Articles | Volume 5, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-653-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-653-2017
Research article
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16 Oct 2017
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 16 Oct 2017

Seismic monitoring of small alpine rockfalls – validity, precision and limitations

Michael Dietze, Solmaz Mohadjer, Jens M. Turowski, Todd A. Ehlers, and Niels Hovius

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Cited articles

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Bivand, R. S., Pebesma, E. J., and Gomez-Rubio, V.: Applied spatial data analysis with R, Springer, 2013.
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Burtin, A., Bollinger, L., Vergne, J., Cattin, R., and Nabelek, J. L.: Spectral analysis of seismic noise induced by rivers: A new tool to monitor spatiotemporal changes in stream hydrodynamics, J. Geophys. Res., 113, B05301, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005034, 2008.
Burtin, A., Bollinger, L., Cattin, R., Vergne, J., and Nabelek, J. L.: Spatiotemporal sequence of Himalayan debris flow from analysis of high-frequency seismic noise, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 114, f04009, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JF001198, 2009.
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Short summary
We use a seismometer network to detect and locate rockfalls, a key process shaping steep mountain landscapes. When tested against laser scan surveys, all seismically detected events could be located with an average deviation of 81 m. Seismic monitoring provides insight to the dynamics of individual rockfalls, which can be as small as 0.0053 m3. Thus, seismic methods provide unprecedented temporal, spatial and kinematic details about this important process.
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