# Mapping release and propagation areas of permafrost-related rock slope failures in the French Alps: A new methodological approach at regional scale

Maëva Cathala, Florence Magnin, Ludovic Ravanel, Luuk Dorren, Frederic

Berger, Franck Bourrier, Nicolas Zuanon, Philip Deline

► To cite this version:

Maëva Cathala, Florence Magnin, Ludovic Ravanel, Luuk Dorren, Frederic Berger, et al.. Mapping release and propagation areas of permafrost-related rock slope failures in the French Alps: A new methodological approach at regional scale. EGU 2024 - EGU General Assembly, Apr 2024, Vienna, Austria. 2024, 10.5194/egusphere-egu24-8202 . hal-04755861

HAL Id: hal-04755861

https://hal.science/hal-04755861v1

Submitted on 29 Oct 2024

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# Mapping release and propagation areas of permafrost-related rock slope failures in the French Alps: A new methodological approach at regional scale

Cathala M.¹,², Magnin F.¹, Ravanel L.¹, Dorren L.³, Berger F.⁴, Bourrier F.⁴, Zuanon N.⁵, Deline P.¹

¹ EDYTEM Lab. (UMR 5204), USMB - CNRS, France
² Alpes Ingé, Saint Vincent de Mercuze, France
³ Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH-HAFL, Switzerland
⁴ INRAE, Grenoble, France
⁵ A2 Photonic Sensors, Grenoble INP-Minatec, France

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Bern University
of Applied Sciences

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A2 Photonic
Sensors

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Scan for more
informations

## OBJECTIVES

High mountains environments are highly affected by climate change through glacier retreat and permafrost degradation. These phenomena may cause **rock slope failures**, sometimes provoking far-reaching cascading processes threatening human lives and infrastructure. Increasing knowledge on the **triggering mechanism** and **propagation** is therefore required to propose adaptation strategies. In the French Alps, permafrost mapping and extensive rockfall inventories provide relevant data for statistical analysis of their triggering conditions and mobility. In accordance with the GAPHAZ guidelines for hazard assessment (GAPHAZ, 2017), the aims of this study are: (i) to propose a **mapping approach** of susceptible **release areas** of rock slope failures and resulting **runout distances** at a **regional scale** (French Alps), and (ii) to **identify hotspots** for further **hazard assessment**.

## METHODS

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The propagation database complete the **3630 events recorded by Rock the Alps** (Interreg Project) in order to calibrate the RockavELA model.

## ROCKFALL DATABASE

Mont Blanc Massif (MBM) database

(1389 events >100 m³)

* Rockfalls used for statistical analysis

* Rockfalls outside of the raster extent

* Raster extend for MBM database analysis

High Mountain Database (48 events)

* Rockfall used to analyse the mobility

Permafrost: Mean Annual Rock Surface Temperature (MARST; °C)

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Glacierized areas: ☐

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## RELEASE AREAS AND RUNOUT DISTANCES: REGIONAL MAPPING

## PERSPECTIVES