Alberto Muñoz-Torrero Manchado
Research support technitian
GIS; landslides; natural hazards; remote-sensing; rockfalls; UAV
I am a geologist and GIS-analyst, focused on investigating the effects of climate change and the dynamics of Earth's surfaces in mountainous regions. Bachelor's degree in fundamental geology (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, 2012). Master's in Earth Sciences with a specialization in Geological Risk in 2018. PhD in Environmental Sciences (University of Geneva, Switzerland, 2024).
My research at the Hydrology and Climate Change Laboratory (MNCN-CSIC) involves a comprehensive analysis of historical, aerial, and satellite image time series, the generation of 3D terrain models, combinations of satellite multispectral bands, and the application of differential SAR interferometry and obtaining new imagery and LIDAR data using unmanned aerial vehicles.
My most recent work focuses on the influence of climatic and anthropogenic factors on the occurrence of landslides in the Himalayas. In addition, I investigate the multi-decadal dynamics of natural processes in permafrost mountain environments in the Alps. This includes analyzing the historical kinematics of rock glaciers in the Swiss National Park and studying slope failures in the Matter Valley, Switzerland.
Publications
Franco Ramos O, Boyano-Galiano J, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Ballesteros-Cánovas J. 2026. Climate snow-avalanche linkage revealed by geomorpholical, historical and tree-ring records in the Central Spanish pyrenees. Cold Regions Science and Technology 244, p. 104819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2026.104819
2026
2025
Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Marsal-Twose I, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Robredo Sánchez JC, Grodek T, López-Moreno I, Bartolomé M, Benito G. 2025. Rockfall-induced debris flow event in the Pyrenees: The case of Pineta valley of September 2022. Catena 253, 108876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2025.108876
Boyano-Galiano J, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Robredo Sánchez JC, Fabregas Reigosa S, Ballesteros-Cánovas J. 2025. A case study from North and South faces on the Pyrenees. Geomorphology 491, 110088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.110088
Gorsik S, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, López-Sáez J, Allen C, Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Rodríguez-Morata C, Dussaillant A, Stoffel M. 2025. Coupling tree-ring and geomorphic analyses to reconstruct the 1950s massiva Glacier Lake Outburst Flood at Grosse Glacier, Chilean Patagonia. Scinece of Total Environment 961, 178368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178368
Jiménez Donato YA, Boyano-Galiano J, Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Ávila Mora MA, Catalán Armas SM, Stoffel M. 2025. Hurricane-triggered cascading hazards: Geomorphic responses and Flood Hazard Dynamics in a Tropical Mountain Region. Geomorphology 494:110090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.110090
2024
Colavito B, Allen S, Winocur D, Dussaillant A, Guillet S, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Gorsic S, Stoffel M. 2024. A glacial lake outburst floods hazard assessment in the Patagonian Andes combining inventory data and case-studies. Science of the Total Environment 916, 169703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169703
Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Allen S, Cicoira A, Stoffel M. 2024. 100 years of monitoring in the Swiss National Park reveals overall decreasing rock glacier velocities. Communications Earth & Environment 5:138. https://doi:10.1038/s43247-024-01302-0
Zhong Y, Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Favillier A, Corona C, Zenhäusern G, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Guillet S, Giacona F, Eckert N, Qie J, Tscherrig G, Stoffel M. 2024. Historical reconstruction in a torrential alpine catchment and its implication for flood hazard assessments. Journal of Hidrology 629, 130547. http://doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130547
2023
Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Kariya Y, Imaizumi F, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Nishii R, Matsuoka N, Stoffel M. 2023. Debris-flow activity in the Japanese Alps is controlled by extreme precipitation and Enso-evidence from multi-centennial tree-ring records. Global and Planetary Change 231, 104296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104296
Zhong Y, Favillier A, Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Qie J, Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Guillet S, Huneau F, Corona C, Stoffel M. 2023. 250 Years of flood frequency and discharge in an ungauged Corsican mountain catchment: A dendrogeomorphic reconstruction. The Science of the Total Environment 879, 163138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163138
2022
Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Allen S, Stoffel M. 2022. Deforestation controls landslide susceptibility in Far-Western Nepal. Catena 2019, 106627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-021-01632-6
2021
Muñoz-Torrero Manchado A, Allen S, Ballesteros-Cánovas J, Dhakal A, Dhital MR, Stoffel M. 2021. Three Decades of Landslide Activity in Western Nepal: New Insights into Trends and Climate Drivers. Landslides 18, 2001-2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106627