Freeze-thaw cycles in the rocks of the Bessanese experimental site (Western Alps, Italy)

Freeze-thaw action induces both rock weathering and mass wasting, destabilizing rock and debris slopes in high mountain regions. Matsuoka, in 1990, defines an Effective Freeze-Thaw Cycle (EFTC) as a fall below -2 °C of the rock surface temperature followed by a rise above +2 °C. Rock temperatures in alpine environments are strongly inuenced by slope inclination, slope aspect, local topoclimatic conditions (including seasonal snow cover), and thermal properties of the rock.