidar scanning and near surface geophysics offers a promising toolkit for collecting very detailed and accurate data on the short term deformation rates of dsgsds

large sackung along major tectonic features in the central italian alps deep seated gravitational slope deformation sackung is common in alpine mountain belts it is controlled by lithological geomorphological and structural features we describe and discuss five examples of dsgsd along the insubric line periadriatic fault in the central italian alps the five examples are different in morphology size state of activity and distribution and are located along both primary and secondary valleys we demonstrate relations between structural and gravitational features and discuss the possibility that structural has both passive and active roles in sackung development analysis of ps sar data shows that the studied examples are not active today numerical modelling demonstrates the importance of lithological and structural constraints postglacial debuttressing groundwater fluctuations and weathering on sackung triggering and development

synchronisation of palaeoenvironmental records over the last 60 000 years and an extended intimate event stratigraphy to 48 000 b2k the intimate protocol for the correlation of marine ice core and terrestrial records is here updated reflecting recent developments in palaeoclimate research originally focussed on last glacial to interglacial transition lgit 22 000 11 500 years b p the intimate group has now extended its study period back to 60 000 years as a first step the intimate event stratigraphy has now been extended to include 8000 48 000 b2k based on a combined ngrip and grip isotope profile against a gicc05 chronology and key tephra horizons from iceland and continental european volcanic sources in this lead article of this intimate special issue we introduce some of the recent achievements of the intimate community and discuss the challenges associated with extending the intimate approach back in time focussing in particular on the chronological problems inherent in comparing different proxy records the intimate approach has thus far been limited predominantly to the north atlantic and australasian regions and we also discuss the potential to extend the intimate protocol beyond these regions

relict landslide development as inferred from speleothem deformation tectonic data and geoelectrics abstract the direct dating of pre and postfaulting dislocated calcite speleothems afforded new insight into slope failure in the tatra mountains in southern poland a multi approach study of the karstic kalacka cave non crevasse type enabled us to infer the slope deformation structure which had been poorly preserved in ground surface topography using combined methods including geomorphological and structural mapping of cave and ground surfaces paleostress analysis near surface electrical resistivity tomography ert and induced polarization methods ip uranium series dating 234u 230th calcite microtexture analysis and stable isotope 18o and 13c analysis here slope deformation began with dilation between 280 7 ka and 265 8 ka and proceeded as deep seated gravitational slope deformations the final stage consisted of dilation rejuvenation and rockfall during the latest pleistocene or holocene post 35 4 ka additionally some dilations are evident beyond the extent of the landslide detected by ert indicating further progradation of slope failure since this failure was initiated during the climatic transition from mis 9 to mis 8 stable isotope analysis of calcite flowstone layers was applied to test climate factors the correlation of calcite microtexture and 18o and 13c compositional changes with the interval of dilation activity indicates that regional environment factors chiefly an increase in precipitation probably contributed to slope destabilization

a stratigraphic framework for abrupt climatic changes during the last glacial period based on three synchronized greenland ice core records refining and extending the intimate event stratigraphy due to their outstanding resolution and well constrained chronologies greenland ice core records provide a master record of past climatic changes throughout the last interglacial glacial cycle in the north atlantic region as part of the intimate integration of ice core marine and terrestrial records project protocols have been proposed to ensure consistent and robust correlation between different records of past climate a key element of these protocols has been the formal definition and ordinal numbering of the sequence of greenland stadials gs and greenland interstadials gi within the most recent glacial period the gs and gi periods are the greenland expressions of the characteristic dansgaard oeschger events that represent cold and warm phases of the north atlantic region respectively we present here a more detailed and extended gs gi template for the whole of the last glacial period it is based on a synchronization of the ngrip grip and gisp2 ice core records that allows the parallel analysis of all three records on a common time scale the boundaries of the gs and gi periods are defined based on a combination of stable oxygen isotope ratios of the ice 18o reflecting mainly local temperature and calcium ion concentrations reflecting mainly atmospheric dust loading measured in the ice the data not only resolve the well known sequence of dansgaard oeschger events that were first defined and numbered in the ice core records more than two decades ago but also better resolve a number of short lived climatic oscillations some defined here for the first time using this revised scheme we propose a consistent approach for discriminating and naming all the significant abrupt climatic events of the last glacial period that are represented in the greenland ice records the final product constitutes an extended and better resolved greenland stratotype sequence against which other proxy records can be compared and correlated it also provides a more secure basis for investigating the dynamics and fundamental causes of these climatic perturbations

glacial chronology and palaeoclimate in the bystra catchment western tatra mountains poland during the late pleistocene abstract deglaciation chronology of the bystra catchment western tatra mountains has been reconstructed based on 10be exposure age dating fourteen rock samples were collected from boulders located on three moraines that limit the horizontal extent of the lgm maximum advance and the lateglacial recessional stage the oldest preserved maximum moraine was dated at 15 5 0 8 ka an age that could be explained more likely by post depositional erosion of the moraine such scenario is supported by geomorphologic and palaeoclimatological evidence the younger cold stage is represented by well preserved termino lateral moraine systems in the kondratowa and sucha kasprowa valleys the distribution of the moraine ridges in both valleys suggest a complex history of deglaciation of the area the first late glacial re advance lg1 was followed by a cold oscillation lg2 that occurred at around 14 0 0 7 13 7 1 2 ka glaciers during both stages had nearly the same horizontal extent however their thickness and geometry changed significantly mainly due to local climatic conditions triggered by topography controlling the exposition to solar radiation the lg1 stage occurred probably during the pre bolling cold stage greenland stadial 2 1a however the lg2 stage can be correlated with the cooling at around 14 ka during the greenland interstadial 1 gi 1d older dryas this is the first chronological evidence of the older dryas in the tatra mountains the ela of the maximum bystra glacier was located at 1480 m a s l in accordance with the ela in the high tatra mountains during the lgm during the lg1 and lg2 stages the ela in the catchment rose up to 1520 1530 m a s l and was located approximately 100 150 m lower than in the eastern part of the massif climate modelling results show that the bystra glacier maximum advance could have advanced in the catchment when mean annual temperature was lower than today by 11 12 c and precipitation was reduced by 40 60 this is in accordance with lgm conditions previously reported for the high tatras during the lg1 and lg2 stages the temperature decrease in the study area reached 10 c and precipitation was lower by 30 compare to modern conditions this resulted in slightly higher accumulation 20 30 in the western tatra mountains compare to the high tatra mountains

postglacial deformation history of sackungen on the northern slope of pic d encampadana andorra abstract slopes undergoing deep seated gravitational deformation create surface landforms that if trenched and dated yield critical data on slope kinematics the northern slope of pic d encampadana descends steeply 800 m down into the glaciated valira d orient of andorra and has long been known for its numerous antislope scarps sackungen indicative of deep seated gravitational slope deformation dsgsd we excavated three trenches across antislope scarps and their adjacent troughs to date the deformation structures and to infer slope kinematics trough deposits have been disrupted by normal and reverse faulting with the largest fault zone underlying the antislope scarp and dipping into the slope at 40 80 trenches in the troughs expose fining upward sequences of strata from which we interpret several cycles of 1 episodic downdropping along graben faults and deepening of the topographic trough 2 filling the trough with marginal colluvial and axial sag pond sediments followed by 3 a hiatus of soil profile development the average time between deformation events in any one trench in the past 12 15 ka is about 3 3 5 ka deformation seems to have begun first in the lower part of the northern slope 1935 m elevation about 15 3 ka and had spread to the upper parts of the slope 2320 m by 11 6 ka deformation in the lower slope ceased after 5 5 ka but continued higher on the slope into the mid late holocene the youngest deformation dated 1 4 1 6 ka occurred in the highest trench on the slope this pattern of younger deformation with increasing elevation has been documented at several other sites and has been ascribed to an upslope migrating extensional stress field which originated at the base of the slope from glacial oversteepening and end glacial debuttressing

10be dating reveals pronounced mid to late holocene activity of deep seated landslides in the highest part of the czech flysch carpathians abstract although the highest part of the czech outer western carpathians lacks significant recent landslide activity the vast area 20 of their territory is occupied by relict deep seated landslides and deep seated gravitational slope deformations dating these deformations might help to determine degrees of present day landslide hazard in that area based on the 10be exposure dating of eight rocky scarps and walls of ridge top trenches we estimated the minimal ages of the deep seated landslides dsls and one deep seated gravitational slope deformation dsgsd in the satina river basin in the moravskoslezske beskydy mts the obtained ages 9 7 2 9 ka suggest holocene slope instability in the area with a pronounced cluster of ages spanning from 6 0 to 2 9 ka except for one dsl the ages reveal rather episodic activity of gravitational movements mid to early late holocene activity of large landslides in the study area corresponds to the ages of several previously dated landslides both in an adjacent region as well as within the central european context with respect to the historical quiescence of the dsls and dsgsds in the area and because the slopes have not been destabilized even during the most extreme hydrometeorological events within the last few decades we infer that the hydrometeorological thresholds necessary for their activation are seldom exceeded in this area therefore the highest parts of the carpathians built by rigid thick bedded lithology reveal a rather lower frequency of events in comparison with adjacent parts formed by claystone dominated flysch where several large dsls originated in the last few decades as a consequence of heavy rainfalls

mid holocene cluster of large scale landslides revealed in the southwestern alps by 36cl dating insight on an alpine scale landslide activity abstract although it is generally assumed that the internal structure of a slope e g lithology and rock mass properties inherited faults and heterogeneities etc is preponderant for the progressive development of large scale landslides the ability to identify triggering factors responsible for final slope failures such as glacial debuttressing seismic activities or climatic changes especially when considering landslide cluster at an orogen scale is still debated highlighting in this study the spatial and temporal concordant clustering of deep seated slope failures in the external southwestern alps we discuss and review the possible causes for such wide spread slope instabilities at both local and larger alpine scale high resolution field mapping coupled with electrical resistivity tomography first allows establishing an inventory of large landslides in the southwestern alps determining their structural model precising their depth limit 100 200 m as well as the involved rock volumes 10 7 m 3 we show that they developed in the same geostructural context of thick mudstone layers overlain by faulted limestone and followed a block spread model of deformation that could evolve in rock collapse events cosmic ray exposure dating cre using both 36 cl and 10 be in coexisting limestone and chert respectively has been carried out from the main scarps of six deep seated landslides dsl and leads to landslide failure cre ages ranging from 3 7 to 4 7 ka they highlighted i mainly single and fast ruptures and ii a possible concomitant initiation with a main peak of activity between 3 3 and 5 1 ka centered at ca 4 2 ka because this region was not affected by historical glaciations events landslide triggering by glacial unloading can be excluded the presented data combined with field observations preferentially suggest that these failures were climatically driven and were most likely controlled by high pressure changes in the karstic medium in effect the chronicle of failure ages is concomitant to a well known climatic pulse the 4 2 ka climate event characterized by intense hydrological perturbations associated to the heaviest rainfall period of the entire holocene despite requiring further investigations and discussions the dating of numerous events across the entire alps during the middle holocene period suggests a potential synchronous triggering of several large scale gravitational failures induced by the mid holocene climatic transition

post lgm faulting in central europe lidar detection of the 50 km long sub tatra fault western carpathians abstract the increasing availability of high resolution lidar data reveals surprisingly strong topographic evidence of late quaternary faulting in some intraplate regions characterized by weak recent tectonic activity for the first time we present evidence of a 50 km long post last glacial maximum lgm tectonic rupture along the southern margin of the tatra mountains slovakia in the highest part of the carpathian mountains using a high resolution 1 1 m lidar dem we recognize that the normal range bounding sub tatra fault stf and its eastward branch the ru bachy fault rbf offset late quaternary glacial moraines alluvial fans and colluvial slopes the fault zone morphology is dominated by a nearly continuous southward facing up to 18 m high main scarp locally accompanied by antithetic fault scarps and hanging wall grabens similar offsets of pre lgm and lgm deposits and the absence of fault scarps within holocene alluvium suggest that the stf and rbf were active for a relatively short time interval between 18 ka and the holocene using the vertical separation of dated lgm moraine crests we estimate that the minimum average postglacial slip rates along the stf and rbf varied from 0 1 0 3 mm year i e rates one order of magnitude higher than those reported for other faults in central europe additionally deep seated landslides and the presence of large rock avalanches along the fault suggest possible postglacial high magnitude earthquake s producing coseismic rupture of the stf and rbf we conclude that 1 southern range bounding faults of the tatra mountains are the longest 50 km and only documented post lgm ruptures revealing extensive offset of late quaternary deposits in the western carpathians and 2 relatively small along strike variations in postglacial offset mimic the long term exhumation trends and imply en block uplift of the southern margin of the tatra mountains with the highest displacement along the east stf

gravitational spreading of mountain ridges coeval with late weichselian deglaciation impact on glacial landscapes in trollaskagi northern iceland abstract during the late weichselian deglaciation the coastal mountains of northern central iceland have experienced significant paraglacial readjustment processes in the form of conspicuous rock slope failures and deep seated gravitational slope deformation dsgsd local topographic slopes and ridges were deeply reshaped by these large scale paraglacial processes located on the eastern side of skagafjor ur one of the largest fjords of northern iceland the oslandshli arfjoll and hnjukar ridges 65 49n 19 14w exhibit geomorphic evidence of spectacular dsgds several series of dsgsd induced landforms such as crestal graben and troughs initiated by ridge top splitting were investigated over a 30 km 2 area on the basis of geomorphological mapping we recognized i a ridge top splitting event mainly controlled by glacial debuttressing induced by a minimal 300 m lowering of the glacier surface in the deildardalur valley ii a rapid late weichselian deglaciation of the deildardalur valley spanning a few thousands of years ice free stage probably reached around 14 000 years cal bp iii ridge top splitting having an influence on large scale glacial patterns by guiding and facilitating glacial erosion along ridge top grabens resulting in accelerated trough widening based on these interpretations we propose an evolutionary sequence of both the kinematic stages of the dsgsd and the late weichselian deglaciation at the valley scale this work provides new insights into i the patterns of the late weichselian deglaciation in the skagafjor ur area especially in tributary valleys of the fjord ii the timing of large scale paraglacial ridge top deformations in relation to the post lgm deglaciation and iii the influence of paraglacial dsgsd features on large scale glacial erosional patterns

sackung and enigmatic mass movement folds on a structurally controlled mountain ridge abstract the recently emerged concept of slope tectonics suggests that mass movement processes can produce structures similar in morphological expression to that of extensional strike slip and compressional tectonic deformations further there has long been debate about the tectonic or gravitational origin of lineaments found on hillslopes here we present cases of where geological structure and inherited tectonic structures have preconditioned the development of mass movements and creation of slope tectonic features on a monoclinal ridge smrk mt in the outer western carpathians czechia geomorphic mapping from lidar derived topography structural measurements electrical resistivity tomography and ground penetrating radar were used to map synthetic and antithetic scarps thrusts and folds and assess their relation to geological and tectonic structures the scarps are found to be strongly related to transverse nnw to nne trending inherited normal and strike slip faults and mainly cross cut the topography of the mountain ridge some of the folds are thought to have originated from buckling or compression in the distal parts of landslides in other places transpressional folds have developed oblique to major lateral shear surfaces interpreted to be sackung mass movement scarps that have been inherited from tectonic faults the transpressional folds developed due to localized contraction along bends in the lateral shear surface as mass movement proceeded ramp flat thrust folds developed in the compressional parts of landslides where the landslide intersects with slope parallel sackung and or inherited fault planes inclined to the slope altogether this study demonstrates a connection between kinematics of deep seated gravitational slope deformations dsgsds shallower landslides and the origin of transpressive ramp flat thrust and detachment structures in rock slopes