Near surface geomorphic processes on unconsolidated steep slopes within a proglacial system of the alps under the conditions of a rapid changing cryosphere
Final Report Abstract
Subproject 1 of the PROSA package project in cooperation with the other subprojects in the 3rd application phase dealt primarily with the quantification, analysis and modelling of geomorphological processes on slopes in the proglacial area, whereby the recordings and analyses from the first two project phases were continued. The focus of the field work was on terrestrial laser scanning and airborne laser scanning data. For the evaluation of the data, the workflows further developed in project phases 1 and 2 were applied. At the end of the project, the main objective of the subproject was to supply sediment balances for slopes as an integral part of the overall balance of the investigated Kaunertal catchment area. In addition to the overall balance, an analysis of the process dynamics on the slopes (detection of individual processes, analysis of the process interaction, seasonal process dynamics) was carried out. Analyses of the erosion dynamics on the slopes have shown that there are clear differences between the individual seasons (mainly winter to summer). While the erosion behavior in the winter months (October and November as well as April to June) is mainly controlled by landslides, frost change processes and erosion by snow gliding/creeping, in the summer months (July to September) mainly fluvial processes and debris flows contribute to the erosion. A further process-sharp analysis of the erosion dynamics in the individual seasons was only possible to a limited extent due to the chosen investigation design, as the temporal resolution of the collected data was ultimately not sufficient to view individual processes in isolation. Rather a mixed signal from different processes was usually recorded. Exceptions are the clearly identifiable debris flows as singular events after heavy precipitation or as a result of heavy precipitation and snowmelt. The described investigations on the plot scale could be extended to the entire area by the ALS data collected area-wide. This was done by a further development of the SCA model (Sediment Contributing Area), which enabled a regionalization of the mean annual erosion on slopes. The sediment balances determined by this method were supplemented by the sediment displacements by ground avalanches recorded in the project, so that an overall balance of the sediment yield on loose material slopes of the proglacial of the Kaunertal valley was then available. This information was passed on to subproject 5 of the package, which resulted in an overall balance of the sediment budget of subproject 5. The transported sediment quantities within the catchment area were then compared with the total sediment yield at the outlet of the catchment. The necessary measurements at the lake delta of the Gepatsch reservoir were also carried out by subproject 1 with the help of TLS data and UAV recordings. These data were also passed on to subproject 5.
Publications
- (2015): Influence of glacier advance on the development of the multipart Riffeltal rock glacier, Central Austrian Alps. In: Earth Surf. Process. Landforms, 40 (7): 965-980
Dusik, J., Leopold, M., Heckmann, T., Haas, F., Hilger, L., Morche, D., Neugirg, F. & M. Becht
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3695) - Periglacial Morphodynamics in the Upper Kaunertal. In: Heckmann, Tobias ; Morche, David (Hrsg.): Geomorphology of Proglacial Systems - Landform and Sediment Dynamics in Recently Deglaciated Alpine Landscapes. - Basel u.a. : Springer Nature Switzerland, 2019. - S. 99-116. - (Geography of the Physical Environment)
Dusik, J., Leopold, M., Haas, F.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94184-4_7) - Slope Wash, Gully Erosion and Debris Flows on Lateral Moraines in the Upper Kaunertal, Austria. In: Heckmann, Tobias ; Morche, David (Hrsg.): Geomorphology of Proglacial Systems - Landform and Sediment Dynamics in Recently Deglaciated Alpine Landscapes. - Cham, Schweiz : Springer Nature Switzerland, 2019. - S. 177-196. - (Geography of the Physical Environment)
Dusik, J., Neugirg, F., Haas, F.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94184-4_11)
