FN Archimer Export Format
PT J
TI Does global warming favour the occurrence of extreme floods in European Alps? First evidences from a NW Alps proglacial lake sediment record
BT 
AF WILHELM, B.
   ARNAUD, Fabien
   ENTERS, D.
   ALLIGNOL, F.
   LEGAZ, Aurelie
   MAGAND, Olivier
   REVILLON, Sidonie
   GIGUET-COVEX, C.
   MALET, E.
AS 1:1,3;2:3;3:3,5;4:3;5:3;6:4;7:2,3;8:3;9:;
FF 1:;2:;3:;4:;5:;6:;7:;8:;9:;
C1 EDYTEM, F-73376 Le Bourget Du Lac, France.
   IFREMER, Pouzane, France.
   Lab Environm Dynam & Terr Montagne, Le Bourget Du Lac, France.
   Univ Grenoble, Lab Glaciol & Geophys Environm, St Martin Dheres, France.
   Univ Bremen, Inst Geog, GEOPOLAR, D-28359 Bremen, Germany.
C2 EDYTEM, FRANCE
   UBO, FRANCE
   EDYTEM, FRANCE
   UNIV GRENOBLE, FRANCE
   UNIV BREMEN, GERMANY
IF 3.63
TC 40
UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00089/20011/17837.pdf
LA English
DT Article
AB Flood hazard is expected to increase in the context of global warming. However, long time-series of climate and gauge data at high-elevation are too sparse to assess reliably the rate of recurrence of such events in mountain areas. Here paleolimnological techniques were used to assess the evolution of frequency and magnitude of flash flood events in the North-western European Alps since the Little Ice Age (LIA). The aim was to document a possible effect of the post-19(th) century global warming on torrential floods frequency and magnitude. Altogether 56 flood deposits were detected from grain size and geochemical measurements performed on gravity cores taken in the proglacial Lake Blanc (2170 m a.s.l., Belledonne Massif, NW French Alps). The age model relies on radiometric dating (Cs-137 and Am-241), historic lead contamination and the correlation of major flood- and earthquake-triggered deposits, with recognized occurrences in historical written archives. The resulting flood calendar spans the last ca 270 years (AD 1740-AD 2007). The magnitude of flood events was inferred from the accumulated sediment mass per flood event and compared with reconstructed or homogenized datasets of precipitation, temperature and glacier variations. Whereas the decennial flood frequency seems to be independent of seasonal precipitation, a relationship with summer temperature fluctuations can be observed at decadal timescales. Most of the extreme flood events took place since the beginning of the 20(th) century with the strongest occurring in 2005. Our record thus suggests climate warming is favouring the occurrence of high magnitude torrential flood events in high-altitude catchments.
PY 2012
PD AUG
SO Climatic Change
SN 0165-0009
PU Springer
VL 113
IS 3-4
UT 000306337100001
BP 563
EP 581
DI 10.1007/s10584-011-0376-2
ID 20011
ER

EF