Climate change on slope failures initiation in the Italian Alps (ImpClimAlp)

Background

Climate change in the Greater Alpine Region is seriously affecting glacial and periglacial areas, with relevant consequences on slope stability. Cryosphere degradation, changes of the precipitation and temperature patterns and of the hydrological regimes, are some of the main terrestrial indicators of climatic change. Moreover, the increasing number of tourists and human activities rise the level of risk.

Purpose

• Studying the relationship between climatic variables and slope failures triggering in the alpine glacial and periglacial areas (>1500 m a.s.l.).
• Interpreting the mechanism of initiation of slope failure based on the results of this study.

Methods

Implementation of a statistical-based approach method which allow to compare the meteorological conditions at the time when the instability occurred with the typical conditions in the same place. The aim is to determine if any of the meteorological variables (mainly temperature and precipitations) had non-standard values in the lead-up to the slope failure event.