Spatial patterns of old, deep-seated landslides: A case-study in the northern Ethiopian highlands

During the last decade, slope failures were reported in a 500 km² study area in the Geba–Werei catchment, northern Ethiopia, a region where landslides were not considered an important hazard before. Field observations, however, revealed that many of the failures were actually reactivations of old deep-seated landslides after land use changes. Therefore, this study was conducted (1) to explore the importance of environmental factors controlling landslide occurrence and (2) to estimate future landslide susceptibility. A landslide inventory map of the study area derived from aerial photograph interpretation and field checks shows the location of 57 landslides and six zones with multiple landslides, mainly complex slides and debris flows. In total 14.8% of the area is affected by an old landslide. For the landslide susceptibility modelling, weights of evidence (WofE), was applied and five different models were produced. After comparison of the models and spatial validation using Receiver Operating Characteristic curves and Kappa values, a model combining data on elevation, hillslope gradient, aspect, geology and distance to faults was selected. This model confirmed our hypothesis that deep-seated landslides are located on hillslopes with a moderate slope gradient (i.e. 5°–13°). The depletion areas are expected on and along the border of plateaus where weathered basalts rich in smectite clays are found, and the landslide debris is expected to accumulate on the Amba Aradam sandstone and upper Antalo limestone. As future landslides are believed to occur on inherently unstable hillslopes similar to those where deep-seated landslides occurred, the classified landslide susceptibility map allows delineating zones where human interventions decreasing slope stability might cause slope failures. The results obtained demonstrate that the applied methodology could be used in similar areas where information on the location of landslides is essential for present-day hazard analysis.     

Influence of structural framework on mountain slope deformation in the Maiella anticline (Central Apennines, Italy)

Relationships between tectonic framework and gravity-driven phenomena have been investigated in an area of the Central Apennines (Italy) characterised by high relief. The north–south, half-dome shaped Maiella anticline lies in the easternmost part of the Apennine fold-and-thrust belt. Its backlimb is bordered by the Caramanico Fault, a normal fault with a maximum downthrown of about 3.5 km that separates the western slope of the Maiella Massif from the Caramanico Valley. The southwestern Maiella area is affected by deep-seated gravitational slope deformation indicated by major double crest lines, down-hill and up-hill facing scarps, a pattern of crossing trenches, bulging at the base of slopes and the presence of different types of landslide and talus slope deposits.The onset and development of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations and the location of Quaternary, massive rockslope failures have been strongly influenced by the structural framework and tectonic pattern of the anticline. Deep-seated gravitational slope deformation at Mt. Macellaro–Mt. Amaro ridge has developed along the Maiella western, reverse slope in correspondence with the anticline axial culmination; it is bordered at the rear by a NNW–SSE oriented, dextral, strike-slip fault zone and has an E–W direction of rock mass deformation. Closer to the southern plunging area of the anticline, gravity-driven phenomena show instead a N–S and NW–SE direction, influenced by bedding attitude.3D topographic models illustrate the relationship between deep-seated gravitational slope deformation and massive rockslope failures. The Campo di Giove rock avalanche, a huge Quaternary failure event, was the result of an instantaneous collapse on a mountaine slope affected by a long-term gravity-driven deformation.     

LiDAR-derived DEM evaluation of deep-seated landslides in a steep and rocky region of Japan

In steep and rocky terrains, their rough surfaces make it difficult to create landslide inventories even with detailed maps/images produced from airborne LiDAR data. To provide objective clues in locating deep-seated landslides, the surface textures of a 5 km² steepland area in Japan was investigated using the eigenvalue ratio and slope filters calculated from a very high resolution LiDAR-derived DEM. The range of filter values was determined for each of a number of surface features mapped in the field and these included: cracked bedrock outcrops, coarse colluvial deposits, gently undulating surfaces, and smooth surfaces. Recently active slides commonly contained patches of ground in which deposition and erosion occurred together near the erosion front, or where cracked bedrock outcrops and coarse colluvial deposits coexisted under a gently undulating surface. The characteristic eigenvalue and slope filter values representing this sliding process were applied to maps of the DEM derived filter values to extract potential sites of recent landslide activity. In addition, the relationships between the filter values of deep-seated landslides at various stages of evolution within the field mapped area were extended to the entire study area, to assess the contribution that landslide evolution makes to change in the landscape as a whole. While landslide components made up the steepest as well as the gentlest parts of the landscape depending on their evolutionary stage, landslides were constantly coarsened and steepened by progressive erosion, probably initiated by river bank erosion at the foot of slopes.     

Geomorphological study of the Fadalto landslide, Venetian Prealps, Italy

This research deals with the Fadalto landslide (Lapisina Valley, Venetian Prealps), which took place in the Lateglacial and has continued its activity until today. Our aim is to recognize how the landslide failed, the causes of such failure and the activity of this landslide. The study of this landslide is important not only to understand the geomorphological history of this alpine area, and why the Piave River modified its course in the Late Pleistocene, but also the links with human activities, and specifically with the road and rail network.The geomorphological study, carried out by the interpretation of aerial photos and by a detailed field survey, has been integrated with a geological survey, geophysical investigations and a morphometric analysis (DTM). The Fadalto landslide is considered to be a rockslide reactivated in various phases, with different dimensions and with different characters (slides, slumps and flows). The landslides have been provoked by natural causes, both external and internal; the fundamental external causes are the retreat of the Würmian glacier and tectonic activity; the internal factors that decrease the shear resistance are the bedding planes and joints of the bedrock, the attitude of the rocks dipping towards the valley bottom and, as regards more recent failures, the presence of glacial deposits underlying the landslide debris. Besides, in recent times, we must also consider human activity as a cause of slope instability.As to the activity, the Fadalto landslide is defined “dormant”. This means that in this area there is a geomorphological risk connected with the important road and rail network of the Lapisina Valley.     

Work, persistence, and formative events: The geomorphic impact of landslides

Understanding the scale and frequency of physical processes that act upon and form the surface of the Earth is a fundamental goal of earth science. Here we determine the magnitudes of landslides that impact the landscape in terms of work, persistence, and formative events. A systematic analysis of rapid landsliding (the analysis did not consider creep and other slow semi-continuous processes) indicates that moderate-sized landslides do the most work transporting material on hillslopes. The work peak defines the moderate magnitude, and that magnitude varies based on local physiography and climate. Landslides that form the work peak are distinct from catastrophic landslides that are themselves formative and system resetting. The persistence time for debris slides/debris flows (P_DS) and rock slides/rock avalanches (P_RS) is calculated over six orders of magnitude. We consider an event catastrophic when it persists in the landscape, as described by a persistence ratio (P_F), an order of magnitude longer than the population of landslides that form the work peak.     

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF LATE QUATERNARY PARAGLACIAL ROCK-SLOPE FAILURES ON SKIDDAW GROUP TERRAIN, LAKE DISTRICT, NORTHWEST ENGLAND

ABSTRACT. Eight relict rock-slope failures (RSFs) on Skiddaw Group terrain in the Lake District, northwest England, are described. Five of the failures are rockslides, one is a product of slope deformation, and two are compound features with evidence for sliding and deformation in different sectors. As none appears to have been overrun and modified by glacier ice it is concluded that they all post-date the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM ; c. 21 ± 3 cal. ka bp ). Slope stress readjustments resulting from glacial and deglacial influences are considered to have weakened the slopes, and application of the term paraglacial is appropriate. Permafrost aggradation and degradation, seismic activity and fluvial erosion are among processes that may have contributed to failure at certain sites. The failures are significant as potential debris sources during future ice advances, contributing to valley widening and cirque enlargement and, possibly, for acting as sites of cirque initiation. Previously, Skiddaw Group rocks have been regarded as homogeneous and of limited resistance to the weathering and erosion associated with Quaternary glacial, periglacial and fluvial processes. These characteristics and processes have been used to explain the steep smooth slopes and rounded hills that dominate Skiddaw Group terrain. Rock-slope failure has also helped shape this terrain and should be incorporated in future interpretations of landscape development.     

A giant deep-seated slope deformation in the Italian Alps studied by paleoseismological and morphometric techniques

This work proves the existence of a large deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (DGSD) in a hilly region of the southwestern Alps, whereas DGSD are usually linked with high relief energy in mountain environments. Moreover, we describe the usefulness of applying paleoseismological techniques by means of trench excavation to date and understand the deformation history and genesis of recent morphostructures, and we found evidence of causative relationships between DGSD and surface landslides. The studied DGSD of Mt. Croce della Tola–Mt. Scincina, Italy, is the largest of the western Alps: it is 7-km long and involves a minimum area of 16 km² with a volume ≥3.5 km³ probably extending further NE beneath Lake Maggiore surface. Several parallel scarps, representing the surface expression of slip-planes, affect the upper part of the slope, whereas the lower part presents a convex profile. DGSD at Mt. Croce della Tola started in the last interglacial period (120–40 ka BP) and the following glacial phase was not able to significantly modify the general slope geometry. Post-glacial deformation also occurred, especially at Mt. Scincina, after 25 ka BP. Post-glacial and active surface landslides developed on the convex lower part of the slope, suggesting that they resulted from instability due to the new profile assumed by the slopes during the deep-seated deformation. The occurrence of Mt. Scincina DGSD with a very low topographic gradient is interpreted as an effect induced by on other large DGSD.     

A large landslide on the urban fringe of metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona

A granitic rock avalanche, one of the largest Quaternary landslides in Arizona outside the Grand Canyon with a volume of approximately 5.25 M m³ and a width a little under 0.5 km, ran 1 km from the eastern McDowell Mountains. With lateral levees and pressure ridges, the rock avalanche deposit displays many features found on classic sturzstroms. Failure occurred along a major joint plane paralleling the slope with a dip of 44°, when a major base level lowering event in the Salt River system would have undermined the base of the failed slope, and probably during a period of more moisture than normally available in the present-day arid climate. Failure at the subsurface weathering front highlights the importance of the dramatic permeability change between grussified regolith and relatively fresh bedrock. Rock varnish microlaminations (VMLs) dating, in concert with other geomorphic evidence, suggests that the rock avalanche deposit is slightly older than 500 ka. The rock vanish results also have important implications for sampling strategies designed to use cosmogenic nuclide to date Quaternary landslide deposits. Discovery of a large landslide in close proximity to the extending urban fringe of metropolitan Phoenix argues for a more careful analysis of landslide hazards in the region, especially where rapid development excavates bedrock at the base of steep mountain slopes and where the subsurface weathering front is near the surface.     

四川地区地震崩塌滑坡的基本特征及危险性分区

四川地区地震崩塌及滑坡非常发育，时常造成严重灾害，本文在现场调查资料及已有研究的基础上，对四川地区地震崩塌，滑坡的分布规律，类型，特征及其灾害性进行了更深入的分析，并就其特征进行了分区。     

汶川5·12地震次生泥石流沟应急判识方法与指标

5·12汶川大地震诱发了崩塌、滑坡、泥石流等次生灾害,崩塌、滑坡堆积物给泥石流的形成提供了大量松散固体物质,将导致灾区部分山洪沟转化为泥石流沟,为此,给出了一种泥石流沟的判识方法和指标.调查发现,汶川灾区的地形地貌和降雨条件满足泥石流的暴发条件,提出用流域单位面积的松散固体物质方量来判识泥石流沟;调查西部山区的50条泥石流沟,提出以0.1 m3/m2的松散固体物质量作为泥石流沟的判别指标,以2m3/m2的松散固体物质量作为粘性泥石流沟的判别指标.     

Objective landslide detection and surface morphology mapping using high-resolution airborne laser altimetry

A map of extant slope failures is the most basic element of any landslide assessment. Without an accurate inventory of slope instability, it is not possible to analyze the controls on the spatial and temporal patterns of mass movement or the environmental, human, or geomorphic consequences of slides. Landslide inventory maps are tedious to compile, difficult to make in vegetated terrain using conventional techniques, and tend to be subjective. In addition, most landslide inventories simply outline landslide boundaries and do not offer information about landslide mechanics as manifested by internal deformation features. In an alternative approach, we constructed accurate, high-resolution DEMs from airborne laser altimetry (LIDAR) data to characterize a large landslide complex and surrounding terrain near Christchurch, New Zealand. One-dimensional, circular (2-D) and spherical (3-D) statistics are used to map the local topographic roughness in the DEMs over a spatial scale of 1.5 to 10 m. The bedrock landslide is rougher than adjacent unfailed terrain and any of the statistics can be employed to automatically detect and map the overall slide complex. Furthermore, statistics that include a measure of the local variability of aspect successfully delineate four kinematic units within the gently sloping lower half of the slide. Features with a minimum size of surface folds that have a wavelength of about 11 to 12 m and amplitude of about 1 m are readily mapped. Two adjacent earthflows within the landslide complex are distinguished by a contrast in median roughness, and texture and continuity of roughness elements. The less active of the earthflows has a surface morphology that presumably has been smoothed by surface processes. The Laplacian operator also accurately maps the kinematic units and the folds and longitudinal levees within and at the margins of the units. Finally, two-dimensional power spectra analyses are used to quantify how roughness varies with length scale. These results indicate that no dominant length scale of roughness exists for smooth, unfailed terrain. In contrast, zones with different styles of landslide deformation exhibit distinctive spectral peaks that correspond to the scale of deformation features, such as the compression folds. The topographic-based analyses described here may be used to objectively delineate landslide features, generate mechanical inferences about landslide behavior, and evaluate relatively the recent activity of slides.     

Columbia Mountain landslide: late-glacial emplacement and indications of future failure, Northwestern Montana, USA

The well preserved and undissected Columbia Mountain landslide, which is undergoing suburban development, was studied to estimate the timing and processes of emplacement. The landslide moved westward from a bedrock interfluve of the northern Swan Range in Montana, USA onto the deglaciated floor of the Flathead Valley. The landslide covers an area of about 2 km², has a toe-to-crown height of 1100 m, a total length of 3430 m, a thickness of between 3 and 75 m, and an approximate volume of 40 million m³. Deposits and landforms define three portions of the landslide; from the toe to the head they are: (i) clast-rich diamictons made up of gravel-sized angular rock fragments with arcuate transverse ridges at the surface; (ii) silty and sandy deposits resting on diamictons in an internally drained depression behind the ridges; and (iii) diamictons containing angular and subangular pebble-to block-sized clasts (some of which are glacially striated) in an area of lumpy topography between the depression and the head of the landslide. Drilling data suggest the diamictons cover block-to-slab-sized bedrock clasts that resulted from an initial stage of the failure.The landslide moved along a surface that developed at a high angle to the NE-dipping, thinly bedded metasediments of the Proterozoic Belt Supergroup. The exposed slope of the main scarp dips 30–37°W. A hypothetical initial rotational failure of the lower part of a bedrock interfluve may have transported bedrock clasts into the valley. The morphology and deposits at the surface of the landslide indicate deposition by a rock avalanche (sturzstrom) derived from a second stage of failure along the upper part of the scarp.The toe of the Columbia Mountain landslide is convex-west in planview, except where it was deflected around areas now occupied by glacial kettles on the north and south margins. Landsliding, therefore, occurred during deglaciation of the valley while ice still filled the present-day kettles. Available chronostratigraphy suggests that the ˜1-km thick glacier in the region melted before 12,000 ¹⁴C years BP—within 3000 years of the last glacial maximum. Deglaciation and hillslope failure are likely causally linked. Failure of the faceted interfluve was likely due tensile fracturing of bedrock along a bedding-normal joint set shortly after glacial retreat from the hillslope.Open surficial tension fractures and grabens in the Swan Range are limited to an area above the crown of the landslide. Movement across these features suggests that extensional flow of bedrock (sackung) is occurring in what remains of the ridge that failed in the Columbia Mountain landslide. The fractures and grabens likely were initiated during failure, but their morphologies suggest active extension across some grabens. Continued movement of bedrock above the crown may result in future mass movements from above the previous landslide scarp. Landslides sourced from bedrock above the scarp of the late-glacial Columbia Mountain landslide, which could potentially be triggered by earthquakes, are geologic hazards in the region.     

Qualitative landslide susceptibility assessment by multicriteria analysis: A case study from San Antonio del Sur, Guantánamo, Cuba

Geomorphological information can be combined with decision-support tools to assess landslide hazard and risk. A heuristic model was applied to a rural municipality in eastern Cuba. The study is based on a terrain mapping units (TMU) map, generated at 1:50,000 scale by interpretation of aerial photos, satellite images and field data. Information describing 603 terrain units was collected in a database. Landslide areas were mapped in detail to classify the different failure types and parts. Three major landslide regions are recognized in the study area: coastal hills with rockfalls, shallow debris flows and old rotational rockslides denudational slopes in limestone, with very large deep-seated rockslides related to tectonic activity and the Sierra de Caujerí scarp, with large rockslides. The Caujerí scarp presents the highest hazard, with recent landslides and various signs of active processes. The different landforms and the causative factors for landslides were analyzed and used to develop the heuristic model. The model is based on weights assigned by expert judgment and organized in a number of components such as slope angle, internal relief, slope shape, geological formation, active faults, distance to drainage, distance to springs, geomorphological subunits and existing landslide zones. From these variables a hierarchical heuristic model was applied in which three levels of weights were designed for classes, variables, and criteria. The model combines all weights into a single hazard value for each pixel of the landslide hazard map. The hazard map was then divided by two scales, one with three classes for disaster managers and one with 10 detailed hazard classes for technical staff. The range of weight values and the number of existing landslides is registered for each class. The resulting increasing landslide density with higher hazard classes indicates that the output map is reliable. The landslide hazard map was used in combination with existing information on buildings and infrastructure to prepare a qualitative risk map. The complete lack of historical landslide information and geotechnical data precludes the development of quantitative deterministic or probabilistic models.     

Evolution stages of large deep-seated landslides at the front of a subalpine meridional chain (Maritime-Alps, France)

Studying long term-evolution of gravitational slope evolution is a key to understanding deep-seated landslide processes. This paper deals with three large Deep-Seated Landslides (DSLs) at a front of a subalpine meridional chain, on the “La Marbrière” slope near the town of Grasse (Alpes-Maritimes, France). The geological framework controlling the stability and morphology of the DSLs is associated with thick and tamped Triassic layers of mudstone with gypsum overlain by highly faulted Jurassic limestone. Gravitational deformation affects the entire slope, involving a movement of about 1.1 × 10⁸ m³ of rock material. It creates large disturbances in landscape morphology, such as scarps, counter-slope scarps, trenches and other typical gravitational morpho-structures. Geomorphological mapping coupled with deep electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) reveals a strong correlation between these morpho-structures and inherited brittle tectonic features. This observation relies on spatial and geometrical relations (on the surface and at the depth of more than 150 m, checked by ERT) between the most persistent fault and the gravitational morpho-structures. The specific distribution of the morpho-structures on the basis of their morphological typologies and variations in the stage of evolution of three DSLs provides an interpretation of their kinematics during the last 400 ka. It appears that soft substratums combined with inherited persistent anisotropies are key factors in the development of the DSLs. Indeed, outflow of mudstone due to the lithostatic pressure imposed by individual limestone compartments has led to general slope subsidence. Then, a progressive toppling of a rock mass may have led to the catastrophic rock collapse along bedding planes.The evolution of the DSLs can be divided into three distinct stages represented by three zones: a young collapse stage (zone 1), a pre-collapse stage (zone 2) and an old mature stage (> 400 ka, zone 3). As the DSLs occur on the same slope and in the same geological context, this area offers interesting perspectives for understanding factors controlling the long-term gravitational evolution of slopes.     

LANDSLIDE‐GLACIER INTERACTION IN A NEOPARAGLACIAL SETTING AT TVERRBYTNEDE,JOTUNHEIMEN, SOUTHERN NORWAY

A tongue‐like, boulder‐dominated deposit in Tverrbytnede, upper Visdalen, Jotunheimen, southern Norway, is interpreted as the product of a rock avalanche (landslide) due to its angular to subangular boulders, surface morphology with longitudinal ridges, down‐feature coarsening, and cross‐cutting relationship to ‘Little Ice Age’ moraines. The rock avalanche fell onto glacier ice, probably channelled along a furrow between two glaciers, and stopped on the glacier foreland, resulting in its elongated shape and long runout distance. Its distal margin may have become remobilized as a rock glacier, but a rock glacier origin for the entire landform is discounted due to lack of source debris, presence of matrix, lack of transverse ridges, and sparcity of melt‐out collapse pits. Lichenometric dating of the deposit indicates an approximate emplacement age of ad 1900. Analysis highlights the interaction of rock‐slope failures and glaciers during deglacierization in a neoparaglacial setting, with reduced slope stability due to debuttressing and permafrost degradation, and enhanced landslide mobility due to flow over a glacier and topographic channelling. Implications for the differentiation of relict landslides, moraines and rock glaciers are discussed and interrelationships between these landforms are considered in terms of an ice‐debris process continuum.     

Morphology and internal structure of a dormant landslide in a hilly area: The Collinabos landslide (Belgium)

This study attempts to reconstruct the history of the Collinabos landslide, a landslide with a fresh morphology that is representative for more than 150 dormant, deep-seated (> 3 m) landslides in the Flemish Ardennes (Belgium). A geomorphological map was created based on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-derived maps and detailed field surveys. The map showed that the landslide consisted of three zones with significant differences in surface topography. The northern landslide zone 1 is characterised by at least five reverse slopes, whereas zones 2 and 3, the southern landslide zones, have only two reverse slopes and a convex foot. Electric resistivity profiles measured in zones 1 and 2 revealed that the differences in surface topography were not related to differences in internal structure as both parts of the landslide were initiated as a rotational earth slide with a surface of rupture at 15 m deep, where the displaced material broke apart in two blocks. However, two shear surfaces of reactivations within landslide debris were only distinguished in the accumulation area of zone 1. The observed differences in surface morphology can be caused by a temporary conversion of a forest into cropland in zone 2. It is suggested that reverse slopes of smaller reactivations within landslide debris were obliterated during the agricultural activities. AMS radiocarbon dating of organic material found in ponds located in reverse slopes generally resulted in relatively recent dates (i.e. 1400–1950 Cal AD) suggesting that several of the small local reactivations occurred in that period. One dating at 8700–8440 Cal BP of organic matter collected in a reverse slope in zone 1 suggests that an initiation under periglacial conditions cannot be excluded for the Collinabos landslide. By combining different technologies, this study provides valuable information for a better understanding of dormant landslides.     

Magnitude–frequency relationships of debris flows and debris avalanches in relation to slope relief

Probability of occurrence, hazard intensity and encounter probability are key parameters in the quantitative risk analysis (QRA) of landslides. All are strongly dependent on magnitude of the landslides. As a result, magnitude–frequency analysis should be a part of QRA. Deriving representative magnitude–frequency relationships for debris avalanches and debris flows, however, is difficult. One key problem is illustrated with the example of a unique database from the coastal region of British Columbia, Canada, which was compiled entirely from detailed ground investigations. The magnitude of debris avalanches and debris flows is not an independent statistical quantity, but a function of the scale of a given slope, as characterized by the slope length. Thus, attempting to derive probability and magnitude for a given location or sub-region from a regionally-derived magnitude–frequency curve may lead to incorrect predictions. The same problem is pertinent to the application of the same approach to any type of landslide in which the largest combined dimension of the source volume (including entrainment) is of the same order as the length of the slope. It is recommended that greater emphasis be placed on site-specific geological observations, at the expense of generalized statistics.     

北川地震重灾区泥石流特征与减灾对策

汶川大地震的同震次生灾害以滑坡、崩塌居多,泥石流相对较少。但地震导致滑坡、崩塌为震后泥石流提供了极为丰富的物质来源,使得地震灾区在一年多的时间里已经多次暴发了大面积的泥石流。以北川地震重灾区的苏宝河和魏家沟流域为研究区域,通过野外实地考察、遥感图像分析、历史资料对比等方法,概括总结出受地震强烈影响区域的泥石流具有成因多样、时间同步、颗粒粗大、多灾种复合、空间近似对称和小沟大灾等特征。并提出了"面上监控为主、点上工程为主、分类防治和开展风险评估"的减灾对策。     

Automated landslide mapping using spectral analysis and high-resolution topographic data: Puget Sound lowlands, Washington, and Portland Hills, Oregon

Landslide inventory maps are necessary for assessing landslide hazards and addressing the role slope stability plays in landscape evolution over geologic timescales. However, landslide inventory maps produced with traditional methods — aerial photograph interpretation, topographic map analysis, and field inspection — are often subjective and incomplete. The increasing availability of high-resolution topographic data acquired via airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) over broad swaths of terrain invites new, automated landslide mapping procedures. We present two methods of spectral analysis that utilize LiDAR-derived digital elevation models of the Puget Sound lowlands, Washington, and the Tualatin Mountains, Oregon, to quantify and automatically map the topographic signatures of deep-seated landslides. Power spectra produced using the two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform and the two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform identify the characteristic spatial frequencies of deep-seated landslide morphologic features such as hummocky topography, scarps, and displaced blocks of material. Spatial patterns in the amount of spectral power concentrated in these characteristic frequency bands highlight past slope instabilities and allow the delineation of landslide terrain. When calibrated by comparison with detailed, independently compiled landslide inventory maps, our algorithms correctly classify an average of 82% of the terrain in our five study areas. Spectral analysis also allows the creation of dominant wavelength maps, which prove useful in analyzing meter-scale topographic expressions of landslide mechanics, past landslide activity, and landslide-modifying geomorphic processes. These results suggest that our automated landslide mapping methods can create accurate landslide maps and serve as effective, objective, and efficient tools for digital terrain analysis.     

The potential of GIS modelling of gravity flows and slope instabilities

Abstract

The component of gravitational acceleration parallel to the slope of the local surface partly determines the state of slope stability and the kinematics of flow under gravity on that slope. Geographical information systems based on digital elevation models offer the potential to be able to map this variable and permit the modelling of a variety of stability criteria and surface processes including landslides, rock avalanches, pyroclastic flows and lava flows. Three types of models and the basic map operations required to run them are discussed. The models are as follows: (i) sites of potential shallow slope failure (e.g. landslides), (ii) maps of flow deposition based on energy balance calculations (e.g. rock avalanches) and (iii) finite difference, initial value type simulations of dynamic flow (e.g. lava flows). The potential value of these models to hazard assessment is great but their application in specific cases must be assessed with reference to the accuracy of the digital elevation model used.