Fragmentation and shear zones in rock avalanches

• Applicant: Anja Dufresne, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2013 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 220638695

Large rock avalanches result from the catastrophic failure of rockslopes and produce highly fragmented deposits within only a few minutes emplacement time. In order to understand the fundamental processes acting during rock avalanche emplacement, detailed investigations of their deposits are necessary. The main objectives of this project are therefore (1) to understand how comminution acts and changes with continually reduced grain sizes and changing grain size distributions during rock avalanche runout; in particular to test whether the changes seen in fractal dimensions within one sample are indeed the result of scale-dependent changes in fragmentation processes. (2) To investigate shear zone processes by studying the in situ grain size distributions and their micro-structures in order to understand their formation and to draw conclusions for rock avalanche emplacement dynamics.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Stuart Dunning