A team led by Professor Lothar Schulte studies the effects of climate change on landslides and floods in high mountains, with teaching activities in the field with master's degree students.
Last 28 May, a massive landslide of more than ten million cubic metres of rock and ice severely affected Blatten, in Lötstchental (Switzerland), due to the partial collapse of the Kleines Nesthorn peak (3,300 m) and a detachment of the Birch glacier. The mobilized mass obstructed the course of the river Lonza and caused the formation of a lake with a risk of collapse of the natural barrier that generated it, which could trigger a flood of water and materials towards the populations located downstream. The Swiss authorities have activated emergency protocols and evacuated several municipalities.
These episodes were analysed by the FluvAlps-PaleoRisk research group, led by Professor Lothar Schulte, from the Department of Geography of the University of Barcelona. This group has been studying the geomorphological and hydrological processes in the Alps for more than two decades and has contributed significantly to the understanding of natural hazards in high-mountain environments.
According to Professor Schulte, "morphological processes such as landslides or mudflows result from a combination of multiple natural and human factors", including global warming, melting glaciers, permafrost degradation, intense rain and exposure to human settlements. In this sense, the researcher points out that "climate change is not a direct cause, but it acts as a conditioning factor that increases the frequency and intensity of these phenomena".
FluvAlps-PaleoRisk is currently working on the FloodLand project (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities). The project studies the dynamics of floods in cultural mountain river landscapes. Through a combination of sedimentary records, geomorphological mapping, documentary sources, lichen analysis, dendrogeomorphology and climate series analysis with artificial intelligence, the project seeks to understand the relationship between climate, floods and human activities throughout history.
At the same time, from 4 to 13 June, Professor Schulte will give a field trip with students of the UB Master's degree in Spatial Planning and Environmental Management and the University of Lleida's Master's degree in Mountain Areas Management. This activity, under the Natural Hazards subject, allows students to study cases of recent historical impacts in several Swiss Alpine valleys. Despite the restricted access to the Lötschental, similar phenomena will be studied in other places such as the Gastern, Kander and Hasli valleys.
Schulte notes that "local risk culture, coordinated actions between administrations and researchers, and knowledge transfer based on historical and geographical studies are key to minimizing the impact of these phenomena". This collaboration "has made it possible to drastically reduce the number of victims despite the extreme violence of the natural processes in the Swiss Alps", he adds.
