An aerial inventory of rock glacier distribution and activity level assessment in Banff and Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Abstract:

Rock glaciers are perennially frozen masses of ice and debris that creep downslope under the weight of gravity. These features are often tongue-shaped, lobate landforms containing longitudinal or transverse flow structures, with a surface that consists of poorly sorted, angular, rock debris. Although rock glaciers are abundant geomorphological features in the alpine periglacial environments of the Alberta Rocky Mountains, their spatial distribution and characteristics are rather unknown. Over 500 intact (active/inactive) rock glaciers were identified within the study area, as well as over 100 features requiring further validation of surface kinematics and morphometric quantification using DInSAR. Aspect was found to be a topographic parameter that strongly influences rock glacier distribution in this region, as most features were found to occur on the North and Northeastern facing slopes. The manual inventorying of the features was done using high-resolution satellite imagery that is available through ArcGIS Online and Google Earth. As rock glaciers contain frozen fresh water and can be potential geohazards, inventories are crucial in the assessment of the activity status of these landforms. The derived rock glacier classification method developed a proof of concept within a small area that verifies the applicability of this method at a regional scale. This work represents the rational evaluation of suitability to detect rock glaciers using this method. Which can then be applied in various regions to determine further methodological improvements, as well as the identification of other variables that attribute to rock glacier formation/occurrence.