Study of the seasonal response of a scree slope and debris flow catchment in the Swiss Alps

摘要

The paper introduces the scope of a multidisciplinary project in the Swiss Alps, which will investigate the generation, mechanical production, storage and remobilization of rock debris triggered by meteorological and hydrological processes in steep slopes to identify the extent of the hazard such as volume, mobility and run out of debris, so that effective mitigation measures can be implemented. The study is in the Bochtur area in the Meretschibach catchment above Agara village, for which frequent slope instability events have been determined using repeated remote sensing campaigns. These instabilities manifest themselves more frequently, in the form of smaller events on the open partly vegetated scree slope, and less frequently, but with larger volume of sediment and greater run out, as debris flows in the catchment. The field and laboratory work, either in progress or planned, will be described briefly, with hints towards subsequent analyses and process understanding obtained from the field and from physical and numerical modelling.