Gelifraction: how mountainsides can collapse

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Freeze-thaw, also known as gelifraction or cryoclasty is the name of a type of erosion which can collapse mountainsides through freezing and unfreezing of water. It is becoming more frequent due to climate change, as this videographic explains. VIDEOGRAPHIC

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00:00 [music]

00:07 Gelly fraction, sometimes known as cryoclasti, is the name of a type of erosion, which can

00:12 collapse mountainsides through freezing and unfreezing of water.

00:16 When snow falls and transforms into water, it collects in the fissures or large cracks

00:21 along mountain slopes.

00:23 During wintertime or at night, the temperature falls below zero and the water freezes.

00:28 This volume increases, which enlarges the cracks.

00:32 The process repeats itself each time the water melts and refreezes.

00:36 The fissures continue to expand until they become too large.

00:41 The binding force of the ice ceases to function and the blocks of rock separate, causing rock

00:46 falls and landslides.

00:50 Zones which experience gelly fraction are those which are frequently exposed to temperatures

00:54 below zero.

00:56 With global warming, this phenomenon could become more frequent at higher altitudes.

01:00 [music]

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