Paraglacial Rock Slope Destabilization, Grewingk Glacier and Lake, Alaska - Analysis and Monitoring -

• Applicant: Anja Dufresne, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 447808231

The reasons for our request for an extension of the project include logistical challenges, delay of field work by three months due to the lengthy application process for special visa exemptions (see 2.3) during the Covid-19 pandemic, and a new opportunity of a second study site that completes the original project objectives where Grewingk did not deliver the desired data. Whereas the slopes at Grewingk already experienced slope failure and the observed deformation features of a potential future instability did not yield the expected, current movement indications, Portage Glacier has actively deforming slopes above its terminus. Hence, it provides the pre-failure story where Grewingk told the past failure end. The combined case studies promise to reveal the full picture the interactions between processes that destabilize a rock mass.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: USA
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Bretwood Higman