Investigating Sediment Cascades Using Field Measurements and Spatial Modelling

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Many geomorphic processes contribute to the sediment budgets of high-mountain geosystems. The interaction of these processes to form a sediment cascade can be investigated, interpreted and visualized on the basis of spatial models calibrated by field measurements. We present the results of field measurements and modelling for a talus slope in one of the two study areas of a large interdisciplinary research project (SEDiment cascades in Alpine Geosystems—SEDAG). The sediment yield of a debris flow event (~12 000 t) is compared with the mean annual sediment yields of rockfall and fluvial processes on the talus cone. In addition, modelling and zonation of the potential process domains for rockfalls and debris flows clearly illustrate the concept of a sediment cascade. Results show that the sediment volume, reworked and removed from the cascade by debris flows, exceeds by far the sediment input by rockfall, so that the sediment volume stored on the talus cone is presently decreasing.

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