Reconstruction and Characterisation of Past and the Most Recent Slope Failure Events at the 2021 Rock-Ice Avalanche Site in Chamoli, Indian Himalaya

Frequent ice avalanche events are being reported across the globe in recent years. On the 7 February 2021, a flash flood triggered by a rock-ice avalanche with an unusually long runout distance, caused significant damage of life and property in the Tapovan region of the Indian Himalaya. Using multi-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-02, Vol.14 (4), p.949
Main Authors: Bhardwaj, Anshuman, Sam, Lydia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Avalanches
Chamoli
co-registration of optically sensed images and correlation (COSI-Corr)
debris flow
Entrainment
Failure
Fatalities
Flash floods
Floods
Flow characteristics
Glaciers
Himalaya
Hydroelectric power
Ice
ice avalanche
Indian spacecraft
Landslides
Landslides & mudslides
Mechanical properties
Precipitation
rapid mass movement simulation (RAMMS)
Remote sensing
Rocks
Snow avalanches
Surface velocity
Terrain models
Topography
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Summary:Frequent ice avalanche events are being reported across the globe in recent years. On the 7 February 2021, a flash flood triggered by a rock-ice avalanche with an unusually long runout distance, caused significant damage of life and property in the Tapovan region of the Indian Himalaya. Using multi-temporal satellite datasets, digital terrain models (DTMs) and simulations, here we report the pre-event and during-event flow characteristics of two large-scale avalanches within a 5-year interval at the slope failure site. Prior to both the events, we observed short-term and long-term changes in surface velocity (SV) with maximum SVs increasing up to over 5 times the normal values. We further simulated the events to understand their mechanical characteristics leading to long runouts. In addition to its massive volume, the extraordinary magnitude of the 2021 event can partly be attributed to the possible remobilisation and entrainment of the colluvial deposits from previous ice and snow avalanches. The anomalous SVs should be explored further for their suitability as a possible remotely observable precursor of ice avalanches from hanging glaciers. This sequence of events highlights that there is a need to take into account the antecedent conditions, while making a holistic assessment of the hazard.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs14040949