Centre de documentation
scientifique

Multi-method monitoring of rockfall activity along the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.) to encourage adaptation by mountaineers / Jacques Mourey in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, vol 22 n° 2 (February 2022)  

Public [article]  inNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences > vol 22 n° 2 (February 2022) . - pp 445 - 460 Titre : Multi-method monitoring of rockfall activity along the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.) to encourage adaptation by mountaineers Type de document : Article/Communication Auteurs : Jacques Mourey, Auteur ; Pascal Lacroix, Auteur ; Pierre-Allain Duvillard, Auteur ; et al., Auteur Année de publication : 2022 Article en page(s) : pp 445 - 460 Note générale : bibliographie Langues : Anglais (eng) Descripteur : [Vedettes matières IGN] Applications de télédétection [Termes IGN] capteur actif [Termes IGN] capteur non-imageur [Termes IGN] carte thématique [Termes IGN] détection de changement [Termes IGN] éboulement [Termes IGN] modèle numérique de terrain [Termes IGN] Mont-Blanc, massif du [Termes IGN] onde sismique [Termes IGN] pergélisol [Termes IGN] prévention des risques [Termes IGN] risque naturel [Termes IGN] saison [Termes IGN] sismologie [Termes IGN] surveillance géologique [Termes IGN] température de l'air Résumé : (auteur) There are on average 35 fatal mountaineering accidents per summer in France. On average, since 1990, 3.7 of them have occurred every summer in the Grand Couloir du Goûter, on the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.). Rockfall is one of the main factors that explain this high accident rate and contribute to making it one of the most accident-prone areas in the Alps for mountaineers. In this particular context, the objective of this study is to document the rockfall activity and its triggering factors in the Grand Couloir du Goûter in order to disseminate the results to mountaineers and favour their adaptation to the local rockfall hazard. Using a multi-method monitoring system (five seismic sensors, an automatic digital camera, three rock subsurface temperature sensors, a traffic sensor, a high-resolution topographical survey, two weather stations and a rain gauge), we acquired a continuous database on rockfalls during a period of 68 d in 2019 and some of their potential triggering factors (precipitation, ground and air temperatures, snow cover, frequentation by climbers). At the seasonal scale, our results confirm previous studies showing that rockfalls are most frequent during the snowmelt period in permafrost-affected rockwalls. Furthermore, the unprecedented time precision and completeness of our rockfall database at high elevation thanks to seismic sensors allowed us to investigate the factors triggering rockfalls. We found a clear correlation between rockfall frequency and air temperature, with a 2 h delay between peak air temperature and peak rockfall activity. A small number of rockfalls seem to be triggered by mountaineers. Our data set shows that climbers are not aware of the variations in rockfall frequency and/or cannot/will not adapt their behaviour to this hazard. These results should help to define an adaptation strategy for climbers. Therefore, we disseminated our results within the mountaineering community thanks to the full integration of our results into the management of the route by local actors. Knowledge built during this experiment has already been used for the definition and implementation of management measures for the attendance in summer 2020. Numéro de notice : A2022-181 Affiliation des auteurs : non IGN Thématique : IMAGERIE/POSITIONNEMENT Nature : Article DOI : 10.5194/nhess-22-445-2022 En ligne : https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-445-2022 Format de la ressource électronique : URL article Permalink : https://documentation.ensg.eu/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=99859 [article]

Dual-frequency altimeter signal from Envisat on the Amery ice-shelf / Pascal Lacroix in Remote sensing of environment, vol 109 n° 3 (15 August 2007)  

Public [article]  inRemote sensing of environment > vol 109 n° 3 (15 August 2007) . - pp 285 - 294 Titre : Dual-frequency altimeter signal from Envisat on the Amery ice-shelf Type de document : Article/Communication Auteurs : Pascal Lacroix, Auteur ; Benoit Legrésy, Auteur ; et al., Auteur ; et al., Auteur Année de publication : 2007 Article en page(s) : pp 285 - 294 Note générale : Bibliographie Langues : Anglais (eng) Descripteur : [Vedettes matières IGN] Traitement du signal [Termes IGN] altimétrie par radar [Termes IGN] Antarctique [Termes IGN] bande S [Termes IGN] calotte glaciaire [Termes IGN] crevasse [Termes IGN] écho radar [Termes IGN] épaisseur de la glace [Termes IGN] image Envisat-AATSR [Termes IGN] réflectance de surface [Termes IGN] réflexion spéculaire [Termes IGN] traitement du signal [Termes IGN] variation saisonnière Résumé : (Auteur) In Antarctica, radar altimeter measurements are sensitive to dielectric and penetration properties of the sensed medium (snow) such that the spacecraft's altitude can be biased. Since 2002, relatively low frequency radar measurements over the Amery Ice Shelf, east Antarctica, have been acquired using the Envisat dual frequency altimeter at S (3.2 GHz) and Ku (13.6 GHz) bands, which penetrate a few meters into the firn. The altimeter signal is however modified in summer by the presence of snowfilled crevasses. Indeed, the specularity of the snow surfaces in summer makes the altimetric signal sensitive mostly to nadir echoes, that increases the ratio between the crevasse signal and the surrounding ice-shelf signal at nadir. Crevasses are distinguished by differences in backscattering behavior compared with the surrounding ice-shelf signal. Crevasses are characterized by a strong backscatter coefficient at Ku band and anomalies in the S band altitude estimation. These two characteristics make snowfilled crevasses detectable by the dual frequency altimeter of Envisat. We first retrieve the geometric properties of the crevasses using a hyperbolic shape function, created by strong crevasse backscatter in the Ku waveform measurements. From this retrieved crevasse signal and further waveform analysis, we assess the properties of the snow surface and its sub-surface. The crevasse, due to its small size compared to the altimeter footprint, is found to be an excellent target to study snow properties of the ice-shelf. The anomalies in the S band altitude measurements over crevasses can then be explained by the presence of a double echo in the S band waveforms. This echo is attributed to a reflection at the base of the snowbridge, where we see evidence of sub-surface echos in the individual altimeter waveforms. Based on this observation, a methodology is developed to estimate the thickness of the snowbridge. We calculate the penetration depths in the summer snow surface of the Amery at Ku band, that is found to be around 6 m. Copyright Elsevier Numéro de notice : A2007-312 Affiliation des auteurs : non IGN Thématique : IMAGERIE Nature : Article nature-HAL : ArtAvecCL-RevueIntern DOI : 10.1016/j.rse.2007.01. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2007.01.007 Format de la ressource électronique : URL article Permalink : https://documentation.ensg.eu/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=28675 [article]