Bedrock Fractures Control Groundwater-Driven Mountain Slope Deformations

Seasonal deformation of mountain rock slopes can be driven by groundwater infiltration and depletion. Such processes could explain our field observation in the Aletsch Valley, Switzerland, where GNSS-derived 3D annual displacement amplitudes reach 3.4 cm. However, the physical mechanisms behind such groundwater-driven surface displacements are not well understood. Here, we develop a fully coupled hydromechanical model to simulate the relevant processes in a valley slope embedded with numerous fractures of variable sizes. The magnitude and orientation of transient annual slope surface displacement obtained from our model are in overall agreement with the field observations. The key geological factors controlling the type and magnitude of reversible mountain slope deformations are fracture network geometry, fracture aperture, and regional stress field. We show that the heterogeneity and anisotropy of bedrock hydromechanical responses, originating from depth-dependent variations of fracture properties, play a critical role in groundwater recharge and valley slope deformation. During recharge events, pore pressure perturbations migrate downward from the groundwater table and toward the receiving stream and the deep subsurface. This process driven by pressure diffusion and poroelastic stressing develops in the subsurface with a great reach of up to a few kilometers, called critical hydromechanical response zone, and controls surface deformation patterns. During groundwater recession, this hydromechanical response zone expands downward and ground surface displacement vectors rotate upwards. Our results suggest that slope surface deformation can inform about subsurface permeability structures and pore pressure fluctuations, which have important implications for understanding groundwater flow in fractured bedrock slopes.

Automated summary

Seasonal deformation of mountain rock slopes can be driven by groundwater infiltration and depletion, with fracture network geometry, fracture aperture, and regional stress field being the key geological factors controlling the type and magnitude of reversible slope deformations. Heterogeneity and anisotropy of bedrock hydromechanical responses also play a critical role in groundwater recharge and slope deformation.