Xavier Bodin

Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning for the Recognition and Promotion of High-Alpine Geomorphosites

High-alpine geomorphosites are poorly understood and developed, mostly because of the heavy constraints of high mountain areas. Meanwhile, they are geoheritage areas that are often extremely vulnerable to global warming: glaciers and permafrost areas are currently affected by major changes due to increasing air temperature. To deal with the high spatial variability of landforms and processes, research on alpine geomorphosites often needs the use of advanced methods of high-resolution topography, among which terrestrial laser scanning plays an increasingly crucial role. Carried out on some tenth of high-elevation sites across the Alps since the beginning of the 2000s, this method is particularly interesting for the recognition and development of high-alpine geomorphosites. Indeed, it can be implemented for identifying and characterizing the geomorphic objects (survey, monitoring and mapping), helping planning and protection policies and serving geotouristic development (communication about the processes involved, basis for documents).

Permafrost Distribution Modeling in the Semi-Arid Chilean Andes

Mountain permafrost and rock glaciers in the dry Andes are of growing interest due to the increase in mining industry and infrastructure development in this remote area. Empirical models of mountain permafrost distribution based on rock glacier activity status and temperature data have been established as a tool for regional-scale assessments of its distribution; this kind of model approach has never been applied for a large portion of the Andes. In the present study, this methodology is applied to map permafrost favourability throughout the semi-arid Andes of central Chile (29–32 S), excluding areas of exposed bedrock. After spatially modelling of the mean annual air temperature distribution from scarce temperature records (116 station years) using a linear mixed-effects model, a generalized additive model was built to model the activity status of 3524 rock glaciers. A permafrost favourability index (PFI) was obtained by adjusting model predictions for conceptual differences between permafrost and rock glacier distribution. The results indicate that the model has an acceptable performance (median AUROC: 0.76). Conditions highly favourable to permafrost presence (PFI ≥ 0.75) are predicted for 1051 km2 of mountain terrain, or 2.7 % of the total area of the watersheds studied. Favourable conditions are expected to occur in 2636 km2, or 6.8 % of the area. Substantial portions of the Elqui and Huasco watersheds are considered to be favourable for permafrost presence (11.8 % each), while in the Limarí and Choapa watersheds permafrost is expected to be mostly limited to specific sub-watersheds. In the future, local ground-truth observations will be required to confirm permafrost presence in favourable areas and to monitor permafrost evolution under the influence of climate change.

Velocity Changes of Rock Glaciers and Induced Hazards

Recent observations and geodetic measurements in the European Alps show that changes are occurring on rock glacier dynamics, ranging from moderate velocity variations to strong acceleration or even total collapse. These changes can be related to the ground temperature and to climate warming. In most cases, rock glaciers do not represent any serious hazard, except the instability of their surface and local rockfalls at the steep front. The surface movements, though moderate, can nevertheless cause damages to sensible infrastructures like cableways or buildings, if these are not designed to adapt to surface movements. The strong accelerations observed on some rock glaciers, however, induce a change of magnitude, and may threaten in some cases downslope areas. Thus, the presence of active or inactive rock glaciers with high ice content must be considered not only with regard to present conditions and dynamics, but with respect to possible evolutions due to climate change.

Present status and development of rock glacier complexes in south-faced valleys (45°N, French Alps)

The landscapes of the Vallon de la Route and Vallon de Pradieu (France) display typical geomorphological features of the Southern French Alps, with very few or no glaciers but a wide periglacial belt that extends from 2500 to 3100 m a.s.l. These valleys are unusual in that they contain several generations of rock glaciers that, from their rooting zone to their front, have developed in a topoclimatic setting characterised by high mean insolation (southerly aspect) and relatively low altitude. In this work, we determined the present status of these landforms, and more precisely the characteristics of the icy layers within the rock glaciers, via electrical soundings and thermal measurements, which we then combined with field observations. The permafrost zones in both areas are highly fragmented, whereas ground-ice can be present in landforms previously assumed as relict on the basis of their geomorphological characteristics alone. We used an empirical relationship between rock glacier flow velocity and terrain slope to estimate the time needed for both rock glacier assemblages to reach their present size. Our analyses therefore provide at the same time a broad relative chronological framework of the landscape setting up together with an overview of the spatial patterns of ice-rich permafrost features. It also suggests a number of hypotheses for the development of these landforms; however, further work involving more accurate dating methods is required to constrain these hypotheses.

Permafrost Favorability Index: Spatial Modeling in the French Alps Using a Rock Glacier Inventory

In the present study we used the first rock glacier inventory for the entire French Alps to model spatial permafrost distribution in the region. The inventory, which does not originally belong to this study, was revised by the authors in order to obtain a database suitable for statistical modelling. Climatic and topographic data evaluated at the rock glacier locations were used as predictor variables in a Generalized Linear Model. Model performances are strong, suggesting that, in agreement with several previous studies, this methodology is able to model accurately rock glacier distribution. A methodology to estimate model uncertainties is proposed, revealing that the subjectivity in the interpretation of rock glacier activity and contours may substantially bias the model. The model highlights a North-South trend in the regional pattern of permafrost distribution which is attributed to the climatic influences of the Atlantic and Mediterranean climates. Further analysis suggest that lower amounts of precipitation in the early winter and a thinner snow cover, as typically found in the Mediterranean area, could contribute to the existence of permafrost at higher temperatures compared to the Northern Alps. A comparison with the Alpine Permafrost Index Map (APIM) shows no major differences with our model, highlighting the very good predictive power of the APIM despite its tendency to slightly overestimate permafrost extension with respect to our database. The use of rock glaciers as indicators of permafrost existence despite their time response to climate change is discussed and an interpretation key is proposed in order to ensure the proper use of the model for research as well as for operational purposes.

Multi-Annual Kinematics of an Active Rock Glacier Quantified from Very High-Resolution DEMs: An Application-Case in the French Alps

Rock glaciers result from the long-term creeping of ice-rich permafrost along mountain slopes. Under warming conditions, deformation is expected to increase, and potential destabilization of those landforms may lead to hazardous phenomena. Monitoring the kinematics of rock glaciers at fine spatial resolution is required to better understand at which rate, where and how they deform. We present here the results of several years of in situ surveys carried out between 2005 and 2015 on the Laurichard rock glacier, an active rock glacier located in the French Alps. Repeated terrestrial laser-scanning (TLS) together with aerial laser-scanning (ALS) and structure-from-motion-multi-view-stereophotogrammetry (SFM-MVS) were used to accurately quantify surface displacement of the Laurichard rock glacier at interannual and pluri-annual scales. Six very high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs, pixel size <50 cm) of the rock glacier surface were generated, and their respective quality was assessed. The relative horizontal position accuracy (XY) of the individual DEMs is in general less than 2 cm with a co-registration error on stable areas ranging from 20–50 cm. The vertical accuracy is around 20 cm. The direction and amplitude of surface displacements computed between DEMs are very consistent with independent geodetic field measurements (e.g., DGPS). Using these datasets, local patterns of the Laurichard rock glacier kinematics were quantified, pointing out specific internal (rheological) and external (bed topography) controls. The evolution of the surface velocity shows few changes on the rock glacier’s snout for the first years of the observed period, followed by a major acceleration between 2012 and 2015 affecting the upper part of the tongue and the snout.

LiDAR-Helped Recognition and Promotion of High-Alpine Geomorphosites

Geomorphosites in high alpine areas show limited development of their geoheritage because of the heavy constraints to their use. Moreover, they are extremely vulnerable to global warming: glaciers and permafrost areas are currently affected by major changes due to the increasing temperatures. Research on alpine geomorphosites needs the use of methods of high-resolution topography. Among them, the Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) and particularly the Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) plays a particular important role. Carried out on nearly 40 high altitude sites across the Alps since the beginning of the 2000s, this method is particularly interesting for the recognition and development of high-alpine geomorphosites. Indeed, it can be implemented for both identifying and characterizing the geomorphic objects (survey, monitoring, mapping), helping planning policies and protection (patterns of development/adaptation), and serving the geotouristic development.