Suivi de glissements rocheux et de coulées dans les roches argileuses à partir de méthodes sismiques et photogrammétrique

Subject : Monitoring of rockfall and debris flows in clay-rich rocks seismic and photogrammetric methods.

Supervisors : Denis JONGMANS, Frédéric Victor DONZE

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**Summary:

Clay-rich rocks are very sensitive to weathering and are affected by complex sliding mechanisms, involving both slope sliding/falling and debris flows in a second stage. This double mechanism often occurs in the Alps and raise a problem for land managers, because of the suddenness of falls and flows. Recent studies have showed that continuous ambient vibration recordings could be used to infer seismic parameters (e.g. resonance frequency, shear wave velocity) that characterize the unstable mass. In both cases (falls and flows), the monitoring of these parameters evidences a significant variation before the triggering of gravitational movements, which has been interpreted as a precursory signal. We develop and test a monitoring methodology for such complex movements affecting clay-rich rocks, from ambient vibration measurements and photogrammetric acquisitions. We installed seismic sensors both in the scarp area and in the gullies, in which the material deposits, in order to study variations in seismic parameters before the triggering of movements. By combining these seismic measurements with regular photogrammetric acquisitions, we determine slope erosion rates and evaluate the material volumes likely to be affected by debris flows.