Viani C., Chiarle M., Merlone A., Musacchio C., Coppa G., Nigrelli G., 2019, Freeze-thaw cycles in the rocks of the Bessanese experimental site (Western Alps, Italy), 23rd Alpine Glaciology Meeting, Universität Innsbruck, Austria, 28 February - 01 March 2019,
URL: http://www.cnr.it/prodotto/i/400265

Freeze-thaw action induces both rock weathering and mass wasting, destabilizing rock and debris slopes in high mountain regions. Matsuoka, in 1990, defines an Effective Freeze-Thaw Cycle (EFTC) as a fall below -2 °C of the rock surface temperature followed by a rise above +2 °C. Rock temperatures in alpine environments are strongly inuenced by slope inclination, slope aspect, local topoclimatic conditions (including seasonal snow cover), and thermal properties of the rock.

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