Litho-structural control on rock slope failures at Garmaksla, Billefjorden Coastline, Svalbard

The eastern slope of Garmaksla, a flat-topped mountain at the western margin of Billefjorden, Svalbard, is affected by mass movements of different types. Rotational rock slides, rock fall and a rock avalanche affecting the coastal cliff are shallow surface expressions covering a larger rock mass ins...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quarterly journal of engineering geology and hydrogeology 2023-05, Vol.56 (2), p.1
Main Authors: Kuhn, Dirk, Hermanns, Reginald L, Torizin, Jewgenij, Fuchs, Michael, Schüssler, Nick, Eilertsen, Raymond S, Redfield, Tim F, Balzer, Dirk, Bohme, Martina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arctic region
avalanches
Billefjorden
Carbon 14
cliffs
Climate change
coastal environment
Deformation
degradation
Devonian
Engineering geology
Failures
Fault zones
faults
Garmaksla Mountains
Geohazards
Geological faults
global change
Global warming
hydraulic conductivity
Jotunfonna Glacier
Lake sediments
Lakes
Landslides
mass movements
permafrost
Rock
Rock falls
Rock masses
Rocks
Rockslides
rupture
Sediments
Slope
Slope processes
Slope stability
Slopes
Structural analysis
Svalbard
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Summary:The eastern slope of Garmaksla, a flat-topped mountain at the western margin of Billefjorden, Svalbard, is affected by mass movements of different types. Rotational rock slides, rock fall and a rock avalanche affecting the coastal cliff are shallow surface expressions covering a larger rock mass instability that is bordered to the west by the Balliolbreen Fault. This structural feature is part of the Billefjorden Fault Zone and accommodated multi-phase deformation since Devonian time. Based on a comprehensive morpho-structural analysis, the mapped surface features and rock slope failures are explained by a compound rock slide model that reveals a litho-structural control on the type and mechanism of slope instability. The Balliolbreen fault serves as an inherited zone of weakness that is re-activated as the rear rupture surface of the rock slide. In addition, favorably oriented bedding planes and pre-existing fault zones serve as prime conditioning factors for the compound rock slide. A postglacial age of at least 6 ka is derived from 14C dated sediments of Garmaksla Lake, a perennial sag pond along the main scarp. While the current state of activity of the compound rock slide is unclear, an increase of shallow slope instabilities is expected due to climate warming.
ISSN:1470-9236
2041-4803
DOI:10.1144/qjegh2022-069