Articles | Volume 11, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-899-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-899-2023
Research article
 | 
19 Sep 2023
Research article |  | 19 Sep 2023

Estimating surface water availability in high mountain rock slopes using a numerical energy balance model

Matan Ben-Asher, Florence Magnin, Sebastian Westermann, Josué Bock, Emmanuel Malet, Johan Berthet, Ludovic Ravanel, and Philip Deline

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Cited articles

Allen, S. K., Gruber, S., and Owens, I. F.: Exploring steep bedrock permafrost and its relationship with recent slope failures in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, Permafrost Periglac., 20, 345–356, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.658, 2009. 
Bear, J.: Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media, Courier Corporation, 806 pp., ISBN 10 044400114X, ISBN 13 978-0444001146, 1988. 
Ben-Asher, M.: Estimating surface water availability in high mountain rock slopes using a numerical energy balance model, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7224692, 2022. 
Bertini, G., Marcucci, M., Nevini, R., Passerini, P., and Sguazzoni, G.: Patterns of faulting in the Mont Blanc granite, Tectonophysics, 111, 65–106, https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(85)90066-6, 1985. 
Blöschl, G., Kirnbauer, R., and Gutknecht, D.: Distributed Snowmelt Simulations in an Alpine Catchment: 1. Model Evaluation on the Basis of Snow Cover Patterns, Water Resour. Res., 27, 3171–3179, https://doi.org/10.1029/91WR02250, 1991. 
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Short summary
Quantitative knowledge of water availability on high mountain rock slopes is very limited. We use a numerical model and field measurements to estimate the water balance at a steep rock wall site. We show that snowmelt is the main source of water at elevations >3600 m and that snowpack hydrology and sublimation are key factors. The new information presented here can be used to improve the understanding of thermal, hydrogeological, and mechanical processes on steep mountain rock slopes.
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