Articles | Volume 12, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1027-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1027-2024
Research article
 | 
16 Sep 2024
Research article |  | 16 Sep 2024

How water, temperature, and seismicity control the preconditioning of massive rock slope failure (Hochvogel)

Johannes Leinauer, Michael Dietze, Sibylle Knapp, Riccardo Scandroglio, Maximilian Jokel, and Michael Krautblatter

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Cited articles

Agliardi, F., Scuderi, M. M., Fusi, N., and Collettini, C.: Slow-to-fast transition of giant creeping rockslides modulated by undrained loading in basal shear zones, Nat. Commun., 11, 1352, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15093-3, 2020. a
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Arias, A.: A Measure of Earthquake Intensity, in: Seismic Design for Nuclear Power Plants, edited by Hansen, R. J., Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Press, Cambridge, Mass., 438–483, ISBN 9780262080415, 1970. a
Baillard, C., Crawford, W. C., Ballu, V., Hibert, C., and Mangeney, A.: An Automatic Kurtosis-Based P- and S-Phase Picker Designed for Local Seismic Networks, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 104, 394–409, https://doi.org/10.1785/0120120347, 2014. a
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Short summary
Massive rock slope failures are a significant alpine hazard and change the Earth's surface. Therefore, we must understand what controls the preparation of such events. By correlating 4 years of slope displacements with meteorological and seismic data, we found that water from rain and snowmelt is the most important driver. Our approach is applicable to similar sites and indicates where future climatic changes, e.g. in rain intensity and frequency, may alter the preparation of slope failure.
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