All posts by François Noël

4th International Symposium on Rock Slope Stability 2018

November 20, 2018Blog2018, RSS2018François Noël

Part of the Risk Analysis Group participated to the International Symposium on Rock Slope Stability 2018 in Chambéry, France, on 13 to 15 November 2018. It was a great opportunity to exchange about many topics related to natural hazards and rockfalls. The group presented two contributions as first authors whose titles are below:

1 Keynote

About the “rockfall” failure hazard assessment. Michel Jaboyedoff et al.

1 Oral

Coupling 3D rockfall propagation to the spatio-temporal frequency for a realistic rockfall hazard mapping. Cécile D’Almeida et al.

The symposium concluded with very interesting field visits where we did learn about the history of the Mont Granier and its previous rock collapses and about the different instabilities that affects the gorges of Arly and how the local institutions manage them.

7th Canadian Geohazard Conference

June 24, 2018Blog2018, CGS, GeohazardFrançois Noël

Part of the Risk Analysis Group participated to the 7^th Canadian Geohazard Conference from the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) in Canmore, Canada, on 3 to 6 June 2018. It was a great opportunity to exchange about many topics related to natural hazards, geotechnics and rockfalls. The group presented four contributions whose titles are below:

2 Orals

Real-size rockfall experiment: How different rockfall simulation impact models perform when confronted with reality? Noël F., Wyser E., Jaboyedoff, Derron M.-H., Cloutier C., Turmel D. and Locat J.
Using Average Velocities Of Deep-Seated Landslides To Develop Intensity-Frequency Scenarios. Jaboyedoff M., Aye Z.A., & Derron M.-H., Artigue V. and Gerber C.

2 Posters

Automated decision sight distance evaluation based on airborne topographical data for risk management along linear infrastructures. Cloutier C., Locat J., Noël F. and Jaboyedoff M.
Comparison between three rock slope hazard assessment methodologies based on the Åknes case study from Norway. Oppikofer T., Hermanns R.L., Jaboyedoff M., Derron M.-H., Brideau M.-A., Jakob M., Sturzenegger M.

The conference also included a very interesting field visit where we did learn about the flooding that happened in Canmore in 2013 and how the local institutions did respond them. The trip continued with the visit of local sites with mitigation measures and concluded with a dinner on the Sulphur Mountain where we could enjoy a gorgeous view on the Rockies near Banff while exchanging with the other participants.

Fieldwork in the Yosemite Valley during October 2016

December 10, 2016Blog, NewsFrançois Noël

Antoine Guérin, François Noël and Emmanuel Wyser of the Risk Analysis Group (UNIL) went to Yosemite Valley from the October 6^th to October 20^th, 2016. They were there to pursue the yearly terrestrial LiDAR (TLS) acquisition of 3D model of most major cliffs (eg. El Capitan, Royal Arches, Three Brothers, Cathedral Rocks, Half Dome, etc.). This project was initiated by the University of Lausanne and financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The park’s geologist Dr. Greg Stock, of the National Park Service (NPS), and Dr. Brian Collins from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborate to the project.

The 63 TLS acquisitions were performed during about two weeks, when there was no rain or fog. Pictures of the cliffs were taken using a telephoto lens and a robotic camera mount to construct detailed gigapan mosaic pictures. The scree slope at the foot of Rhombus Wall was also characterized.