Controls on Rockfall-Talus Process-Response Systems, Kananaskis, Canadian Rockies
Abstract
Rockfall processes are important contributors to hillslope erosion in mountainous regions. Assessment of rockfall activity processes over regional scales has not been widely undertaken, and further assessment about controls of rockfall-talus processes is required. The present study investigates rockfall-talus processes over extended spatiotemporal scales in Kananaskis, Canadian Rockies utilizing aerial photographs, digital elevation models, geologic and paleoclimatic data. An inventory of talus deposits in fifth-order drainage basins was collected for Kananaskis, with rockfall erosion rates of 2.9 mm yr-1. Results show a strong association of talus with faults and cirques. Although frost cracking is likely an important process leading to rockfall erosion, reconstructed temperature data suggests frost cracking alone is not the major determinant of locations of rockfall activity and talus deposition. Findings of this study provide important information on the contribution and controls of rockfall activity that can be utilized to better understand landscape evolution in mountainous regions.
Description
Keywords
Physical Geography
Citation
Thapa, P. (2017). Controls on Rockfall-Talus Process-Response Systems, Kananaskis, Canadian Rockies (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25457