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A regional spatiotemporal analysis of large magnitude snow avalanches using tree rings / Erich Peitzsch in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, Vol 21 n° 2 (February 2021)  

Public [article]  inNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences > Vol 21 n° 2 (February 2021) . - pp 533 - 557 Titre : A regional spatiotemporal analysis of large magnitude snow avalanches using tree rings Type de document : Article/Communication Auteurs : Erich Peitzsch, Auteur ; Jordi Hendrikx, Auteur ; Daniel Stahle, Auteur ; et al., Auteur Année de publication : 2021 Article en page(s) : pp 533 - 557 Note générale : bibliographie Langues : Anglais (eng) Descripteur : [Vedettes matières IGN] Analyse spatiale [Termes IGN] analyse diachronique [Termes IGN] avalanche [Termes IGN] Canada [Termes IGN] cerne [Termes IGN] croissance des arbres [Termes IGN] dendrochronologie [Termes IGN] données topographiques [Termes IGN] échantillonnage [Termes IGN] Etats-Unis [Termes IGN] géomorphologie locale [Termes IGN] magnitude [Termes IGN] montagne Résumé : (auteur) Snow avalanches affect transportation corridors and settlements worldwide. In many mountainous regions, robust records of avalanche frequency and magnitude are sparse or non-existent. However, dendrochronological methods can be used to fill this gap and infer historical avalanche patterns. In this study, we developed a tree-ring-based avalanche chronology for large magnitude avalanche events (size ≥∼D3) using dendrochronological techniques for a portion of the US northern Rocky Mountains. We used a strategic sampling design to examine avalanche activity through time and across nested spatial scales (i.e., from individual paths, four distinct subregions, and the region). We analyzed 673 samples in total from 647 suitable trees collected from 12 avalanche paths from which 2134 growth disturbances were identified over the years 1636 to 2017 CE. Using existing indexing approaches, we developed a regional avalanche activity index to discriminate avalanche events from noise in the tree-ring record. Large magnitude avalanches, common across the region, occurred in 30 individual years and exhibited a median return interval of approximately 3 years (mean = 5.21 years). The median large magnitude avalanche return interval (3–8 years) and the total number of avalanche years (12–18) varies throughout the four subregions, suggesting the important influence of local terrain and weather factors. We tested subsampling routines for regional representation, finding that sampling 8 random paths out of a total of 12 avalanche paths in the region captures up to 83 % of the regional chronology, whereas four paths capture only 43 % to 73 %. The greatest value probability of detection for any given path in our dataset is 40 %, suggesting that sampling a single path would capture no more than 40 % of the regional avalanche activity. Results emphasize the importance of sample size, scale, and spatial extent when attempting to derive a regional large magnitude avalanche event chronology from tree-ring records. Numéro de notice : A2021-169 Affiliation des auteurs : non IGN Thématique : FORET/GEOMATIQUE Nature : Article DOI : 10.5194/nhess-21-533-2021 Date de publication en ligne : 05/02/2021 En ligne : https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-533-2021 Format de la ressource électronique : url article Permalink : https://documentation.ensg.eu/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=97108 [article]