The European Alps are warming more quickly than anticipated, raising concerns not only for environmental stability but also for outdoor enthusiasts and residents in the mountains. To address this issue, several scholars embarked on a research journey and explored the reasons behind the amplified natural hazards.
A recent study published in Earth-Science Reviews highlights that rapid climate change is amplifying natural hazards in the mountain range, increasing the risk associated with rock avalanches, rockfall, debris flows, and snow and ice avalanches. The paper examines how climate change affects the frequency, behaviour, location, and magnitude of various mass movements in the Alps, posing distinct challenges.
The authors reviewed almost three decades of scientific literature to assess the degree to which observation records assess these changes. Based on 335 publications, the project’s results were coordinated by an international team led by glaciologist Mylène Jacquemart and permafrost expert Samuel Weber from ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL.
The review of the literature framework puts into different categories the progression from stable to unstable states in movements of the mass due to climate change. Hence, the scholars behind the project identified how changes trigger moving mechanisms that could be connected to global warming.
The research suggests that one-third of the relevant studies found a significant impact of climate change on Alpine mass movement processes excluding rock avalanches. The most noticeable climate trends are increased rockfall in high areas because of the high temperatures, fewer snow avalanches due to scarcity of snow, and a shift towards avalanches with more wet snow. However, debris-flow activities were not recorded to have increased. Additionally, the trends for ice avalanches are extremely variable.
By making these findings accessible to a wide audience, the study communicates the influence of climate change to policymakers and society, promoting awareness. However, while the analysis gives a clear overview of current trends in Alpine movements, more precise case studies are needed for the prediction of future mass movement patterns. This could be essential for hazard management and strategies to adapt in the mountain regions.
