Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Collapse at the eastern Eiger flank in the Swiss Alps

Abstract

Landslides are a significant natural hazard in mountainous regions1 and are often triggered by external factors, such as earthquakes, rainfall, permafrost melting or retreat of glaciers2. A large landslide occurred in the Swiss Alps on 13 July 2006, when portions of an immense rock spur on the eastern flank of the Eiger peak3 collapsed. Here we use field observations and terrestrial laser scanning data to record and quantify the relative motion along the various blocks of rock that form this spur. The data show that during the year of observation the blocks moved relative to one another by up to tens of metres along fractures that can be related to pre-existing planes of weakness. Rates of motion and deformation were high throughout July 2006, particularly in the northern part of the spur that partially collapsed on 13 July. The rates decreased considerably during the subsequent months, although a slight increase was noted in June and July 2007. These observations are consistent with instability of the spur initiated by subsidence of a single block at the rear, which acted as a wedge and disintegrated over time owing to loss of lateral confinement.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Geographical setting of the 2006 Eiger rockslide.
Figure 2: Comparison of sequential TLS point clouds.
Figure 3: Spatial orientations of main discontinuity sets and displacement vectors.
Figure 4: Profile across the Eiger rockslide.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Evans, S. G. & Clague, J. J. Recent climatic change and catastrophic geomorphic processes in mountain environments. Geomorphology 10, 107–128 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Wieczorek, G. F. in Landslides Investigation and Mitigation (eds Turner, A. K. & Schuster, R. L.) 76–90 (Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington DC, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Hopkin, M. Eiger loses face in massive rockfall. News@Nature<http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060717/full/060717-3.html> (2006).

  4. Petrascheck, A. & Hegg, C. (eds) Hochwasser 2000 - Les crues 2000 (Federal Office for Water and Geology, Berne, Switzerland, 2002).

  5. Beniston, M. August 2005 intense rainfall event in Switzerland: Not necessarily an analog for strong convective events in a greenhouse climate. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L05701 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Munich, Re. Topics Geo - Annual Review: Natural Catastrophes 2005 (Munich Reinsurance Company, Munich, Germany, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Liniger, M. Die Herausforderung der Gefahrenprognose bei Massenbewegungen: Rutsch- und Sturzprozesse Markus Liniger. Bull. Appl. Geol. 11, 75–88 (2006).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Slob, S. & Hack, R. in Engineering Geology for Infrastructure Planning in Europe. A European Perspective (eds Hack, R., Azzam, R. & Charlier, R.) 179–190 (Springer, Berlin, 2004).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Rosser, N. J., Petley, D. N., Lim, M., Dunning, S. A. & Allison, R. J. Terrestrial laser scanning for monitoring the process of hard rock coastal cliff erosion. Q. J. Eng. Geol. 38, 363–375 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Abellán, A., Vilaplana, J. M. & Martínez, J. Application of a long-range terrestrial laser scanner to a detailed rockfall study at Vall de Núria (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain). Eng. Geol. 88, 136–148 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bitelli, G., Dubbini, M. & Zanutta, A. Proc. XXth ISPRS Congress, Istanbul Vol. 35, 246–251 (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Istanbul, Turkey, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Rosser, N. J., Petley, D. N., Dunning, S. A., Lim, M. & Ball, S. Rock mechanics: Meeting society’s challenges and demands. in Proc. 1st Canada–U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium, Vancouver, Canada, May 27–31, 2007 (eds Eberhardt, E., Stead, D. & Morrison, E.) 113–120 (Taylor and Francis, London, 2007).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Bauer, A., Paar, G. & Kaltenböck, A. in Geo-information for Disaster Management (eds van Oosterom, P., Zlatanova, S. & Fendel, E. M.) 393–406 (Springer, Berlin, 2005).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  14. Derron, M.-H., Jaboyedoff, M. & Blikra, L. H. Preliminary assessment of rockslide and rockfall hazards using a DEM (Oppstadhornet, Norway). Nat. Haz. Earth Syst. Sci. 5, 285–292 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Schulz, W. H. Landslide susceptibility revealed by LiDAR imagery and historical records, Seattle, Washington. Eng. Geol. 89, 67–87 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Agliardi, F. & Crosta, G. B. High resolution three-dimensional numerical modelling of rockfalls. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. 40, 455–471 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. McKean, J. & Roering, J. Objective landslide detection and surface morphology mapping using high-resolution airborne laser altimetry. Geomorphology 57, 331–351 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. GK/SCNAT & VAW/ETHZ. The Swiss Glaciers, Yearbooks of the Glaciological Commission of the Swiss Academy of Science (SAS). (http://glaciology.ethz.ch/swiss-glaciers) (Labratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) of ETH Zürich, 2006).

  19. Messerli, B., Messerli, P., Pfister, C. & Zumbuhl, H. J. Fluctuations of climate and glaciers in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, and their geoecological significance, 1600 to 1975. Arct., Alp. Res. 10, 246–260 (1978).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. OcCC. Climate Change and Switzerland in 2050. Impacts on Environment, Society and Economy (OcCC/ProClim-, Bern, Switzerland, 2007).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Sartori, M., Baillifard, F., Jaboyedoff, M. & Rouiller, J. D. Kinematics of the 1991 Randa rockslides (Valais, Switzerland). Nat. Haz. Earth Syst. Sci. 3, 423–433 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Norrish, N. I. & Wyllie, D. C. in Landslides Investigation and Mitigation (eds Turner, A. K. & Schuster, R. L.) 391–425 (Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington DC, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Eberhardt, E., Stead, D. & Coggan, J. S. Numerical analysis of initiation and progressive failure in natural rock slopes—the 1991 Randa rockslide. Int. J. Rock Mech. Min. 41, 69–87 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Mencl, V. Mechanics of landslides with non-circular slip surfaces with special reference to the Vaiont slide. Geotechnique 16, 329–337 (1966).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Coe, J. A. et al. Seasonal movement of the Slumgullion landslide determined from Global Positioning System surveys and field instrumentation, July 1998–March 2002. Eng. Geol. 68, 67–101 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Jaboyedoff, M., Baillifard, F., Bardou, E. & Girod, F. The effect of weathering on Alpine rock instability. Q. J. Eng. Geol. 37, 95–103 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Crosta, G. B. & Agliardi, F. Failure forecast for large rock slides by surface displacement measurements. Can. Geotech. J. 40, 176–191 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Lichti, D. D. & Jamtsho, S. Angular resolution of terrestrial laser scanners. The Photogrammetric Record 21, 141–160 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Guarnieri, A., Pirotti, F., Pontin, M. & Vettore, A. 3rd IAG/12th FIG Symp., Baden, Austria (International Association of Geodesy & International Federation of Surveyors, Baden, Austria, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Lindenbergh, R. & Pfeifer, N. Proc. 7th Conf. Optical 3D Measurement Techniques, Vienna, Austria Vol. 2, 61–70 (Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank A. Pedrazzini, M. Frayssines, M. Dessimoz, J. Travelletti and R. Minoia from the University of Lausanne, P. Städelin and D. Weder from Geotest AG, C. Reymond and C. Rochat for assistance in the field and G. B. Crosta from the University of Milano—Bicocca and D. Stead from the Simon Fraser University for suggestions and comments on the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

T.O. acquired and analysed the terrestrial laser scanner data. T.O. and M.J. elaborated the model of the instability and drafted the paper. All the authors contributed to discussing the results and finalizing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thierry Oppikofer.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary figures S1-S3 and table S1 (PDF 2109 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Oppikofer, T., Jaboyedoff, M. & Keusen, HR. Collapse at the eastern Eiger flank in the Swiss Alps. Nature Geosci 1, 531–535 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo258

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo258

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing