Quantifying weather conditions for rock fall hazard management |
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Authors: | Renato Macciotta C Derek Martin Tom Edwards David M Cruden Tim Keegan |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada;2. Canadian National Railway, Edmonton, Canada;3. Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd, Edmonton, Canada |
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Abstract: | Relationships between weather conditions and rock fall occurrences have been acknowledged in the past, but seldom have such relationships been quantified and published. Rock falls are frequent hazards along transportation corridors through mountainous terrain, and predicting hazardous rock fall periods based on weather conditions can enhance mitigation approaches. We investigate the relationship between weather conditions and rock fall occurrences along a railway section through the Canadian Cordillera. Monthly weather-rock fall trends suggest that the seasonal variation in rock fall frequency is associated with cycles of freezing and thawing during the winter months. The intensity of precipitation and freeze–thaw cycles for different time-windows was then compared against recorded rock falls on a case-by-case approach. We found that periods when 90% of rock falls occurred could be predicted by the 3-day antecedent precipitation and freeze–thaw cycles. Some rock falls not predicted by this 3-day antecedent approach occurred during the first two weeks of spring thaw. These findings are used to propose a rock fall hazard chart, based on readily available weather data, to aid railway operators in their decision-making regarding safe operations. |
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Keywords: | Rock falls hazard exposure slope stability |
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