Geomorphology is the study of landforms, their genesis and evolution. Understanding the processes leading to the development of the present relief and predicting future changes are the major aims of this discipline.
These goals are achieved by combining field investigation, monitoring, remote sensing, laboratory analysis and numerical modelling. The geomorphology research group at the University of Fribourg is active on many sites centered within the Swiss Alps, but also in the Prealps and the Jura mountains.
Assessing the dynamics and the evolution of mountain slopes retains its main attention, especially in periglacial regions permafrost. The purpose of geomorphological mapping is to provide information on the geometry of landform shapes, the nature and structure of shallow formations, the activity of processes and, as much as possible, the relative age of landforms.
It is an indispensable preliminary tool to correctly localize the sites on which more expensive and more demanding measurements could be realized. Geodetic measurements allow to obtain the precise location of marked points on the ground or permanent installations. By repeating the positioning operation in time, this method makes it possible to determine the velocity of ground surface movements. The repeated measurement of points marked on the ground using a differential GPS GNSS makes it possible to determine the field vectors of surface displacement on the ground.
This method is mainly used for monitoring rock glaciers and landslides kinematics. Measurements are done regularly, usually one to several times a year, over a network of up to more than points. The longest continuous observation series carried out by the Geography Unit dates back to rock glaciers of Becs-de-Bosson and Aget.
