Original Article
Landslides Hedda Breien . Fabio V. De Blasio . Anders Elverhøi . Kaare Høeg
DOI 10.1007/s10346-008-0118-3
Received: 2 December 2006
Accepted: 9 January 2008 Erosion and morphology of a debris flow caused
© Springer-Verlag 2008
by a glacial lake outburst flood, Western Norway
Abstract This article documents a 240,000-m3 debris flow
resulting from a glacial lake outburst flood in Fjærland, Western
Norway, May 8, 2004. The event started when a glacial lake
breached a moraine ridge. The ensuing debris flow was able to
erode material along its path, increasing in volume from about
25,000 to 240,000 m3 before depositing about 3 km from its starting
point. Field investigations, pre- and post-flow aerial photographs
as well as airborne laser scanning (LIDAR) were used to describe
and investigate the flow. The most striking and unusual feature of
this case study is the very pronounced erosion and bulking. We
have made a detailed study of this aspect. Erosion and entrainment
is quantified and the final volume of the debris flow is determined.
We also present geometrical and sedimentological features of the
final deposit. Based on the Fjærland data, we suggest that a self-
sustaining mechanism might partly explain the extreme growth of
debris flows traversing soft terrain.
Keywords Debris flow . Erosion . Entrainment .
Glacier hazard . Fjærland . Norway
Introduction
Surface water flow is one of the most common triggering
mechanisms for debris flows in high mountain regions (Brooks
et al. 2005; Tognacca et al. 2000). Debris flows commonly result
from excess rainfall or snowmelt in combination with loose
erodible material in steep valleys. A special form of this mechanism
is the low-frequency, high-discharge drainage of glacial lake
outburst floods (GLOFs), which represents a major hazard in
mountainous areas like the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes
(Cenderelli et al. 2003; Kattelmann 2003; Vilímek et al. 2005;
Kershaw et al. 2005). In Peru, 30 glacier disasters have killed 30,000
people since 1941 (Carey 2004). Similar and even larger events may
occur when man-made dams fail. The high-velocity water masses
are capable of eroding and transporting enormous amounts of
sediment when they flow over unlithified deposits, turning the
original flood into a hyperconcentrated flow and/or a debris flow
attaining a very long runout.
In this paper we examine a debris flow that occurred in
Fjærland, Western Norway (Fig. 1), on May 8, 2004. A failure of a
natural moraine ridge dam and a resulting outburst flood from a
glacial lake quickly developed into a debris flow, which ran down
the 3−km long Tverrdalen valley and ended in Supphelledalen, the
main valley below (Figs. 1 and 2). We gathered data from the
affected area by means of precise airborne laser scanning, pre- and
post-flow aerial photogrammetry, field observations and witness
reports.
The Fjærland case study provides valuable information on a
poorly understood aspect of debris flow dynamics, the bulking of
the flowing mass. This event was characterised by significant
erosion, mainly incorporating till and older debris flow deposits.
The eroded material was entrained in the bulk of the debris flow,
increasing its solid volume by a factor of about ten.
Downslope volume enlargement of debris flows has been
documented in many case studies. Berti et al. (1999) estimated a
ten-fold volume enlargement in the Dolomites and Vandine and
Bovis (2002) even suggest that debris flows may increase in volume
by a factor of 50. O’Connor et al. (2001) describe several outflows
from neoglacial moraine dammed lakes in the Cascades (USA) that
rapidly developed into debris flows through erosion of moraine
material. Nevertheless, few researchers have quantified the erosion
and entrainment volumes and processes, and fewer still have
proposed physical explanations for extreme bulking rates.
An estimate of the amount of entrained material incorporated
by a debris flow requires that the pre- and post-flow topography of
the affected area is precisely determined. In the Fjærland case, we
were able to determine the difference in terrain elevation before
and after the event with high precision, allowing us to quantify with
reasonable accuracy (± 10%) the erosion volumes and patterns.
Material entrainment is a complex process and there is a need
for empirical data and an understanding of the physics behind the
phenomenon, to facilitate development of dynamic models capable
of accounting for these processes. This paper focuses on
documentation of the flow. The observations are used to discuss
factors contributing to erosion and deposition and provide the
background for a more in-depth analysis.
Description of event and study area
Fjærland is located in the western part of Norway, 250 km north of
Bergen, in a tributary fjord to Sognefjord (Fig. 1). This part of
Norway is an area of steep mountains (1,000–1,800 m.a.s.l.) rising
from long and narrow fjords. The valleys in the area are covered by
easily erodible Quaternary till and older debris-flow material,
typically a few metres thick, thickest at the lowest elevations.
The event in Fjærland on May 8, 2004 developed from rapid
breaching of a neoglacial moraine ridge at 1,000 m.a.s.l. (Figs. 1, 2
and 3a), which caused sudden drainage of a lake. The lake,
impounded by Flatbreen (an outlet glacier from mainland
Europe’s largest icecap Jostedalsbreen) on one side and an arcuate
end moraine on the other, exists due to retreat of the glacier from
its maximum extent (1750 AD).
The lake normally develops a drainage system through ice
channels directed towards the ice fall in the east (Figs. 1 and 2)
during autumn (Aarseth et al. 1988). The sudden flood of 2004 took
the opposite direction, breaching the western end of the moraine
ridge. The event occurred early in the season, before the normal
drainage system had become established.
The resulting flood travelled across a sandur before it developed
into a debris flow that rushed through the steep and narrow
Landslides
 Original Article
Fig. 1 Overview of western part of Norway and detailed map of affected area
below. Meltwater drained from the glacier via the lake and through Tverrdalen
(southwest). Normal drainage route is south–east through the ice fall towards
Supphella.
tributary valley (Tverrdalen) and ended in a bouldery fan deposit
where Tverrdalen meets the flat floor of the main valley
(Supphelledalen) at around 20 m.a.s.l. (Figs. 1 and 2). The debris-
flow route has an average gradient of 17° (Fig. 4), but varied from
around 4° in the uppermost stretch along to the top of a 60°-steep
rock wall, thereafter slanting towards 12°. The runout distance was
about 3,000 m (to the boulder fan), with a total descent of around
1,000 m. Downstream of the fan, floodwater and finer material
inundated 250,000 m2 of the valley’s farmland. Tverrdalen and the
area around the glacier is a hiking area and the debris flow
damaged the most popular path. There were no casualties partly
because the event occurred in between the winter and summer
seasons.
Field and historic evidence reveal that similar, but smaller,
debris flows occurred in the same gully in at least two earlier events
(1924 and 1947). These debris flows are presumed to have also been
triggered by sudden drainage from the glacier lake.
Methods and results
The flooding and debris flow event of Fjærland was investigated
using the methods listed below: 1) eyewitness interviews, 2) field
investigation, 3) remote sensing (air photos [pre and post event]
and laser scanning [post event]).
Landslides
Eye witness interviews
Interviews with eyewitnesses and local residents have provided
graphic accounts of the 2004 flow and information about earlier
events (1947 and 1924) as well. An old diary written by a local
inhabitant (now deceased) documents a similar, but smaller, flood
and debris flow in 1947 that followed the same stream gully as the
2004 event. This flow was probably also caused by a GLOF. The
existence of a smaller scar in the moraine is clearly seen when
examining photos from the period after 1947.
The 2004 flow was witnessed from several places, providing
observations from different angles and during different stages of
the debris flow. One person witnessed the event from a cabin
(Flatbrehytta, Fig. 3a) on the cliff close to the moraine ridge
(1,000 m.a.s.l., 300 m from the moraine); the other observations
were made from the main valley Supphelledalen; close to the fan,
and 1 km downstream from the fan.
The main eye witness observations are summarised below:
From Flatbrehytta (Figs. 1 and 3a) the observer described a
brown slush flowing over the flat area downstream of the
moraine and developing into a turbulent flow containing blocks
up to 15 cm in diameter as the flow spilled over the cliff (Fig. 3b).
The view from the cliff was good and the eyewitness could see
the farmlands in the main valley, (25 m.a.s.l., 3,500 m travelled
distance), being totally inundated by mud after around 15 min.
From a farm downstream of the position of the fan in
Supphelledalen (Figs. 1, 2 and 3g), the sound and the ground
shaking were the first observations of the event. As the debris-flow
front approached the exit of Tverrdalen it was described by
observers as a 10-m high and >45° steep front of large boulders
moving downslope with a velocity of around 50 km/h. The body of
the flow was more diluted and it had a watery tail. They report 4–5
debris flow pulses, the flow changing direction in the fan area every
few minutes. This observation was also supported by the
eyewitnesses further down the valley. Observers reported that the
total duration was about 45 min.
Field investigations and descriptions
The affected area was thoroughly investigated. The entire debris
flow path was walked and documented by measurements of
scour depths, widths, observations of trimlines, sediment
type, bed rock exposure, etc. (Fig. 3). The fan was subject to
detailed observations of grading and bridging, as well as mea-
surements of block sizes and the extent of the deposit (Figs. 3f–g).
In the inundated area beyond the fan deposit, trenches were
dug to examine whether there were signs of previous debris
flows.
Terrain characteristics and morphology
Evidence of collapse features was found on the glacier adjacent to
the lake, indicating lowering of the glacier surface, a probable
result of sudden subglacial drainage. A shoreline in the snow could
be identified just after the event, showing the maximum lake level
approximately 5 m above the post-event surface and indicating that
the lake area was about 10,000 m2 before the event. The decrease in
the lake surface elevation and area shows that the flow involved a
minimum of 50,000 m3 of water. It is not known whether the lake
also extended under the glacier apron, which would have increased
the volume of water involved.
Fig. 2 Oblique aerial view of the
debris-flow path 3 years after occur-
rence. Indication of where the photos
in Fig 3(a–g) are taken. Photo:
A. Elverhøi
The moraine (Fig. 3a) is arcuate, 650 m long, sharp-crested and
varies in height between 25 and 50 m, with typical slopes around
33°. It is composed of poorly sorted till and stagnant ice.
Geophysical investigations found that the moraine is not ice-
cored. The failure occurred at the west end of the lake and is visible
as a V-shaped channel excavated (around 25,000 m3) across the
moraine, with a maximum width of 35 m and a maximum depth of
15 m. As the water breached the dam it took a 90°-turn, and most of
the coarser moraine material was deposited here, immediately
downstream from the ridge (Fig. 3a).
The first 300 m of the flow path slopes very gently at around
4° (Figs. 3a and 4). This area includes an active sandur delta
downstream of the moraine, where progressively finer sediments
have been deposited by glacial runoff. In August 2004 (3 months
after the debris flow) there was little evidence of the event in this
upper section. This area was covered with snow at the time of the
moraine breach, and the water and sediment masses flowed along
on top of the snow. Thereafter, they descended a 300-m-high rock
face (Figs. 3c and 4), which was mostly bare, although it was
possible to identify the flow track as a wide band where the lichens
and vegetation had been scoured (Fig. 3c).
The main erosion started just downstream of the cliff, at 600 m.
a.s.l. (Figs. 3c and 4). Here the moraine thickness was also greater.
The developing debris flow followed the stream gully down
Tverrdalen. The gradient is steep (25°) in the area just beneath the
cliff. The flow track varies considerably along the route (Table 2),
widening to more than 50 m and scouring to a depth of around 8 m
(Fig. 3d,e). Just upstream of the fan area the debris flow also cut
through and exposed profiles of several older debris-flow deposits.
The deepest erosion was found in the lower parts of the track
(Figs. 3d and 4), where the gradient had eased to 13°. This area is
characterised by being totally scoured, in contrast to the higher
altitude parts where larger boulders remained. The gully changed
from a classical V-shaped river gully to a rectangular trench with
almost vertical sides due to debris flow erosion (Fig. 3d). A revisit
to the valley 3 years later showed that this rectangular debris-flow
gully is changing back to a V-shape.
Depositional pattern
Deposition in the gully started on a slope angle of 12°,
corresponding to a travel distance from the moraine of around
3,000 m, but erosion may have continued to occur beyond this
point.
Boulders of around 1- to 2-m diameter were found on the intact
part of the west flank of the gully (Fig. 3e). These were definitely
moved there during the flow, as they are completely bare of lichen
and were found on the tourist path. Smaller, recently fractured
blocks probably originating from the flow were found between
trees in the forest up to 25 m away from the flow path. The debris-
flow deposit formed a large teardrop-shaped fan enclosing an area
Landslides
 Original Article
Fig. 3 a The debris flow started as a
glacial lake outburst flood breaching
through an end moraine at 1000 m.a.s.
l. Photo: H. Elvehøy. b The masses
continued over the sandur and
descended a cliff close to the cabin
Flatbrehytta (see photo a). Photo:
E. Øygard. c The masses scoured the
300-m high rock face in a wide band.
The main erosion started at the bottom
of the cliff. Photo: A. Elverhøi. d The
debris flow entrained large amounts of
material, and the stream gully devel-
oped almost vertical sides in the till
sediments. Photo: H. Breien. e Typical
erosion depth and width in the lower
part of the track were 8 and 20 m,
respectively. In some places the gully
was scoured to bedrock. Note the
boulders on the gully flank, transported
and left here by the debris flow. The
person in red ring is for scale. Photo:
E. Loe. f The debris flow deposited a
large fan of boulders where the
tributary valley meets the main valley.
A pronounced inverse grading is found
in the fan. Person for scale. Photo:
A. Elverhøi. g Some weeks after the
debris flow the fine deposits still
covered large areas of the nearest
farm’s (Øygard) fields. The boulder fan
also covers the road and a car park for
tourists. Photo: K. Kristensen

of 75,000 m2, about 420-m long and 300-m wide (Fig. 3g).
Boulders uprooted trees and filled the car park and road in the
main valley. One of the largest boulders was found in a flat field
50 m from the outer boundary of the fan, almost 90° off the main
flow direction. The average slope of the fan surface is 8–10°, with
the outer flanks approaching 4°, and the thickness of the deposit
gradually decreases towards the flanks from 5 m in the central
area. A slight consolidation had occurred during the period
between deposition and the field observations, which also
explains why the flow height in the lower parts of the fan
seems to have been higher than the current deposit. According to
eyewitnesses, the flow thickness may have been as much as 10 m
as the debris flow approached the fan area, and this figure is
corroborated by mudlines and damage on trees.
The fan shows pronounced vertical inverse grading (Fig. 3f) and
poor lateral sorting. Boulders in the surface “armoured” layer are
several metres across, while towards the bottom of the deposit
there is a steady decrease in grain size down to sand and silt. Where
profiles through the fan deposit have been exposed by later erosion
one can observe two repeated levels of inverse grading. Bridging,
probably due to the well-known force chain phenomenon, is also
found in the fan deposit, each bridge ending in a large boulder. Five
main “fingers” make up the fan.
A layer of mud inundated the farmland (Fig. 3g) to a thickness
of up to 50 cm at a location 1 km downstream of the fan. Trenches
dug in the farmland also revealed older layers of silt and mud, with
clasts of organic material as well as tree trunks buried half a metre
down in the mud.

Landslides
Fig. 4 Profile of debris flow track and
indication of erosion and deposition as
well as position of cross-sections in
Fig. 6a–c. The sediment in the area is
thicker in lower elevations and
increases in the lower parts
Remote sensing of erosion and deposition volumes
Multi-temporal aerial photos enabled erosion and debris-flow
volumes to be estimated using pre- and post-flow aerial photos to
compile stereo models, orthophotos and digital terrain models
(3.3×3.3 m cell grids). The generated pre- and post-flow digital
terrain models (DTMs) were used to produce an elevation change
model.
A series of aerial photos (1:15,000) taken on September 30, 2004
were compared with archive pre-flow aerial photos (1:20,000) of
the same area dating back to August 2001. Because of vegetation in
the fan area in 2001 the map generated from the pre-flow aerial
photos proved unsatisfactory there, so a municipal 1:5,000
economic map (E-89) of the fan area was also used.
An airborne LIDAR laser scanning (ALTM 2300) of the debris
flow area was also performed on the same day as the photography,
September 30, 2004 (75 m/s speed, scanner frequency 32 Hz, laser
pulse frequency 33 kHz, scanning angle 18). We produced grids of
3.33 m here also. In this paper we do not compare this model
directly with the pre-flow terrain as no pre-flow laser scanning
exists; only the aerial photo DTM. However, the laser data provided
very good profiles and 3D models for terrain visualisation.
The sediment volume incorporated in the debris flow was
estimated using the terrain models compiled from photogram-
metry, subtracting the pre-flow from the post-flow grids. This also
gave us information about the erosion and deposition patterns
illustrated in Fig. 5. Areas outside the gully should not have
experienced measurable elevation change between 2001 and 2004
and could therefore be used to check the accuracy of the elevation
estimates. Cross-sections of the debris flow gully from both
photogrammetry and laser scanning were examined and evaluated
with the volume calculations.
Accuracy
The two sets of aerial photos have different resolutions. The
standard deviation (horizontal plane) for the stereo models is
6.4 μm, corresponding to between 10 cm (high elevation areas,
2004 photos) and 16 cm (lower areas, 2001 photos). The variations
in resolution are also relatively large within a single photo due to
the great elevation variations and the aircraft’s constant altitude
above sea level. The image pixel resolution is 12 μm in both the
2004 and 2001 series, but the ground sampling distance (GSD) will
vary with flying altitude above terrain. The GSDs are 18 cm on a
1:15,000 scale, but 30 cm on a 1:25,000 scale (at 0 m.a.s.l.).
Vertical accuracy is commonly estimated at 0.06–0.15‰ of
the flight altitude in flat terrain, whilst in steep terrain it can
drop to 0.9‰ (Barstad 1998). In the rock face area an
uncertainty of 0.9‰ of (3,900–700=) 3,200 m (Barstad 1998) is
estimated, corresponding to 288 cm, whereas the uncertainty
associated with the flatter areas near the moraine is around
0.06 ‰ of (3,900–1,000=) 2,900 m, which means 17.4 cm. Based
on manual inspection of the pre- and post-flow cross-section
elevation profiles, an average accuracy of around 20 cm on each
of the models is a reasonable estimate for the area downstream
of the rock face. For the difference model this gives a standard
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 
deviation σDIFF ¼ σ2pre
σ2post of 28 cm. This corresponds to
8% of an average height difference of 3.5 m (see estimation in
“Volume data and results” section), and 14% if the average was
2 m.
The laser scanning will also have varying accuracy throughout
the area due to variations in the reflecting properties of the ground
and varying beam angle. It has been claimed that the expected
accuracy from a laser scanning of this type is 5 cm, whilst Hyyppä
et al. (2000) consider that this is the accuracy between data points,
not the absolute vertical accuracy. Their experience suggests a
standard error of vertical accuracy of 15 cm on flat ground,
increasing to 40 cm for slopes of 40°.
Independent of method, steep terrain, flight altitude, varying
photo scale and laser reflection properties must be taken into
account when evaluating the volume estimates. Also, in the lower
parts of the track, the mountainside rises steeply from the gully,
resulting in a “resolution shadow” in the gully.
In the lower elevations, there is a slight elevation change in
areas outside the debris-flow track (positive, +1 m from 2001 to
2004). This is a change in the opposite direction than within the
track (See Fig. 5b). This is most probably due to vegetation growth
between 2001 and 2004. Very close to the track/stream gully there is
little vegetation and no visible elevation change. At higher altitudes
the vegetation is very sparse, and when comparing the grids from
2001 and 2004 no elevation change was detected in these areas. The
comparison of the grids is therefore evaluated as to have accuracy
at the level of the estimated standard deviation. However, if the
Landslides
 Original Article
Fig. 5 a Post-event aerial photograph
of the affected area with superimposed
contours. b Illustration of elevation
differences following the debris flow
event in the affected gully and the
immediately surrounding area. The
main part is constructed from pre- and
post-flow aerial photos whilst the fan
area is constructed from post-flow
aerial photos and an older pre-flow
economical map (1:5,000). For an
overview of the area, see Fig. 2

elevation change outside the track is not caused by the vegetation
growth in the forest but rather by errors and inaccuracies in the
grids, our volume estimate would be too conservative and the true
volume of the flow larger than we have estimated in this study.
Volume data and results
Using aerial photos and resulting terrain models, the eroded area
(Fig. 4) measures 62,200 m2, with a length of 1,820 m, an average
width of 34 m and an average gradient 16.5°. The rock wall is not
taken into account due to its steepness (and related DTM
inaccuracy) and the negligible amount of material that could
have been contributed from this area.
Subtracting the pre-flow from the post-flow aerial photo terrain
model revealed erosion/deposition patterns and debris flow
volumes, the latter presented in Table 1. Erosion is also illustrated
in Fig. 5 and with the three cross-sections presented in Figs. 6a–c.
The volume of the debris masses originating from erosion of the
moraine ridge channel (Fig. 3a) was only 25,000 m3, according to
estimates of the breach size, whilst the total sediment volume
involved in the debris flow was calculated as approximately
240,000 m3. This means that the debris flow volume increased by a
factor of 10 in the reaches between the steep rock wall and the fan.
The volume of the deposits visible along the flat stretch close to the
moraine ridge (Fig. 3a) was through photogrammetry found to
roughly correspond to the volume originating from the breach
itself. Based on photogrammetry, average vertical erosion from the
foot of the rock wall to the fan (i.e. along the main eroded part of
the track) was estimated as 3.5 m, a figure supported by field
observations. A height accuracy of ±28 cm and an average
elevation change of 3.5 m over an area of 62,200 m2 give an
anticipated volume error of around 10%.
When it comes to deposition, estimates are not so well
constrained. There was vegetation in the fan area before the debris
flow occurred. However, using an older 1:5,000 map (E-89) for
comparison with the post-flow model, we calculated a main fan
volume of around 105,000 m2. As we do not know the accuracy of
the pre-flow map (vegetation?) and field observations suggest a
larger thickness than this calculation implies, the fan volume is
probably larger, considering its area (75,000 m2) and the measured
thickness (5 m in the central area, decreasing towards the flanks). A

Table 1 Solid volume distributions

Area Moraine scar Flow path Fan Fields To sea Total
Sediment volume (m3 ) −25,000 −215,000 ≈ 105,000 ≈ 125,000 ≈ 10,000 240,000
The volume at the fields consists of wet material (till and water).

Landslides
Fig. 6 Illustrations of cross-sections of
the debris flow gully at three different
locations. Profile a is located just
downstream of the rock wall. Here the
masses eroded a deep depression
where they hit the ground and shifted
direction. Profiles b and c are from the
areas further down the track where
erosion was severe

further 250,000 m2 of fields downstream of the fan were covered by
muddy material (fines and water) after the event. The material
portion transported in the river and to sea cannot be estimated
through photogrammetry.
Hungr et al. (1984) introduced the concept of yield rate (eroded
volume per metre of travel distance). The tenfold debris-flow
volume increase in Fjærland gives an average yield rate of 132 m3/m
over the eroded length of the track (1,820 m from the bottom of the
rock wall to the head of the fan). As we have documented, scouring
is not evenly distributed and flow width also varies (Table 2).
Erosion grew significantly stronger the further down the masses
ran, before deposition started quite suddenly. Yield rates through-
out the track vary from 57 to 212 m3/m (Table 2), the highest values
typically occurring in the lower parts. It is also observed that the
yield rate of 212 m3/m occurs in an area where the track is wider,
with an average gradient of 13°. By contrast, a narrow stretch at a
higher elevation and with a 25° gradient has a yield rate of only
96 m3/m. Note that in addition to direct bed erosion, failure
along the gully flanks might have contributed to the removal of
material.
Discussion
GLOF
The glacial lake outburst flood that caused the debris flow in
Fjærland happened in spring. Water input to the glacier often

Landslides
 Original Article
Table 2 Yield rates and erosion throughout the debris-flow path
Reaches Vertical erosion (m) Avg. Yield rate (m3/m)
Upper flat −1.3 – 4
Cliff – –
Upper steep 3.75 96
Mid 2.3 80
Lower 1 4.3 135
Lower 2 5.12 213
exceeds runoff at this time of year, as the subglacial drainage is not
yet reestablished. Anderson et al. (1999) report a spring flood event
from a similarly sized glacier in Alaska. For several days the
calculated input exceeded measured output, culminating in a flood
event. A similar scenario is envisaged for the glacier Flatbreen in
Fjærland. There was a significant temperature rise during the days
before the drainage, suggesting that snow melt was heavy. According
to local inhabitants, the run-off in the river emanating from Flatbreen
was not especially large during the few days that preceded the event,
unlike the situation in nearby rivers (gauge measurements by
Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE)). This
indicates that water was temporarily stored.
The water volume involved in the 2004 event was probably
larger than the volume released from the lake itself (50,000 m3),
and we suggest that water may have drained quickly from within
the glacier in a jökulhlaup. This is consistent with the observation
of collapse features on the glacier surface close to the lake, and
meltwater measurements in nearby rivers. NVE compared the
discharge in Bøyaelvi (location in Fig. 1) from the nearby glacier
tongue Bøyabreen and temperature data from the moraine at
Flatbreen, and found that a sudden drainage of 100,000 m3 through
the moraine was likely (Miriam Jackson 2006, personal commu-
nication), on the basis of lake volume changes and snow melt
estimates.
Erosion and entrainment
Because much of the material from the moraine breach in
Fjærland was deposited just outside the ridge at 1,000 m.a.s.l.
(Fig. 3a), the debris flow masses reaching the fan area were
collected during the flow along the tributary valley Tverrdalen
(downstream of the steep rock wall [625 to 96 m.a.s.l.].
According to Kattelmann (2003) this is a common feature;
there is often considerable deposition in the first few hundred
metres downstream a moraine breach. Entrainment of debris
along the channel forms a debris flow through bulking.
O’Connor et al. (2001) studied several moraine dam breaches
in the Cascades and found that the floods incorporate large
volumes of till on their way, and are transformed into debris
flows within the first 500 m. Vuichard and Zimmermann (1987)
report a dam breach where 900,000 m3 of material from the dam
was deposited within 2 km; thereafter new material was eroded
and deposited where the gradient flattened to 5–7%.
Despite their variability in composition and unsteady and non-
uniform behaviour, debris flows typically approach a steady-state
condition with a drop-shaped longitudinal profile with a constant
maximum depth and length (Hungr 2000; Tognacca et al. 2000).
Several authors (Genevois et al. 2000; Hungr 2000; Iverson 1997;
Johnson 1984; Takahashi 1991) describe debris flows with a steep,
bouldery front, followed by finer grained, saturated debris,
Landslides
Slope (o ) Flow width (m)
?
– –
25 26
18 36
15 33
12 42
eventually decaying into a dilute tail. Coarse debris accumulates
at the head of the debris flow as a result of grain-size segregation
and migration within the flow, or entrainment at the front itself
(Iverson 1997, 2003). These characteristics were also recognised in
the Fjærland event by eyewitnesses and confirmed by field
observations.
The Fjærland flow characteristics changed constantly as the
masses propagated down the valley, especially in response to the
high degree of entrainment and the resulting changes in water
content and debris strength. This suggests that viscosity, cohesion,
friction and collision rate varied with time, distance and depth of
the flow. This variability is one of the major challenges when
modelling debris flows.
The composition variability also influences on the velocity of
the flow. O’Connor et al. (2001) stated that lake outbursts
developing into debris flows commonly have a velocity around
3–6 m/s, but also pointed to reported velocities of up to 15 m/s. This
higher value corresponds roughly to the estimate done by our
eyewitnesses in Fjærland (50 km/h).
The importance of volume
The average yield rate of 212 m3/m for the debris flow in Fjærland
can be compared to the yield rate of several hundred m3/m
reported by Huggel et al. (2004), where a lake outburst also was the
trigger. High yield rates seem to be linked to this type of event
where water is abundant.
The 300-m height drop down the rock wall (Figs. 3c and 4) and
the resulting gain of momentum increased the velocity and
enhanced the erosive power of the Fjærland flow in the areas
downstream (Figs. 3d, 4 and 6). Another reason for the massive
erosion in the lower portions of the track was the greater
availability of erodible material and the lack of snow cover. The
type of material is more or less the same down the whole valley, but
the sediment thickness is naturally greater at lower elevations. It is
only here that the bed is partly depleted and not in the higher
elevation reaches, suggesting that the larger amount of available
material cannot be the only reason for the higher yield rates in the
lower reaches.
The yield rate does not seem proportional to either the variation
in gradient (Fig. 7a) or to the width of the flow (Table 2). As
discussed, the deepest erosion occurs in the lower areas of the
track, which means that deepest erosion coincides with the areas
where the largest flow volume has passed, as the flow grows with
distance from its origin (Fig. 7b). This case study shows the prime
importance of volume as a factor for both yield rate and runout. In
principle, erosion may have opposing effects on the mobility of the
flow. Erosion increases the flow volume, which in turn increases
the velocity; in addition, a larger volume could also result in lower
friction per unit mass.
Fig. 7 a Yield rate vs gradient. Gradient does not seem to have had a major
influence on the yield rate here. b Yield rate vs accumulated volume. There
On the other hand, especially when the eroded material is dry,
entrainment produces a high concentration of solids in the slurry
with consequent increases in the viscosity, cohesion and friction,
all of which could reduce the mobility. It appears that in Fjærland
the balance was such that bulking determined an overall increase
in mobility. Based on our observations, we suggest that entrain-
ment generally makes the debris flow more and more erosive,
resulting in a feedback effect. This exponential growth behaviour is
in agreement with what other authors have found, and is
highlighted by for example Iverson (1997). This self-sustaining
effect partly explains the high rate of volume increase observed in
many debris flows and is probably often necessary to achieve long
runouts in subaerial debris flows.
Chen et al. (2005) also found that the magnitude of the debris
flow event has a crucial influence on erosion and deposition
processes; deposition in the channel increases with increasing flow
volume until a certain magnitude is reached, initiating erosion.
According to Lorenzini and Mazza (2004), debris flows with
volumes greater than 105 m3 show a net increase in the ratio (L/H)
between the runout and the fall height, which increases in
proportion to the logarithm of the volume.
Based on empirical data, Huggel et al. (2004) state that a glacial
lake outburst volume of 50,000 m3 could trigger a debris flow of
100,000 to 150,000 m3. A solid mass volume of 240,000 m3 would,
according to them, require a water volume of around 100,000 m3. It
is assumed that also in Huggel’s case the sediment eroded is till.
This water volume agrees well with our estimate for the Fjærland
case. One hundred thousand cubic metres of water combined with
240,000 m3 of sediment gives an average slurry density of around
1.8 g/cm3, which is a typical density for debris flows (Lorenzini and
Mazza 2004; Iverson 1997), and is also capable of transporting
boulders of the size we have observed.
Intuitively, erosion would be more extensive the larger the water
volume released. However, the potential bulking material along the
path is a limiting factor. It is also a constraint for the magnitude of
future events. Large amounts of the till material were taken out by
the 2004 flow, leaving the bed depleted in several places, especially in
the lower parts of the track. A future debris flow of this magnitude
would require a significantly larger volume of water draining from
the glacier to reach up to new material on the gully sides. The height
of the moraine ridge would also need to be restored before it is again
appears to be a positive relationship between the volume of the debris flow and
its capability to erode
capable of damming a lake of this size, and that would require a
glacial advance.
Deposition
Hungr et al. (1984) found that deposition starts where the gradient
has eased to 10° to 14° for unconfined flows and between 8 and 12 for
confined flows. A study of debris flows originating from moraine
dam breaches in the Cascades (O’Connor et al. 2001) concluded that
erosion occurred on gradients steeper than 8o, while deposition was
restricted to gradients less than 18o. These estimates are rough, and
the point of incipient deposition has mostly been found to coincide
with the exit of a channel and opening of a valley (Hungr et al. 1984).
It seems that for deposition, this topographic factor is more
important than gradient. This was shown by our study on Fjærland;
deposition started at 12°, but not until the intersection between the
tributary valley Tverrdalen and the main valley Supphelledalen.
Erosion does not always cease where deposition starts, because slope
angle and volume influence the two processes differently. O’Connor
et al. (2001) also state that it is common that sediment-laden flow
(hyperconcentrated) continues on almost flat ground after deposi-
tion of the coarse material, as is also observed in Fjærland.
The boulders and fractured blocks outside the debris flow track,
as well as the depositional pattern in the fan, show that significant
grain-to-grain contact and collision impact can develop from watery
flows. The numerous blocks several metres outside the debris flow
track were probably ballistic, either following collisions with other
blocks or due to local fluctuations in the velocity field of the debris
flow, generated by turbulence or by direct impact with the local
relief. Based on the observations of trimlines and blocks on the intact
debris flow shoulder, we suggest that high-velocity fluctuations were
superimposed on the average velocity of the debris flow.
The inverse grading of the fan presents interesting analogies
with the Brazil nut effect observed in granular materials subjected
to intense shaking (Huerta and Ruiz-Súarez 2004) and also testifies
to granular contact. The repeated inverse grading sequences in the
fan deposit might document several deposition episodes within the
same debris flow, as is also pointed out by eyewitnesses describing
fortified pulses of debris flow material.
The bridges/fingers in the fan can be results of force chains,
generated between grains in contact, showing that parts of the
Fjærland debris flow was a typical grain–grain contact flow.
Landslides
 Original Article
Bridging can also partly result from topographic effects and from
pulsing in the movement.
The deposited masses should roughly match the eroded masses,
although it must be assumed that some of the sediment is trans-
ported away by the river. In addition, the relationship between in
situ and remoulded densities is not known. When good pre-event
terrain models are also available for vegetated areas, the photo-
grammetry method is a useful tool also for estimating the volume
of the deposits.
The layers of clay and tree debris found buried in the farmland are
interpreted as old debris flow deposits. These deposits where found in
the area that was also inundated by finer material by the 2004 event.
Upstream of the fan, layers of what are interpreted as old debris flow
deposits are also present. They have not been dated, but may
originate from the two known previous debris flows (1924 and 1947).
Conclusions
Documentation is provided of a confined debris flow in Fjærland,
Western Norway (2004) that developed from a glacial lake outburst
flood. In particular, we show the importance of volume growth
through bulking and the development of grain-to-grain contact in
originally very water-rich flows.
There is a lack of detailed observations on debris flow erosion
and entrainment in the literature. This study contributes informa-
tion on erosion volumes and erosion patterns in a large scale field
case, making use of photogrammetric and laser scanning data.
Erosion by the debris flow in Fjærland was tenfold, the flow
volume growing from around 25,000 to 240,000 m3 (± 10%). In
addition, the water volume involved in the incident was close to
100,000 m3, estimated from aerial photos and meltwater measure-
ments from a nearby glacier tongue.
Among the aspects determining erosion, this study emphasises
the importance of accumulated debris flow volume. A feedback
effect resulting in a strongly growing debris flow is proposed; the
larger the flow volume the larger the potential for erosion and
further entrainment. This self-sustaining mechanism can be asso-
ciated with long runouts and supports the notion that erosion and
entrainment processes must be included in dynamic modelling.
Acknowledgements
This work has been funded by VISTA (Norwegian Academy of
Science and Letters together with Statoil), and by the Norwegian
Research Council through the International Centre for Geohazards
(ICG), Project 9: “Slide dynamics and mechanics of disintegration”.
We would like to thank Trond Eiken at the University of Oslo for
helpful advice concerning the photogrammetry, all our colleagues at
ICG for fruitful cooperation and Miriam Jackson at the Norwegian
Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) for valuable
discussions concerning glaciology and the water volume involved
in the debris flow. We are also grateful to Adrian Read for
proofreading. Special thanks to the inhabitants of Supphelledalen in
Fjærland for their hospitality and provision of valuable information.
This is ICG-contribution number 186.
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H. Breien •. F.
F. V.
V. De Blasio
Blasio . A.• A. Elverhøi. K.• K.Høeg
Elverhøi Høeg
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo,
Oslo, Norway
De Blasio
H. Breien ()) .• F. V. Blasio A. Elverhøi
. A. • Elverhøi K. Høeg
. K. • Høeg
International Centre for Geohazards,
c/o Norwegian Geotechnical Institute,
Postbox 3930 Ullevaal Stadion,
0806 Oslo, Norway
e-mail: Hedda.Breien@ngi.no