IPA Action Group: Rock glacier inventories and kinematics

The International Permafrost Association (IPA) Action Group (2018-2023) intends to sustain the first steps toward the development of a network dedicated to rock glacier inventorying (mapping) and to promote the integration of permafrost creep rate (rock glacier velocity) as a new associated parameter to Essential Climate Variable (ECV) Permafrost within the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) initiative supported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), characterizing the evolution of mountain permafrost on the global scale. 

The Action Group currently consists of a network of 195 people from 25 countries. If you are interested in participating, please join the mailing list.

• Objectives of the Action Group

  The Action Group intends to sustain the first steps toward developing of a network dedicated to rock glacier inventorying (mapping) and worldwide monitoring, along with the definition of new standards.

  More specifically, the Action Group aims to coordinate efforts to:

  • define widely accepted standard guidelines for inventorying and mapping rock glaciers, including information on the activity rate,
  • promote the use of satellite SAR interferometry (e.g. Sentinel data) for monitoring rock glacier activity at a regional scale and define appropriate standards and guidelines,
  • integrate as far as possible local-scale monitoring datasets based on aerial (photogrammetric) and terrestrial geodetic surveys,
  • initiate the development of a worldwide rock glacier database, including kinematics,
  • set up standard guidelines for selecting an appropriate number of rock glaciers per region that can be then used to assess temporal trends with decadal to intra-decadal time steps,
  • build up and manage a web platform for visualization and open data access.

   

   

• Organization of the Action Group

  The basic idea of the Action Group is to bring together researchers for coordinating efforts, regrouping knowledge and data in a single place (open access database), as well as to define consensual baselines for inventorying rock glaciers and including kinematics information.

  The co-authors of this abstract have agreed to participate in the core scientific group of the Action Group during its initial phase.  Everyone is welcome to participate in the project and can sign up on the mailing list at any time.

  The Action Group is chaired by Reynald Delaloye (University of Fribourg, Switzerland).

  A committee was constituted in September 2019 at the Workshop I to conduct the development of the activities related to the Rock Glacier Inventory (RoGI) part of the Action Group (Task 1), namely (more members have joined since 2019):

  • Xavier Bodin (EDYTEM, France)
  • Francesco Brardinoni (University of Bologna, Italy)
  • Reynald Delaloye (University of Fribourg, Switzerland)
  • Christophe Lambiel (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
  • Shelley MacDonell (CEAZA, Chile)
  • Lucas Ruiz (IANIGLA, Argentina)
  • Line Rouyet (NORCE, Norway)
  • Alessandro Cicoira (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
  • Yan Hu (Chinese University of Hong Kong, China)
  • Mishelle Wehbe (University of Lethbridge, Canada)
  • Nicole Schaffer (CEAZA, Chile)

  A second committee was constituted in February 2020 at the Workshop II to conduct the activities related to the Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV) GCOS ECV Permafrost part of the Action Group (Task 2), namely (more members have joined since 2020):

  • Leif Anderson (University of Utah, USA)
  • Chloé Barboux (University of Fribourg, Switzerland)
  • Xavier Bodin (EDYTEM, France)
  • Alessandro Cicoira (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
  • Reynald Delaloye (University of Fribourg, Switzerland)
  • Isabelle Gärtner-Roer (University of Zurich, Switzerland – IPA Vice-President)
  • Christophe Lambiel (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
  • Cécile Pellet (University of Fribourg, PERMOS, Switzerland)
  • Line Rouyet (NORCE, Norway)
  • Philippe Schoeneich (University of Grenoble, France – GTN-P Steering Committee)
  • Gernot Seier (AIRlabs, Austria)
  • Julie Wee (University of Fribourg, Switzerland)

  Admission to these committees is closed.

• Tasks

  During the kick-off meeting (EUCOP 5 Chamonix), attendees supported the proposal of structuring the Action Group activities into three main Tasks and subsequent Sub-Tasks as follows:

  Task 1: Definition of widely accepted standard guidelines for inventorying (mapping) rock glaciers, including indications of the activity rate

  • Agreement on a “working” definition of rock glaciers (what do we want/need to inventory?)
  • Standards for inventorying (definition of key attributes), e.g. point location, outlining, etc. -> Inventorying strategy
  • Practical guidelines for inventorying rock glaciers (e.g. also including the use of kinematics)

   

  Task 2: Generating rock glacier velocity time series in a climate-oriented perspective, meaning data records can contribute to the new product of the GCOS Essential Climate Variable (ECV) Permafrost.

  • Promoting the use of satellite SAR interferometry, e.g. Sentinel-1 data, but more generally remote sensing data, for monitoring the rock glacier activity at regional scales and defining appropriate standards and guidelines
  • Integrate as far as possible local-scale monitoring data based on aerial and terrestrial geodetic surveys
  • Setting up of standard guidelines for selecting an appropriate number of rock glaciers per region that can be then used to assess temporal trends with decadal to intra-decadal time steps (product for ECV Permafrost)

   

  Task 3: Operational development of a database/web platform

  • Initiating the development of a worldwide rock glacier database, including kinematics
  • Build up and manage a web platform for visualization and open data access
• Timeline and activities

  Workshop III will take place in Puigcerdà (Catalonia, Spain) on 17 June 2023 during the EUCOP 2023. Check out the preliminary program here

  RGIK scientific committees meeting took place in Fribourg (Switzerland) & Online on 24–25 November 2022. Read more

  Workshop II took place in Fribourg (Switzerland) on 11–13 February 2020. Read more

  Workshop I took place in Evolène (Switzerland) on 23–27 September 2019. Read more

  Pre-workshop took place in Chambéry (France) on 20 March 2019. Read more

  The Action Group is active from mid-2018 to mid-2023. It was launched at EUCOP5 in Chamonix (France) in June 2018. Read more

• Outcomes (baseline concepts and guidelines)

  Standard guidelines for inventorying rock glaciers (Task 1)

  Baseline concepts (v4.2.2) [31.03.2022]

  Practical concepts (v2.0) [11.04.2022]

   

  Kinematics as an optional attribute in standardized rock glacier inventories (Task 1)

  Baseline concepts (v3.0.1) [22.07.2022]

  Practical guidelines: rock glacier inventory using InSAR (kinematic approach) (v3.0.2)  [11.06.2020]

   

  Rock glacier velocity as an associated parameter of ECV Permafrost (Task 2)

  Baseline concepts (v3.1) [16.05.2022]

  Practical concepts (v1.1) [16.03.2023]

• RGIK community surveys

  The Rock glacier inventories and kinematics (RGIK) Action Group is launching two surveys to compile worldwide overviews of existing/planned Rock Glacier Inventories (RoGI) and Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV) time series. The purpose of these surveys is to get an estimation of what exists in our community as well as an overview of existing/planned RoGIs and RGVs, no matter their format/content. The results will be used to create general maps showing the locations of the RoGIs and RGVs, their status and some additional information. The collected information will also be used for the finalization of the Action Group guidelines and the development of standardized data products.

  Please use the following links to access the surveys:

  Rock Glacier Inventories (RoGI)

  Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV)

• Tools

  RoGI exercise in the Goms Valley (Switzerland)

  RoGI Goms GIS exercise (V1.0) [28.03.2023]

   

News

New RoGI exercise in the Goms Valley (Switzerland) 

[28.03.2023] We are pleased to announce that a new RoGI exercise is now available. This exercise has two main objectives: (1) to apply and illustrate the RoGI workflow and (2) to provide a training exercise on how to prepare a RoGI. This is an "all-in-one" GIS exercise and all data and instructions are available on the zip file. All you need to do is: (1) download the dedicated file (RoGI_Goms_GIS_exercise_v1.zip), (2) unzip it, (3) read the READ_ME_FIRST.txt file and follow the instructions.

RoGI Goms  GIS exercise (V1.0)

RGV practical concepts (version 1) open for comment

[16.03.2023] The first version of "Rock Glacier Velocity as an associated parameter of ECV Permafrost - Practical Concepts V1.1" is now ready and awaiting your review, feedback and suggestions by April 14, 2023. This document is an extension of the existing baseline concepts (v3.1). It specifies the technique-independent concepts needed to measure and compute rock glacier velocity and provides product requirements based on GCOS monitoring principles. Separate documents, called "factsheets," are being developed by three working groups for InSAR, optical imaging, and in situ techniques.

Practical concepts (v1.1)

Pre-registration Workshop III

[16.02.2023] The pre-registration (on-site or online options) for participation in the IPA Action Group Rock glacier inventories and kinematics Workshop III is now open (read more). The Workshop III will take place during the EUCOP 2023 in Puigcerdà (Catalonia, Spain) on 17 June 2023.

Pre-registration Form

RGIK seminar series (2023)

[09.01.2023] The program for the RGIK seminar series for the first semester 2023 is ready: Benjamin Robson "Glacier and rock glacier changes in the La Laguna catchment" (22.02.2023), Benjamin Lehmann "Rock glaciers and long-term geomorphological evolution" (29.03.2023), Lea Hartl/Vivien Zahs "Multi-method monitoring of cyclical destabilisation of Aeusseres Hochebenkar Rock Glacier" (26.04.2023) and Cécile Pellet "Operational monitoring of rock glacier velocity: insights from the PERMOS network" (31.05.2023).

You can find the seminar program here.

Workshop III at EUCOP 2023

[21.07.2022] We are pleased to announce that the IPA Action group RGIK Workshop III will take place in Puigcerdà (Catalonia, Spain) on 17 June 2023, during the next European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP 2023). Also, we are happy to advertise that the session entitled “Open Session on Rock Glaciers” has been approved for the EUCOP 2023. The session will be chaired by Cécile Pellet, Line Rouyet and Yan Hu. Please stay tuned for more information about the workshop and the call for abstracts for the conference.