5. Conclusion

Techniques for characterizing natural gravity hazards are currently undergoing profound change. The availability of highly accurate topographical data (LIDAR in particular), and the development of new modeling software, often based on geographic information systems, are profoundly changing hazard characterization methods. Now largely based on scientific and mathematical quantification, these methods offer more exhaustive analysis, greater precision and a certain degree of reproducibility (at least on paper). They cannot, however, do without prior field expertise and, above all, validation of results by systematic on-site inspection. No model can guarantee perfect reproduction of the extreme complexity of the physical phenomena that drive gravity.

In terms of their regulatory transcription in PPRNs, these new methods should bring greater transparency and precision,...