Estimación de la erosión producida por las corrientes de derrubios mediante técnicas de minería de datos con datos de campo y topográficos

La erosión del lecho es un proceso común de las corrientes de derrubios, y aumenta considerablemente el volumen de éstas. En este estudio se analizan datos geomorfológicos y topográficos obtenidos de 17 torrentes donde se han producido corrientes de derrubios. Sobre la base de datos se aplicaron dos técnicas de minería de datos: regresión lineal múltiple y árbol de decisión, con la intención de desarrollar un modelo para predecir las tasas de erosión. Los modelos obtenidos mediante las dos técnicas fueron validados e implementados en grupos de datos independientes con la finalidad de evaluar su efectividad. El modelo del árbol de decisión mostró más ventajas que la regresión lineal múltiple. Finalmente se propuso un modelo, basado en el árbol de decisión, para estimar la tasa de erosión, que incluye tres factores condicionantes: la disponibilidad de sedimento, el pendiente del lecho y la forma de la sección transversal.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Wireless monitoring for cliff stabilization at La Clua (Pre-Pyrenees, Spain)

La Clua is a village at the foot of a conglomerate cliff (Pre-Pyrenees, Spain), eventually af-fected by rockfalls. After last big event, in 2009, that affected a house of the village, a rope net was installed to protect the village. In order to obtain information about the performance of the protecting net, but also to gain knowledge on the triggering mechanism a wireless mon-itoring system was installed. The system is equipped with sensors (4 crackmeters, 2 biaxial tiltmeters, 2 rope tension load cells and 2 thermistors) that are measuring the changes on two unstable boulders (one protected with the net, the other not). Sensors are connected to wire-less dataloggers, installed next to the sensors and send data to the gateway. In this site, gate-way is located 250 m far from the furthest logger, but thanks to the long range technology of the system, loggers can be up to several km far from the gateway and the data which is pushed to an internet server every 15 minutes. Preliminary results show that no relevant movements have been observed in the boulders, since February 2016. Only some slight changes of around 0.15º have been observed after heavy rainfall events in spring.Postprint (published version

Critical rainfall conditions for the initiation of torrential flows: results from the Rebaixader catchment (Central Pyrenees)

Torrential flows like debris flows or debris floods are fast movements formed by a mix of water and different amounts of unsorted solid material. They generally occur in steep torrents and pose high risk in mountainous areas. Rainfall is their most common triggering factor and the analysis of the critical rainfall conditions is a fundamental research task. Due to their wide use in warning systems, rainfall thresholds for the triggering of torrential flows are an important outcome of such analysis and are empirically derived using data from past events. In 2009, a monitoring system was installed in the Rebaixader catchment, Central Pyrenees (Spain). Since then, rainfall data of 25 torrential flows (“TRIG rainfalls”) were recorded, with a 5-min sampling frequency. Other 142 rainfalls that did not trigger torrential flows (“NonTRIG rainfalls”) were also collected and analyzed. The goal of this work was threefold: (i) characterize rainfall episodes in the Rebaixader catchment and compare rainfall data that triggered torrential flows and others that did not; (ii) define and test Intensity–Duration (ID) thresholds using rainfall data measured inside the catchment by with different techniques; (iii) analyze how the criterion used for defining the rainfall duration and the spatial variability of rainfall influences the value obtained for the thresholds. The statistical analysis of the rainfall characteristics showed that the parameters that discriminate better the TRIG and NonTRIG rainfalls are the rainfall intensities, the mean rainfall and the total rainfall amount. The antecedent rainfall was not significantly different between TRIG and NonTRIG rainfalls, as it can be expected when the source material is very pervious (a sandy glacial soil in the study site). Thresholds were derived from data collected at one rain gauge located inside the catchment. Two different methods were applied to calculate the duration and intensity of rainfall: (i) using total duration, Dtot, and mean intensity, Imean, of the rainfall event, and (ii) using floating durations, D, and intensities, Ifl, based on the maximum values over floating periods of different duration. The resulting thresholds are considerably different (Imean = 6.20 Dtot-0.36 and Ifl_90% = 5.49 D-0.75, respectively) showing a strong dependence on the applied methodology. On the other hand, the definition of the thresholds is affected by several types of uncertainties. Data from both rain gauges and weather radar were used to analyze the uncertainty associated with the spatial variability of the triggering rainfalls. The analysis indicates that the precipitation recorded by the nearby rain gauges can introduce major uncertainties, especially for convective summer storms. Thus, incorporating radar rainfall can significantly improve the accuracy of the measured triggering rainfall. Finally, thresholds were also derived according to three different criteria for the definition of the duration of the triggering rainfall: (i) the duration until the peak intensity, (ii) the duration until the end of the rainfall; and, (iii) the duration until the trigger of the torrential flow. An important contribution of this work is the assessment of the threshold relationships obtained using the third definition of duration. Moreover, important differences are observed in the obtained thresholds, showing that ID relationships are significantly dependent on the applied methodology.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Monitoring of rainfall and soil moisture at the Rebaixader catchment (Central Pyrenees)

The instrumental monitoring of torrential catchments is a fundamental research task and provides necessary information to improve our understanding on the mechanisms of debris flows. While most monitoring sites include meteorological sensors and analyze the critical rainfall conditions, only very few contain soil moisture measurements. In our monitoring site, the Rebaixader catchment, 11 debris flows and 24 debris floods were detected during the last nine years. Herein, the initiation mechanisms of these torrential flows were analyzed focusing on the critical rainfall conditions and the soil water dynamics. Comparing the temporal distribution of both rainfall episodes and torrential flows, the Kernel density plots showed maximum values for rainfalls at the beginning of June, while the peak for torrential flows is at July 20th. This means that highest probability of debris flows and debris floods triggering is about 1.5 months later than the one of rainstorms in the catchment. Thus, the antecedent rainfall and especially the soil moisture conditions may influence the triggering of torrential flows. In a second step, a new updated rainfall threshold was proposed including total rainfall duration and mean intensity. The analysis of soil moisture data was more complicated and no clear trends were observed in the dataset. Therefore, additional data has to be recorded in order to quantitatively analyze the role of soil moisture on the triggering of flows and for the definition of thresholds. Some preliminary results show that the soil moisture at the beginning of a rainfall event affects the maximum increase of soil moisture, while a slight trend was visible comparing the initial soil moisture with the necessary rainfall amount to trigger a torrential flow.Postprint (published version

Experiences of rapid landslides monitoring and warning at catchment scale in the Pyrenees: the example of the Rebaixader test site

Monitoring of rapid landslides, as rockfalls and debris flows, improves the understandings of these processes and also provides fundamental information for an efficient early warning and alarm system (EWAS). The Rebaixader site is a typical high mountain catchment, where sort of torrential phenomena occur with a sub-annual frequency. To investigate the triggering conditions and the post-failure behaviour of the rapid landslides, a monitoring system consisting of five stations was set up progressively since July 2009. Two stations monitor landslide propagation characteristics by using eigth geophones, an ultrasonic device and a video camera and infrared spot lights. Until March 2013, six debris flows, eleven debris floods and four rockfalls (two of them were large boulder falls, 55 and 18 m3) were recorded at the site. The analysis of ground vibration signal allowed defining preliminary thresholds for distinguishing between debris flows, debris floods and rockfalls. The identification of processes was checked by the analysis of the video images and the post-event field evidences. Field surveys, ground vibration records and the movies recorded at the video camera provided unique information on the rapid landslides occurrence and dynamics, and gave an excellent opportunity to show the importance of monitored data for calibrating of simulation models. The monitoring results show that the data gathered by the geophones provides valuable information for the design of alarm systems for the event detection and distinction between processes.Postprint (published version

Multi-temporal analysis of morphologic changes applying geomatic techniques: 70 years of torrential activity in the Rebaixader catchment (Central pyrenees)

The monitoring of morphologic changes in high-mountain environments is an important, but complex task. Terrestrial as well as airborne laser scanning (TLS and ALS) and digital photogrammetry (DP) using Unnamed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) can determine recent variations. In contrast, changes that occurred 20 or more years ago, need generally the application of DP and historic aerial photograph. We compared these four geomatic techniques and the resulting digital elevation models (DEM) that ranged over a 70-year time span (1946–2016). The accuracy of the different models and also the effect of different cell size were analysed. The accuracy analysis of the resulting DEMs shows important drawbacks, when historic aerial photographs are used. In these DEMs, the error in elevation can be important and a detailed analysis of morphologic changes is limited. Nowadays, the combination of DP and UAV is the technique with best cost-benefit ratio, although TLS could reveal similar precision. However, the application of TLS is restrained by the complex morphology and the presence of vegetation, which produce many shadows. Finally, the erosion rate was determined in our catchment. The resulting values range between 0.06 and 0.16¿m3/m2/y, which coincides rather well with data observed in other studies.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Towards a standard typology of endogenous landslide seismic sources

The objective of this work is to propose a standard classification of seismic signals generated by gravitational processes and detected at close distances (1 Hz) where most of the seismic energy is recorded at the 1 km sensor to source distances. Several signal properties (duration, spectral content and spectrogram shape) are used to describe the sources. We observe that similar gravitational processes generate similar signals at different slopes. Three main classes can be differentiated mainly from the length of the signals, the number of peaks and the duration of the autocorrelation. The classes are the “slopequake” class, which corresponds to sources potentially occurring within the landslide body; the “rockfall” class, which corresponds to signals generated by rock block impacts; and the “granular flow” class, which corresponds to signals generated by wet or dry debris/rock flows. Subclasses are further proposed to differentiate specific signal properties (frequency content, resonance, precursory signal). The signal properties of each class and subclass are described and several signals of the same class recorded at different slopes are presented. Their potential origins are discussed. The typology aims to serve as a standard for further comparisons of the endogenous microseismicity recorded on landslides.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Auscultación de movimientos de ladera para la implementación de sistemas de alerta: ejemplos del Pirineo y Prepirineo central y oriental

En la presente contribución se describen los sistemas de auscultación de cuatro tipos de movimientos de ladera (corriente de derrubios, deslizamiento profundo, deslizamiento superficial y desprendimiento). El énfasis se ha puesto en la descripción de la instrumentación de corrientes de derrubios en la cuenca El Rebaixader (Pirineo Central) y los resultados obtenidos durante los últimos 4 años. La auscultación de los otros tres tipos de movimientos se presenta de manera resumida. El sistema de auscultación en la cuenca El Rebaixader incluye 6 diferentes estaciones: dos estaciones meteorológicas, dos estaciones de infiltración y dos estaciones registrando datos sobre la dinámica de flujo. Los resultados medidos en esta cuenca torrencial indican que un umbral de lluvia crítica de aproximadamente 15 mm/h sería adecuado para alertar de corrientes de derrubios en verano. Por otra parte, los geófonos y la transformación de las señales sísmicas a impulsos por segundo se pueden utilizar para detectar el paso de una corriente de derrubios y activar un sistema de alarma. Nuestra experiencia muestra que una red de sensores inalámbrica facilita la auscultación y la futura implementación de un sistema de alarma por sus múltiples ventajas (principalmente, más fácil instalación, menor vulnerabilidad del sistema por la mera ausencia de cables y muy bajo consumo).Postprint (published version

Relation between land cover and landslide susceptibility in Val d'Aran, Pyrenees (Spain): historical aspects, present situation and forward prediction

The effects of land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics on landslide susceptibility are not fully understood. This study evaluates the influence of LULC on landslide susceptibility and assesses the historic and future LULC changes in a high mountain region. A detailed inventory map showing the distribution of landslides was prepared based on the 2013 episode in Val d'Aran, Pyrenees (Spain). This inventory showed that LULC clearly affected landslide susceptibility. Both the number of landslides and the landslide density triggered in grassland and meadow was highest (52% and 2.0 landslides/km2). In contrast, the landslide density in areas covered by forest and shrubs was much lower (15% and 0.4 landslides/km2, and 23% and 1.7 landslides/km2, respectively). Historical changes of LULC between 1946 and 2013 were determined by comparing aerial photographs. The results indicated that the forest and shrub areas increased by 68 and 65%, respectively; whereas grassland and scree areas decreased by 33 and 52%. Urban area also increased by 532%, especially between 1990 and 2001. Future LULC was predicted until 2097 using TerrSet software. The results showed that the forest area and urban area increased by 57 and 43%, severally; while shrubs, grassland and scree area decreased by 28, 46 and 78%, respectively. Heuristic and deterministic models were applied to create susceptibility maps, which classified the study area into four susceptibility degrees from very low to high. The maps were validated by the 2013 landslide dataset and showed satisfactory results using receiver operating characteristics curves and density graph method. Then, susceptibility maps until 2097 were calculated by the heuristic model and results revealed that landslide susceptibility will decrease by 48% for high-susceptible areas. In contrast, the areas of very-low susceptibility degree will increase 95%, while medium and low-susceptible areas will be more or less constant. This study only includes the effect of future LULC changes on the landslide susceptibility and does not analyze the future impacts of climate changes and the variation of rainfall conditions. Nevertheless, the results may be used as support for land management guidelines to reduce the risk of slope instabilities.Postprint (author's final draft

Estimación de la magnitud de procesos torrenciales mediante diferentes técnicas geomáticas: aplicación a la cuenca El Rebaixader (Pirineo Central)

Los procesos torrenciales como corrientes de derrubios o flujos hiperconcentrados pueden cambiar fuertemente la morfología de una cuenca vertiente, y las técnicas geomáticas son una herramienta ideal para determinar y cuantificar estos cambios topográficos. En la cuenca torrencial El Rebaixader se han aplicado láser escáner terrestre de larga distancia (TLS) y fotogrametría para crear diferentes modelos digitales de elevaciones , que se han comparado posteriormente entre ellos y con otros modelos existentes (por ejemplo mediante láser escáner aerotransportado). Las primeras experiencias de TLS indican que esta técnica, que se ha aplicado con éxito en macizos rocosos para desprendimientos, es más difícil de utilizar en una cuenca vertiente donde afecta considerablemente la vegetación y las superficies irregulares e húmedas. Por otra parte, la fotogrametría ha podido aplicar sin grandes problemas. Finalmente, se ha podido estimar una tasa de erosión de aproximadamente 15000 m3 por año entre 1975 y 2012, que coincide bien con los datos medidos entre 2009 y 2012 en la auscultación in-situ.Postprint (published version