Debris flow behaviour and travel distance: Col du Sabot, France

Abstract

The physical characteristics and behaviour of a small-magnitude debris flow are reported for an event at Col du Sabot, France. The event occurred on a high alpine meadow. Entrainment and deposition took place along the path, which yielded a relatively small peak cumulative flow volume of nearly 200 m3 and a travel distance of 344 m to the point of terminal deposition. Volume change along the event path, from point of origin, was simulated using the model UBCDFLOW. The model determines travel distance as the point along the path of movement where the cumulative flow volume diminishes to zero. A comparison of the modelled travel distance with the actual distance from field observations shows excellent agreement.