Cliffs and Rockfalls

Since 2011, ISTerre/OSUG has been involved in cliff monitoring with the goal of providing reliable data for tracking block-fall erosion. Such events represent a major natural hazard in the Grésivaudan Valley due to the high level of urbanization at the base of the cliffs.

Several tools are deployed (photogrammetry, seismology, meteorology) for geometric characterization (source area, volume, morphology), assessment of occurrence timing, characterization of the seismic signature of rockfalls, and evaluation of the effects of forcing associated with climate change.

Observations focus on the St Eynard site, on the foothills of the Grésivaudan Valley, as well as on the Mont Granier site, following the major rockfalls of 2016.