The relevance of rock shape over mass—implications for rockfall hazard assessments

Andrin Caviezel (), Adrian Ringenbach, Sophia E. Demmel, Claire E. Dinneen, Nora Krebs, Yves Bühler, Marc Christen, Guillaume Meyrat, Andreas Stoffel, Elisabeth Hafner, Lucie A. Eberhard, Daniel von Rickenbach, Kevin Simmler, Philipp Mayer, Pascal S. Niklaus, Thomas Birchler, Tim Aebi, Lukas Cavigelli, Michael Schaffner, Stefan Rickli, Christoph Schnetzler, Michele Magno, Luca Benini and Perry Bartelt
Additional contact information
Andrin Caviezel: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Adrian Ringenbach: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Sophia E. Demmel: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Claire E. Dinneen: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Nora Krebs: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Yves Bühler: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Marc Christen: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Guillaume Meyrat: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Andreas Stoffel: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Elisabeth Hafner: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Lucie A. Eberhard: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Daniel von Rickenbach: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Kevin Simmler: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Philipp Mayer: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Pascal S. Niklaus: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Thomas Birchler: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Tim Aebi: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Lukas Cavigelli: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Michael Schaffner: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Stefan Rickli: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Christoph Schnetzler: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Michele Magno: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Luca Benini: ETH Zurich, Integrated Systems Lab IIS
Perry Bartelt: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The mitigation of rapid mass movements involves a subtle interplay between field surveys, numerical modelling, and experience. Hazard engineers rely on a combination of best practices and, if available, historical facts as a vital prerequisite in establishing reproducible and accurate hazard zoning. Full-scale field tests have been performed to reinforce the physical understanding of debris flows and snow avalanches. Rockfall dynamics are - especially the quantification of energy dissipation during the complex rock-ground interaction - largely unknown. The awareness of rock shape dependence is growing, but presently, there exists little experimental basis on how rockfall hazard scales with rock mass, size, and shape. Here, we present a unique data set of induced single-block rockfall events comprising data from equant and wheel-shaped blocks with masses up to 2670 kg, quantifying the influence of rock shape and mass on lateral spreading and longitudinal runout and hence challenging common practices in rockfall hazard assessment.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25794-y

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