Université de Fribourg

Reconstructing spatio-temporal patterns of debris-flow activity using dendrogeomorphological methods

Bollschweiler, Michelle ; Stoffel, Markus ; Ehmisch, Melanie ; Monbaron, Michel

In: Geomorphology, 2007, vol. 87, no. 4, p. 337-351

Debris flows are a major threat in many parts of the Alps, where they repeatedly cause severe damage to infrastructure and transportation corridors or even loss of life. Nonetheless, the spatial behavior of past debris-flow activity and the analysis of areas affected during particular events have been widely neglected in reconstructions so far. It was therefore the purpose of this study to...

Université de Fribourg

A review of studies dealing with tree rings and rockfall activity : the role of dendrogeomorphology in natural hazard research

Stoffel, Markus

In: Natural Hazards, 2006, vol. 39, no. 1, p. 51-70

Over the last few years, rockfall research has increasingly focused on hazard assessment and risk analysis. Input data on past rockfall activity were gathered from historical archives and lichenometric studies or were obtained through frequency– volume statistics. However, historical records are generally scarce, and lichenometry may only yield data with relatively low resolutions. On...