Articles | Volume 9, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1459-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1459-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
19 Nov 2021
Research article |
| 19 Nov 2021
| 19 Nov 2021
Vibration of natural rock arches and towers excited by helicopter-sourced infrasound
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake
City, UT 84112, USA
Jeffrey R. Moore
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake
City, UT 84112, USA
Paul R. Geimer
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake
City, UT 84112, USA
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Mauro Häusler, Paul Richmond Geimer, Riley Finnegan, Donat Fäh, and Jeffrey Ralston Moore
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1441–1457, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1441-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1441-2021, 2021
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Natural rock arches are valued landmarks worldwide. As ongoing erosion can lead to rockfall and collapse, it is important to monitor the structural integrity of these landforms. One suitable technique involves measurements of resonance, produced when mainly natural sources, such as wind, vibrate the spans. Here we explore the use of two advanced processing techniques to accurately measure the resonant frequencies, damping ratios, and deflection patterns of several rock arches in Utah, USA.
Guglielmo Grechi, Jeffrey R. Moore, Molly E. McCreary, Erin K. Jensen, and Salvatore Martino
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We investigated the dynamic behavior of a rock arch to understand how fractures influence its stability. Using geophones, we measured its modes of vibration and used numerical modeling to replicate them. We found that higher-order resonance modes are the most sensitive to fractures, indicating their potential as early indicators of structural damage. Therefore, monitoring these higher-order modes could provide a more accurate tool to assess the structural integrity of natural rock landforms.
Matthew C. Morriss, Benjamin Lehmann, Benjamin Campforts, George Brencher, Brianna Rick, Leif S. Anderson, Alexander L. Handwerger, Irina Overeem, and Jeffrey Moore
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 1251–1274, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-1251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-1251-2023, 2023
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In this paper, we investigate the 28 June 2022 collapse of the Chaos Canyon landslide in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. We find that the landslide was moving prior to its collapse and took place at peak spring snowmelt; temperature modeling indicates the potential presence of permafrost. We hypothesize that this landslide could be part of the broader landscape evolution changes to alpine terrain caused by a warming climate, leading to thawing alpine permafrost.
Mauro Häusler, Paul Richmond Geimer, Riley Finnegan, Donat Fäh, and Jeffrey Ralston Moore
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1441–1457, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1441-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1441-2021, 2021
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Natural rock arches are valued landmarks worldwide. As ongoing erosion can lead to rockfall and collapse, it is important to monitor the structural integrity of these landforms. One suitable technique involves measurements of resonance, produced when mainly natural sources, such as wind, vibrate the spans. Here we explore the use of two advanced processing techniques to accurately measure the resonant frequencies, damping ratios, and deflection patterns of several rock arches in Utah, USA.
Joseph P. Verdian, Leonard S. Sklar, Clifford S. Riebe, and Jeffrey R. Moore
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1073–1090, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1073-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1073-2021, 2021
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River behavior depends on the size of rocks they carry. Rocks are born on hillslopes where erosion removes fragments from solid bedrock. To understand what controls the size of rock fragments, we measured the spacing between cracks exposed in 15 bare-rock cliffs and the size of rocks on the ground below. We found that, for each site, the average rock size could be predicted from the average distance between cracks, which varied with rock type. This shows how rock type can influence rivers.
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We investigated the dynamic behavior of a rock arch to understand how fractures influence its stability. Using geophones, we measured its modes of vibration and used numerical modeling to replicate them. We found that higher-order resonance modes are the most sensitive to fractures, indicating their potential as early indicators of structural damage. Therefore, monitoring these higher-order modes could provide a more accurate tool to assess the structural integrity of natural rock landforms.
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Clément Hibert, François Noël, David Toe, Miloud Talib, Mathilde Desrues, Emmanuel Wyser, Ombeline Brenguier, Franck Bourrier, Renaud Toussaint, Jean-Philippe Malet, and Michel Jaboyedoff
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Natural disasters such as landslides and rockfalls are mostly difficult to study because of the impossibility of making in situ measurements due to their destructive nature and spontaneous occurrence. Seismology is able to record the occurrence of such events from a distance and in real time. In this study, we show that, by using a machine learning approach, the mass and velocity of rockfalls can be estimated from the seismic signal they generate.
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Nadège Langet and Fred Marcus John Silverberg
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Mauro Häusler, Paul Richmond Geimer, Riley Finnegan, Donat Fäh, and Jeffrey Ralston Moore
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Natural rock arches are valued landmarks worldwide. As ongoing erosion can lead to rockfall and collapse, it is important to monitor the structural integrity of these landforms. One suitable technique involves measurements of resonance, produced when mainly natural sources, such as wind, vibrate the spans. Here we explore the use of two advanced processing techniques to accurately measure the resonant frequencies, damping ratios, and deflection patterns of several rock arches in Utah, USA.
David J. Purnell, Natalya Gomez, William Minarik, David Porter, and Gregory Langston
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Jui-Ming Chang, Wei-An Chao, Hongey Chen, Yu-Ting Kuo, and Che-Ming Yang
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Liam Toney, David Fee, Kate E. Allstadt, Matthew M. Haney, and Robin S. Matoza
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Large avalanches composed of ice and rock are a serious hazard to mountain communities and backcountry travellers. These processes shake the Earth and disturb the atmosphere, generating seismic waves and sound waves which can travel for hundreds of kilometers. In this study, we use the seismic waves and sound waves produced by two massive avalanches on a volcano in Alaska to reconstruct how the avalanches failed. Our method may assist with rapid emergency response to these global hazards.
Emanuele Marchetti, Alec van Herwijnen, Marc Christen, Maria Cristina Silengo, and Giulia Barfucci
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 399–411, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-399-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-399-2020, 2020
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We present infrasonic and seismic array data of a powder snow avalanche, that was released on 5 February 2016, in the Dischma valley nearby Davos, Switzerland. Combining information derived from both arrays, we show how infrasound and seismic energy are radiated from different sources acting along the path. Moreover, infrasound transmits to the ground and affects the recorded seismic signal. Results highlight the benefits of combined seismo-acoustic array analyses for monitoring and research.
Tómas Jóhannesson, Jón Kristinn Helgason, and Sigríður Sif Gylfadóttir
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 173–175, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-173-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-173-2020, 2020
Cristina Pérez-Guillén, Kae Tsunematsu, Kouichi Nishimura, and Dieter Issler
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 989–1007, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-989-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-989-2019, 2019
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Avalanches and slush flows from Mt. Fuji are a major natural hazard as they may attain run-out distances of up to 4 km and destroy parts of the forest and infrastructure. We located and tracked them for the first time using seismic data. Numerical simulations were conducted to assess the precision of the seismic tracking. We also inferred dynamical properties characterizing these hazardous mass movements. This information is indispensable for assessing avalanche risk in the Mt. Fuji region.
Thomas Geay, Ludovic Michel, Sébastien Zanker, and James Robert Rigby
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 537–548, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-537-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-537-2019, 2019
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This research has been conducted to develop the use of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) for bedload monitoring in rivers. Monitored bedload acoustic signals depend on bedload characteristics (e.g., grain size distribution, fluxes) but are also affected by the environment in which the acoustic waves are propagated. This study focuses on the determination of propagation effects in rivers. An experimental approach has been conducted in several streams to estimate acoustic propagation laws.
Matthias Heck, Alec van Herwijnen, Conny Hammer, Manuel Hobiger, Jürg Schweizer, and Donat Fäh
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 491–503, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-491-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-491-2019, 2019
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We used continuous seismic data from two small aperture geophone arrays deployed in the region above Davos in the eastern Swiss Alps to develop a machine learning workflow to automatically identify signals generated by snow avalanches. Our results suggest that the method presented could be used to identify major avalanche periods and highlight the importance of array processing techniques for the automatic classification of avalanches in seismic data.
Andreas Köhler and Christian Weidle
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-1-2019, 2019
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The uppermost part of permanently frozen ground can thaw during summer and refreeze during winter. We use a method based on naturally generated seismic waves to continuously monitor these changes close to the research settlement of Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard between April and August 2016. Our results reveal some potential pitfalls when interpreting temporal variations in the data. However, we show that a careful data analysis makes this method a very useful tool for long-term permafrost monitoring.
Andrea Manconi, Velio Coviello, Maud Galletti, and Reto Seifert
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 1219–1227, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-1219-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-1219-2018, 2018
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We evaluated the performance of the low-cost seismic Raspberry Shake (RS) sensors to identify and monitor rockfall activity in alpine environments. The sensors have been tested for a 1-year period in a high alpine environment, recording numerous rock failure events as well as local and distant earthquakes. This study demonstrates that the RS instruments provide a good option to build low seismic monitoring networks to monitor different kinds of geophysical phenomena.
Floriane Provost, Jean-Philippe Malet, Clément Hibert, Agnès Helmstetter, Mathilde Radiguet, David Amitrano, Nadège Langet, Eric Larose, Clàudia Abancó, Marcel Hürlimann, Thomas Lebourg, Clara Levy, Gaëlle Le Roy, Patrice Ulrich, Maurin Vidal, and Benjamin Vial
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 1059–1088, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-1059-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-1059-2018, 2018
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Seismic sources generated by the deformation of unstable slopes are diverse in terms of signal properties and mechanisms. Standardized catalogues of landslide endogenous seismicity can help understanding the physical processes controlling slope dynamics. We propose a generic typology of seismic sources based on the analysis of signals recorded at various instrumented slopes. We demonstrate that the seismic signals present similar features at different sites and discuss their mechanical sources.
Florian Fuchs, Wolfgang Lenhardt, Götz Bokelmann, and the AlpArray Working Group
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 955–970, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-955-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-955-2018, 2018
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The work demonstrates how seismic networks installed in the Alps can be used for country-wide real-time monitoring of rockslide activity. We suggest simple methods that allow us to detect, locate, and characterize rockslides using the seismic signals they generate. We developed an automatic procedure to locate rockslides with kilometer accuracy over hundreds of kilometers of distance. Our findings highlight how seismic networks can help us to understand the triggering of rockslides.
Naomi Vouillamoz, Sabrina Rothmund, and Manfred Joswig
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 525–550, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-525-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-525-2018, 2018
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Seismic monitoring of active landslides enables the detection of microseismic signals generated by slope activity. We propose a classification of
microseismic signals observed at two active clay-rich debris slides and a simple method to constrain their source origin and their size
based on their signal amplitudes. A better understanding of landslide-induced microseismicity is crucial for the development of early warning systems
based on landslide-induced microseismic signal precursors.
Pippa L. Whitehouse
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 401–429, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-401-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-401-2018, 2018
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This article is a contribution to a special issue on
Two centuries of modelling across scales. It describes the historical observations, evolving hypotheses, and early calculations that led to the development of the field of glacial isostatic sdjustment (GIA) modelling, which seeks to understand feedbacks between ice-sheet change, sea-level change, and solid Earth deformation. Recent and future advances are discussed. Future progress will likely involve an interdisciplinary approach.
Clément Hibert, Jean-Philippe Malet, Franck Bourrier, Floriane Provost, Frédéric Berger, Pierrick Bornemann, Pascal Tardif, and Eric Mermin
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 283–292, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-283-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-283-2017, 2017
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Short summary
We performed controlled helicopter flights near seven rock arches and towers in Utah, USA, and recorded how their natural vibrations changed as the helicopter performed different maneuvers. We found that arches and towers vibrate up to 1000 times faster during these flights compared to time periods just before the helicopter's approach. Our study provides data that can be used to predict long-term damage to culturally significant rock features from sustained helicopter flights over time.
We performed controlled helicopter flights near seven rock arches and towers in Utah, USA, and...
