Articles | Volume 80, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-80-339-2025
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the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
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https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-80-339-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
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27 Oct 2025
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| 27 Oct 2025
| 27 Oct 2025
Rockwall erosion rate inferred from in situ 10Be concentration of supraglacial clasts: a review
Léa Courtial-Manent
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. G. Eiffel, 38000 Grenoble, France
EDYTEM, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS (UMR 5204), 73370 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Jean-Louis Mugnier
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. G. Eiffel, 38000 Grenoble, France
Anta-Clarisse Sarr
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. G. Eiffel, 38000 Grenoble, France
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, 97403 Oregon, United States
Ludovic Ravanel
EDYTEM, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS (UMR 5204), 73370 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Julien Carcaillet
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. G. Eiffel, 38000 Grenoble, France
Riccardo Vassallo
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. G. Eiffel, 38000 Grenoble, France
Arthur Schwing
ISTerre, Université Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Univ. G. Eiffel, 38000 Grenoble, France
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3595, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3595, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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Simulating warm paleoclimates increases our understanding of the mechanisms that drive climatic change and tipping points. The Miocene Epoch, specifically the Miocene Climatic Optimum, has been identified as a particularly valuable past warm climate to simulate, meriting the design of a coordinated Miocene Model Intercomparison Project. Here we synthesize the latest available literature and present the experimental design for coordinated Miocene simulations and sensitivity studies.
Juliette Bazin, Ludovic Ravanel, and Sandrine Caroly
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2955–2973, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2955-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-2955-2026, 2026
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Through a geo-historical study, we compile an inventory of glacial and periglacial events that have prompted risk management actions in the Alps. Analysed through eight guiding principles, this research examines how methods have evolved across Alpine countries. Certain events mark turning points in risk perception. Today, management benefits from improved understanding of both hazards and vulnerabilities.
Ben Robson, James Irving, Florence Magnin, Ludovic Ravanel, Coline Mollaret, Ludovic Baron, André Revil, Jessy Richard, Jérémie Gentizon, and Christophe Lambiel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2455, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2455, 2026
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We investigated a hanging glacier in the Swiss Alps to resolve poorly known geometry, thermal conditions and response to climate forcing. Using up to five years of data from drone surveys, ground penetrating radar, temperature measurements and modelling, we show the glacier lost up to 7 m (20–45 % of the 2021 thickness), while the surrounding permafrost is degrading. The glacier is transitioning towards polythermal conditions, due to meltwater infiltration, increasing future instability risk.
Feras Abdulsamad, Josué Bock, Florence Magnin, Emmanuel Malet, André Revil, Matan Ben-Asher, Jessy Richard, Pierre-Allain Duvillard, Marios Karaoulis, Thomas Condom, Ludovic Ravanel, and Philip Deline
The Cryosphere, 20, 2181–2207, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-2181-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-2181-2026, 2026
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Permafrost dynamics at Aiguille du Midi in the French Alps was investigated using Automated Electrical Resistivity Tomography (A-ERT) during four years. A-ERT reveals seasonal and multi-year permafrost changes. Temperatures estimated using resistivity measurements provide a good agreement with measured temperature in borehole in frozen zone. Variations in active layer thickness across different faces were observed, along with a slight decrease in permafrost resistivity suggesting warming.
Xavier Cailhol, Ludovic Ravanel, and Jacques Mourey
Geogr. Helv., 80, 527–544, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-80-527-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-80-527-2025, 2025
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This study examines the impact of climate change on Alpine climbing routes in the western European Alps. By identifying the routes most frequented by French mountain guides across various Alpine massifs, the research combines historical comparisons, contemporary surveys and detailed mapping of geomorphological and glaciological processes.
Ludovic Ravanel, Romain Duphil, Emmanuel Malet, Christine Piot, Olivier Alemany, Xavier Cailhol, and Michel Fauquet
Geogr. Helv., 80, 455–465, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-80-455-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-80-455-2025, 2025
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Ice aprons are little-known ice masses on steep Alpine rock faces. They are also paleo-environmental archives as their ice is several thousand years old. A special corer has been developed to sample the ice before analysing it.
Pierre Maffre, Yves Goddéris, Guillaume Le Hir, Élise Nardin, Anta-Clarisse Sarr, and Yannick Donnadieu
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 6367–6413, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-6367-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-6367-2025, 2025
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A new version (v7) of the numerical model GEOCLIM is presented here. GEOCLIM models the evolution of ocean and atmosphere chemical composition on multi-million-year timescales, including carbon and oxygen cycles, CO2, and climate. GEOCLIM is associated with a climate model, and a new procedure to link the climate model to GEOCLIM is presented here. GEOCLIM is applied here to investigate the evolution of ocean oxygenation following Earth's orbital parameter variations around 94 million years ago.
Nina M. Papadomanolaki, Anta-Clarisse Sarr, Anthony Gramoullé, Marie Laugié, Jean-Baptiste Ladant, and Yannick Donnadieu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3458, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3458, 2025
Preprint archived
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We model how geography and atmospheric CO2 changed circulation and oxygen concentrations prior to two deoxygenation events of the Cretaceous (severe) and Paleocene. Deep Cretaceous oxygen concentration are lower, but at shallower depths, the two simulations produce similar oxygen concentrations. At these depths, the Cretaceous seafloor likely fortified deoxygenation via sedimentary feedbacks. We show that geographical changes after the Paleocene further enhanced ocean oxygenation in our runs.
Luc Beaufort and Anta-Clarisse Sarr
Clim. Past, 20, 1283–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1283-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1283-2024, 2024
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At present, under low eccentricity, the tropical ocean experiences a limited seasonality. Based on eight climate simulations of sea surface temperature and primary production, we show that, during high-eccentricity times, significant seasons existed in the tropics due to annual changes in the Earth–Sun distance. Those tropical seasons are slowly shifting in the calendar year to be distinct from classical seasons. Their past dynamics should have influenced phenomena like ENSO and monsoons.
Matan Ben-Asher, Florence Magnin, Sebastian Westermann, Josué Bock, Emmanuel Malet, Johan Berthet, Ludovic Ravanel, and Philip Deline
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 899–915, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-899-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-899-2023, 2023
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Quantitative knowledge of water availability on high mountain rock slopes is very limited. We use a numerical model and field measurements to estimate the water balance at a steep rock wall site. We show that snowmelt is the main source of water at elevations >3600 m and that snowpack hydrology and sublimation are key factors. The new information presented here can be used to improve the understanding of thermal, hydrogeological, and mechanical processes on steep mountain rock slopes.
Suvrat Kaushik, Ludovic Ravanel, Florence Magnin, Yajing Yan, Emmanuel Trouve, and Diego Cusicanqui
The Cryosphere, 16, 4251–4271, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4251-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4251-2022, 2022
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Climate change impacts all parts of the cryosphere but most importantly the smaller ice bodies like ice aprons (IAs). This study is the first attempt on a regional scale to assess the impacts of the changing climate on these small but very important ice bodies. Our study shows that IAs have consistently lost mass over the past decades. The effects of climate variables, particularly temperature and precipitation and topographic factors, were analysed on the loss of IA area.
Benjamin Lehmann, Robert S. Anderson, Xavier Bodin, Diego Cusicanqui, Pierre G. Valla, and Julien Carcaillet
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 605–633, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-605-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-605-2022, 2022
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Rock glaciers are some of the most frequently occurring landforms containing ice in mountain environments. Here, we use field observations, analysis of aerial and satellite images, and dating methods to investigate the activity of the rock glacier of the Vallon de la Route in the French Alps. Our results suggest that the rock glacier is characterized by two major episodes of activity and that the rock glacier system promotes the maintenance of mountain erosion.
S. Kaushik, S. Leinss, L. Ravanel, E. Trouvé, Y. Yan, and F. Magnin
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., V-3-2022, 325–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2022-325-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2022-325-2022, 2022
Clara T. Bolton, Emmeline Gray, Wolfgang Kuhnt, Ann E. Holbourn, Julia Lübbers, Katharine Grant, Kazuyo Tachikawa, Gianluca Marino, Eelco J. Rohling, Anta-Clarisse Sarr, and Nils Andersen
Clim. Past, 18, 713–738, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-713-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-713-2022, 2022
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The timing of the initiation and evolution of the South Asian monsoon in the geological past is a subject of debate. Here, we present a new age model spanning the late Miocene (9 to 5 million years ago) and high-resolution records of past open-ocean biological productivity from the equatorial Indian Ocean that we interpret to reflect monsoon wind strength. Our data show no long-term intensification; however, strong orbital periodicities suggest insolation forcing of monsoon wind strength.
Jacques Mourey, Pascal Lacroix, Pierre-Allain Duvillard, Guilhem Marsy, Marco Marcer, Emmanuel Malet, and Ludovic Ravanel
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 445–460, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-445-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-445-2022, 2022
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More frequent rockfalls in high alpine environments due to climate change are a growing threat to mountaineers. This hazard is particularly important on the classic route up Mont Blanc. Our results show that rockfalls are most frequent during snowmelt periods and the warmest hours of the day, and that mountaineers do not adapt to the local rockfall hazard when planning their ascent. Disseminating the knowledge acquired from our study caused management measures to be implemented for the route.
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Short summary
This study explores how rocks on glacier surfaces originating from rockfalls help measure erosion rates using a chemical marker called 10Be. By analyzing data from 31 glaciers we found that erosion rates vary widely but can be accurately estimated and reveal links to rock exposure, glacier movement, and climate effects. Comparing 10Be erosion rates to other exhumation rates shows cases of balance, slower erosion, or faster erosion, offering insights into the complex drivers of rockwall erosion.
This study explores how rocks on glacier surfaces originating from rockfalls help measure...
