Multi-method monitoring of rockfall activity along the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.) to encourage adaptation by mountaineers

Mourey, J.; /Lacroix, Pascal; Duvillard, P. A.; Marsy, G.; Marcer, M.; Malet, E.; Ravanel, L.

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dc.creator	Mourey, J.
dc.creator	/Lacroix, Pascal
dc.creator	Duvillard, P. A.
dc.creator	Marsy, G.
dc.creator	Marcer, M.
dc.creator	Malet, E.
dc.creator	Ravanel, L.
dc.date	2022
dc.date.accessioned	2022-04-27T17:37:50Z
dc.date.available	2022-04-27T17:37:50Z
dc.identifier	https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010084408
dc.identifier	oai:ird.fr:fdi:010084408
dc.identifier	Mourey J., Lacroix Pascal, Duvillard P. A., Marsy G., Marcer M., Malet E., Ravanel L.. Multi-method monitoring of rockfall activity along the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.) to encourage adaptation by mountaineers. 2022, 22 (2), p. 445-460
dc.identifier.uri	http://biblioteca-repositorio.clacso.edu.ar/handle/CLACSO/169118
dc.description	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 Gouter, 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 Gouter 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.
dc.language	EN
dc.title	Multi-method monitoring of rockfall activity along the classic route up Mont Blanc (4809 m a.s.l.) to encourage adaptation by mountaineers
dc.type	text
dc.coverage	FRANCE
dc.coverage	ALPES
dc.coverage	MONT BLANC