Investigation of the failure mechanism and stabilization of a landslide in weathered tuffite,Giresun, northeastern Turkey

This study investigates the causes and failure mechanism of the Aksu landslide that occurred during the construction of the Giresun–Espiye road between KM: 1 + 030–1 + 170 in northern Turkey and recommends proper stabilization techniques. For the purpose of investigating the causes and mechanism of this slope failure, engineering geological mapping, geotechnical investigation and rock mass characterization were performed. From top to bottom, weathered tuffite, tuffite, flysch, and dacitic tuffite were the major units in the study area. The disturbance of the slope by the excavations performed at the toe of the slope (i.e., due to the foundation excavation for the Tünel restaurant building and for the road cut) led to a “translational slide”. The “translational slide” occurred in completely weathered tuffite due to the disturbance of the stability of the slope by the excavations performed at the toe of the slope, particularly for the foundation excavation of the Tünel restaurant building and for the road cut along the Giresun–Espiye road. The rise in the groundwater level was also another important factor that has contributed to the occurrence of the landslide. After establishing the geometry of the landslide in detail, the shear strength parameters of the failure surface were determined by the back analysis method. Sensitivity analyses were performed and landslide failure mechanisms were modeled to quantify the contributing factors that have caused the formation of the Aksu landslide. The influence of an earthquake was investigated through pseudostatic slope stability analysis. Toe buttressing, ground water drainage, and surface water drainage alternatives were considered for stabilizing the slope.     

The 1979 Abbotsford Landslide, Dunedin, New Zealand: a retrospective look at its nature and causes

The Abbotsford Landslide of 8 August 1979 occurred in an urban area of Dunedin, New Zealand, causing much damage to houses and urban infrastructure. Rapid failure occurred after weeks of preliminary movements, resulting in the formation of a approximately 5 million m³ block slide. It caused the loss of 69 houses, with an overall cost of about NZ $10–13 million. After several months of investigations, a commission of inquiry found that unfavorable geology (weak clay layers in a 7°-dip slope) was the underlying cause of the landslide. An old sand quarry at the toe of the slope and a leaking water main above the slide area were found to be man-made factors that contributed to the failure. Slope stability analysis showed that after sand excavation (approximately 300,000 m³), the water table had to rise 0.3 m less for failure to occur. Because the quarry closed 10 years before the landslide occurred, it is concluded that a long-term rise in groundwater levels because of the increased rainfall over the previous decade and leakage from the water main controlled the timing of the failure and, in this sense, are considered to have triggered the landslide.     

Simple monitoring method for precaution of landslides watching tilting and water contents on slopes surface

A low-cost and simple monitoring method for early warning of landslides is proposed. To detect abnormal deformation of a slope, this method employs a tilt sensor in place of an extensometer on the slope surface. In order to examine the relevance of measuring rotation angle on a slope surface by tilt sensor, model tests were conducted, and rotation on the slope surface was observed together with slide displacement along the surface. The rotation data responded 30 min before failure in a model test, which could be useful as a signal for early warning. However, the behavior of rotation before failure varies from case to case, and thus, criteria to issue warning should be defined more carefully. For a model slope made of uniform loose sand, measurement of slide displacement along the slope surface is sensitive to failure at the toe, while the measurement of rotation on the slope surface is useful to detect the development of progressive failure upward along the slope. Wireless sensor units with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) tilt sensor and volumetric water content sensor were also examined on a real slope in Kobe City, and a long-term monitoring was attempted. A simple but possible way to define the criteria of judgment to issue warning can be proposed based on combination of data obtained by the tilt sensors and volumetric water content sensors.     

Identification of deformation and failure characteristics in cataclinal slopes using physical modeling

This study investigates the deformation characteristics of cataclinal slopes in central Taiwan prior to landslide failure. Field surveys and physical model tests were performed to explain the gravitational deformation characteristics of cataclinal slopes under various conditions and to derive the deformation process and failure characteristics. The results show that the distribution of erosion gullies (different length of the slope mass), the extent of erosion (different thickness of the slope mass), the foliation dip angle, and the geological material critically affect the deformation of cataclinal slope masses in the study area. The results of physical model tests indicate that increasing the foliation dip angle, the thickness and the length of sliding mass, particle size (spacing between foliations) increases the depth of slope deformation. Foliation dip angle is the most critical factor that controls the deformation of slate slopes. When the cataclinal slopes reached maximum deformation, a shear failure and translational slide occurred within a short period. The deformation zone exhibited significant cracking at the scarp and the bulging of the slope toe, which facilitated the infiltration of surface water and groundwater, accelerating the deformation to failure.     

强度折减法在高含水滑坡稳定性分析中的应用

文章依据滑坡体岩体破碎、地下水丰富、坡体含水量高、滑坡面积大、厚度小、稳定性差等特点,选取青海省麦秀山1^#滑坡为例。结合麦秀山地区的工程地质特点,利用FLAC-3D有限差分程序,基于强度折减法对该滑坡进行了稳定性分析。通过对滑体岩土体强度指标的折减,模拟地下水对岩土体的影响,当边坡的塑性区由坡脚贯通至坡顶、坡体上特征点的位移值产生突变,且无限制的增长时,认为边坡达到临界破坏状态,此时的强度折减系数即为滑坡的稳定系数,同时可得到滑坡失稳破坏的潜在滑动带,以揭示滑坡的失稳破坏机理。分析计算表明：强度折减法不仅能够模拟出滑坡渐进破坏的过程,而且所求得的稳定系数更符合滑坡的实际状态,在滑坡稳定性分析中具有明显的优势。     

四川省盐源玻璃村特大型玄武岩古滑坡复活机制

受前期14 d持续累计350.6 mm降雨影响,2018年7月19日盐源玻璃村一巨型玄武岩古滑坡体发生大规模复活,复活体积为1 390×104 m3,损坏房屋186间,造成重大经济损失。基于现场调查、无人机航测、钻探揭露、物理力学试验及数值模拟分析,在查明滑坡体地质结构、失稳特征基础上,对其影响因素及复活机制进行了探讨。研究结果表明,破碎岩土体及地形地貌是滑坡复活的孕灾基础,持续降雨及其引起的地下水位升高是滑坡复活的诱发因素。复活滑坡可分为主滑区和侧滑区两种破坏模式不同的区域。降雨作用下滑坡体内渗流场明显变化,孔隙水压力增大,导致7月13日古滑坡体开始发生变形,稳定性系数逐渐降低。受微地貌约束,主滑区具有多级、多次失稳,渐进破坏的特点。侧滑区斜坡前缘临空条件受坡脚主滑坡控制,在主滑坡运动过程中,侧滑区坡体位移量、最大剪切应变增量逐渐增大,塑性区扩展,破坏过程表现出与主滑坡一定的关联性和滞后性。分析表明,受地下水长期影响,滑带土体强度逐渐削弱,降雨导致坡体渗流作用加剧,抗剪强度降低,从而诱发滑坡复活。     

地下水对碎石土类边坡稳定性影响分析

在碎石土类边坡中常常发育地下水管网渗流系统,他们控制地下水水位上升,对保持边坡稳定十分重要。当坡脚开挖或坡体堆载时,会破坏管道状地下水排泄系统,从而导致地下水水位升高,使潜在滑面上的孔隙水压升高,最终导致滑坡的发生。本文综合分析了滑坡与水相互作用机理,并以官家滑坡为例,通过对滑坡稳定性计算中与地下水有关的各因素敏感性分析．发现地下水位变化对孔隙压力比、水头高度和水力坡度的影响极大的影响了碎石土边坡的稳定性;通过官家滑坡极限状态的塑性变形发现,碎石土边坡的变形破坏往往是在部分脆弱部位,通过长期蠕变积累首先展开,并逐渐扩展至整个滑面,由此得到在滑坡稳定性计算中,强度参数按照饱水面积比影响下经衰减的数值进行计算,所得到的稳定性系数更符合工程实际现状,对滑坡剩余推力的计算和治理设计具有积极的指导意义。     

The Catak landslide disaster, Trabzon Province, Turkey

The Catak landslide (Trabzon Province, Turkey) developed retrogressively upslope through a series of small slips, culminating with the catastrophic rock avalanche of 23rd June, 1988 when at least 66 people were killed. The landslide was caused by prolonged heavy rainfall triggering a failure in a partially supported 25-m high road cutting in colluvium, which progressively removed support for the higher parts of the slope and resulted in the catastrophic slide. Such high-magnitude events are not uncommon in the Black Sea Mountains but the recent disaster highlights the need for systematic landslide hazard assessments in the region.     

大型岩质滑坡地震变形破坏过程物理试验与数值模拟研究

以汶川地震触发的大光包岩质滑坡为例,结合野外现场调查,以其地质结果为背景,建立起破坏前的物理模型和三维数值模型,利用振动试验台和数值计算方法对滑坡变形破坏过程进行了研究。物理试验与数值模拟方法相互验证,取得了较为一致的结果。研究结果表明: 该滑坡的破坏模式为坡体顶部与中部拉张贯穿破坏中部沿层面滑移前缘剪切破坏,中部拉裂缝与主滑面首先形成滑动边界,前缘首先滑出; 滑坡变形过程中的加速度与速度响应研究表明其放大效应明显。同时,通过对比基岩与滑带加速度与速度放大系数,显示了结构面对斜坡变形破坏过程的控制作用。     

The 17 November 2015 Mw 6.4 Lefkas (Ionian Sea,Western Greece) Earthquake: Impact on Environment and Buildings

On Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 07:10:07 (UTC) a strong earthquake struck Lefkas Island (Ionian Sea, Western Greece) with magnitude Mw 6.4, depth of about 6 km and epicenter located 20 km southwest of Lefkas town. It was felt in Lefkas Island and the surrounding region and caused the death of two people, the injury of eight others, many earthquake environmental effects (EEE) and damage to buildings and infrastructures. Secondary EEE were observed in western Lefkas and classified as ground cracks, slope movements and liquefaction phenomena. Primary effects directly linked to surface expression of seismogenic source were not detected in the field. The maximum intensity VIII_{ESI 2007} was assigned to large-volume slope movements along western coastal Lefkas. Damage to buildings was mainly observed in villages located in Dragano-Athani graben arranged almost parallel to the northern segment of the Cephalonia Transform Fault Zone (Lefkas segment). Among structures constructed with no seismic provisions, the stone masonry buildings and monumental structures suffered most damage, while the traditional buildings of the area with dual structural system performed relatively well and suffered minor damage. Reinforced-concrete buildings were affected not so much by the earthquake itself but by the generation of secondary EEE. The maximum seismic intensities VIII_EMS-98 were assigned to villages located in Dragano-Athani graben due to very heavy structural damage observed on masonry buildings mainly attributed to the combination of the recorded high PGA values, the poor antiseismic design and construction of buildings and the geological and tectonic structure of the affected area.     

A large and rapid planar failure: causes,mechanism, and consequences (Mordut,Gumushane, Turkey)

Gumushane is a small city located on highway connecting the harbour city Trabzon in the Black Sea Region of Turkey to the Eastern Anatolia. Following an excavation to create an area for housing on the northeast side of this highway, a large and rapid planar failure inclined to the southwest occurred. A large amount of fractured and weathered granitic material moved downward over this planar failure. After the failure, the highway was closed to traffic for 1 week, and more than ten houses on top of this failure were collapsed completely. The present study aims to investigate the mechanism of this failure. The study was performed using kinematical, limit equilibrium and numerical analyses for both post- and pre-failure conditions. Based on the detailed field observations, the failure mode was determined to be planar, and the slide mechanism was determined to be controlled by three fault planes. As a result of these analyses, it can be concluded that the slope before failure had critical conditions and that the excavation and uncontrolled blasting triggered and accelerated the slope failure.     

基于强度折减法的三维边坡稳定性与破坏机制

基于强度折减技术的三维弹塑性有限元法是当前较为有效的边坡稳定性评价方法,但很少应用于复杂地质环境及负载条件下的三维边坡稳定性与破坏机制分析。拓展这一方法,利用典型算例,探讨了单元尺寸、边界条件、土体强度、局部超载和地震荷载等因素对三维边坡稳定性及潜在滑动面的影响;在此基础上,着重研究含软弱夹层及地下水的复杂三维边坡在负载条件（坡顶局部超载及地震荷载）下的破坏模式及滑动机制。结果表明：随着黏聚力的增加,潜在滑坡体的剪出位置远离坡脚,滑坡后沿远离坡肩,滑坡深度加深;坡顶超载强度较低时,边坡表现为整体破坏模式,而高超载强度下表现为局部地基破坏;考虑地下水后边坡的稳定性显著下降,且潜在滑动面加深,滑坡体体积有所增大。含软弱夹层的三维边坡,其潜在滑动面呈折线型,当受超载作用时,其破坏模式和滑动机制与地震荷载作用下不同:前者为竖向剪切和水平错动的联合作用,而后者为软弱夹层水平错动起主导作用。     

Human-induced geological hazards along the Dead Sea coast

The Dead Sea is a terminal lake whose level is currently dropping at a rate of about 1 m per year due to the over exploitation of all its tributaries. The lowering started about four decades ago but geological hazards appeared more and more frequently from the end of the 1980s. The water level lowering is matched by a parallel groundwater level drop, which results in an increasing intensity of underground and surface water flow. The diagonal interface between the Dead Sea brine and the fresh groundwater is pushed downwards and seawards. Nowadays, sinkholes, subsidence, landslides and reactivated salt-karsts affect wide coastal segments. Until now, mainly infrastructures were damaged and few people/animals were injured, but the ongoing development of tourism in this very attractive situation will increase the risk if precautionary measures are not included in the development plans. This paper discusses the main observations made all around the Dead Sea and shed a light on the differences between the geological hazards of the western shore (Israel, Palestinian Authority) and the eastern shore (Jordan). It is the first attempt to bring together an overview of the human-induced geological hazards encountered along the Dead Sea coast.     

Remediation and monitoring of a highway across an active landslide at Trevor, North Wales

In March 1989, a moderately steep slope forming sidelong ground below the B5434 Trevor to Froncysyllte Road failed after a period of exceptionally heavy rainfall and severed the highway. A long history of ground movements together with river erosion at the toe and a change in the groundwater regime within the slope created the preconditions for landslide. Site investigations characterised the ground conditions and identified the active slip surface within the compound landslide terrain. The permanent remedial measures adopted proved to be of considerable practical interest involving a bored pile anchored wall with foundations socketed into a deep sandstone foundation stratum. The anchored wall was designed to safeguard the highway and it was anticipated that deloading the slope would reduce the capacity for further movement. The wall achieved the design objective but progressive downslope movements resumed about one year after construction. They continue spasmodically to the present time with rates approaching 9 mm per year both laterally and vertically and although they affect the neighbouring areas, the highway corridor remains intact. The response of load cells attached to the ground anchors reveal two unusual patterns of increasing loads. At the eastern end of the wall, moderate load gains clearly relate to landsliding with reactivation along the existing slip surface and consequent removal of support to the wall as the ground progressively fails in a downslope direction. However, anomalous increases in loads recorded at the western end of the wall have proved more difficult to explain. They may be due either to a build up of water pressure behind the downhill portion of the wall or to localised weak ground conditions or swelling of degraded mudstones behind the wall. Monitoring of the load cells will continue in order to ensure the ongoing integrity of the highway.     

A slope failure caused by drainage cutoff through the advancement of seasonal frost, Hudson Bay Lowland

A failure occurred between December 14 and 17, 2008 in the upper part of a 45-m high, northwest facing bank of the Nelson River in northern Manitoba (56.687°N, 93.777°W). The slope failure occurred at a spring site in a bay associated with a buried valley. The sediment input to the river from this event is roughly 20,000 to 25,000 m³. The source zone is made up of 25  m of water-bearing sand and gravel confined between ice-rich silty clay at the top of the bank and laminated to rhythmically bedded silt and clay at the base of the section. The collapse was confined to the material above the basal silts and clays and was associated with a perched groundwater flow system. A strong argument for drainage cutoff by the advancement of seasonal frost has been demonstrated through the correlation of the bank collapse with the timing of a significant cold snap recorded at two nearby weather stations. The failure illustrates the importance of stratigraphy in controlling bank erosion in this area. Previously, fluvial erosion was seen as an important control on mass wasting in Horseshoe Bay. However, surface information suggests that no toe erosion except to remove the slide deposit has occurred at this site since 2004.     

Can vein-filling speleothems constrain the timing of deep-seated gravitational slope deformation? A case study from the Vinschgau (Italian Alps)

The steep, south facing slopes of the central Vinschgau (Val Venosta, South Tyrol, northern Italy) are characterized by deep-seated compound rockslides affecting 51 km² and reaching beneath the Quaternary valley fill. Morphological features include double ridges, trenches, scarps, and counterscarps, whereby the extent of displacement rises from W to E. Near the toe of these slopes, abundant fractures are present whose orientation and spatial strongly suggest that they are related to the gravitational slope deformations. These fractures host carbonate speleothems which are associated with local tufa occurrences at the surface. Given that the metamorphic host rock is essentially carbonate-free, these carbonate deposits require extensive water-rock interactions to form. Modern springs along the toe of the slope are also mostly supersaturated with respect to calcite and locally also aragonite. The invariant chemical composition, very low tritium levels, and in particular the low oxygen isotope values indicate that this groundwater infiltrates at high elevation and is characterized by a long residence time. On the other hand, local infiltration in the lower reaches of the slope is very limited due to the semiarid climate and is incompatible with the measured groundwater stable isotope composition and the high degree of mineralization. We therefore propose a conceptual model which reconciles the deep-seated gravitational slope deformation with the occurrence of mineralized groundwater and associated carbonate precipitates in fractures near the toe of the slope. These deposits provide a means to place constraints on the timing of rock fracturing and hence the slope movements. U/Th dating of 34 samples from eight sites shows that speleothem deposition started 14.2 ka BP and occurred semi-continuously throughout the Holocene. Thus, gravitational displacements likely commenced with a lag of ~3–4 ka after the deglaciation of the valley, which is also consistent with the few available dates on the onset of other deep-seated slope deformations in the Alps.     

The Murang'a landslide, Kenya

On 15 May 1991, a landslide occurred at Gacharage Village in the Murang'a District of Kenya; it buried a house near the toe of a cliff, killing all eight residents in their sleep. The principal determining factors of the slide were a high, mechanically unstable slope of deeply weathered volcanic soil and a high sorption capacity of the surface soil layer. The slide was triggered by rapid saturation of the soil following a heavy downpour. Based on field investigations and laboratory studies, this paper discusses the physical properties and environmental factors that affected slope stability at Murang'a. It also points out the economic and social impact of landslides in the region and suggests remedial measures.     

Slip monitoring of a dip-slope and runout simulation by the discrete element method: a case study at the Huafan University campus in northern Taiwan

Slope failure is a widely observed phenomenon in the mountainous areas in Taiwan due to rainy climatic and fragile geological conditions. Landslides easily occur after intense rainfall, especially from typhoons, and, accordingly, cause a great loss of human life and property. At the northern end of the Western Foothill belt in northern Taiwan, Huafan University is founded on a dip-slope about 20° toward the southwest composed of early Miocene alternations of sandstone and shale. Data from continuous monitoring using inclinometers and groundwater gauges reveal that 6–10 mm/month of slope creeping occurs, and a potential sliding surface is then detected about 10–40 m beneath the slope surface. To understand the potential runout process of the dip-slope failure at the campus, particle flow code 3D models based on a discrete element method are applied in this study. Results of the simulation reveal a critical value of the friction coefficient to be 0.13 and that more than 90% of the campus buildings will slide down in 100 s when the friction coefficient is reduced to half the critical value. The weakening of the shear zone due to the rise of groundwater during rainstorms is assumed to be the main factor. Some suggestions for preventing landslide disasters are to construct catchpits to drain runoff and lower the groundwater table and to install a sufficient number of ground anchors and retaining walls to stabilize the slope.     

甘肃舟曲锁儿头滑坡活动的主控因素分析

锁儿头滑坡是甘肃舟曲县城附近一个巨型老滑坡,自20世纪70年代末以来一直处于缓慢活动之中。滑坡所处的地质环境表明,锁儿头滑坡长期缓慢滑动是具有特殊性质的滑坡物质在自重、边界断层活动、白龙江侧蚀和地下水四大因素联合作用下的结果。然而,除自重这个基础因素外,其余三个因素在该滑坡中的作用程度如何,目前尚无定论。笔者在野外调查和监测数据分析的基础上,采用数值模拟手段,定量分析了三个因素对滑坡活动速率的贡献程度。研究结果表明:对于组成物质松软的锁儿头滑坡而言,除了其流变性质外,地下水和断层活动是导致滑坡长期缓慢活动的主要因素,其中地下水位上升的作用略大于断层活动;尽管滑坡在不同因素作用后的位移模式基本一致,但位移速率有明显差异;相较于单独自重作用,边界断层活动使滑坡位移速率增大20%~47%;地下水位上升1 m后,滑坡位移速率增大20%~97%,且随着水位上升量的增加,滑坡位移速率进一步增大;白龙江侧蚀仅对滑坡临江前缘部分的位移速率影响较大,但位移速率的增大幅度与白龙江水流速度并无明显正相关。     

Heat transport in a coastal groundwater flow system near De Panne, Belgium

Temperature distribution and heat transport are studied in a coastal aquifer at De Panne in the western Belgian coastal plain. Field observations include temperature profiles of groundwater in the dunes and temperature measurements at the water table in a profile on the shore. Freshwater–saltwater distribution is known from previous studies. These are used to constrain a density-dependent model simulating the freshwater–saltwater distribution and heat transport using the SEAWAT code. The yearly fluctuation of the groundwater temperature in the phreatic aquifer under the dunes, shore and sea, and the influence of a tidal inlet in the dunes are simulated. The observations show that seawater temperature variations determine the temperature variations on the shore whereas atmospheric temperature changes determine this in the dunes. Yearly temperature fluctuations imposed at the water table propagate mainly vertically in the aquifer with only limited lateral influence. Heat transport is mainly convection dominated. Thickness of the surficial zone is determined by the amplitude of the groundwater temperature at the water table and the groundwater flow. Establishment of a tidal inlet in the dunes results in asymmetric temperature profiles under and in the vicinity of it.