Rain, Snow and Frozen Soil: Open Questions from a Porescale Perspective with Implications for Geohazards

Climate change is already affecting high mountain regions, such as the European Alps. Those regions will be confronted with a significant rise of temperatures above global average, and more heavier rain events, also during wintertime. The system response to coincidence rain, snow, possibly frozen soil depends on almost infinite number possible combinations thermo-hydraulic states involved phases. Landslides, snow avalanches, debris flows, or extensive surface runoff are just few hazardous outcomes. With rising increased precipitation, those outcomes expected occur even frequently in future, requiring better understanding coupled processes for hazard mitigation strategies. macroscopic phenomena controlled by porescale processes, water freezing ice grains blocking pores, which only barely understood. strong coupling between thermal state hydraulic parameters, phase change, material heterogeneity pose great challenges investigation. This work provides an overview documented events regarding soil. current theoretical experimental research presented before several knowledge gaps derived techniques address discussed.