Slump debris flows in the Akovolwo Mountains area of Benue State,Nigeria

In September 1979, rain-induced complex landslides occurred in two separate localities along the slopes of the Akovolwo Mountains near Jato-Aka in the Kwande Local Government area of Benue State, Nigeria.The two movements developed on bedrock slopes covered by a veneer of colluvium and (or) residuum no more than 1.5 to 2m deep. Each started as a slump and graduated into a debris flow. The slump, extending downhill a short distance away from the head scarp, had been reconstituted into a debris flow as the initial movement (sliding movement) of the soil mass caused remoulding of the saturated moving mass into viscous debris-laden mud. The resulting mass moved partly along a pre-existing mountain stream channel and partly along a fresh channel it cleared in the savanna forest. At the break of slope, the mass of boulders was dumped and a trail of smaller fragments littered the channels towards the Katsina-Ala River.     

土石坝拟静力抗震稳定性分析与坝坡地震滑移量估算

单独采用拟静力抗震稳定性安全系数,并不能准确地评价土石坝的动力稳定性, Newmark等采用刚塑体滑移量或永久变形评价土石坝地震稳定性的建议得到了逐步认同,但土石坝地震永久变形或滑移量的估算尚缺乏合理方法。为此,将土石坝地震动力响应分析和拟静力极限平衡分析相结合,提出了合理地估算坝坡上潜在滑坡体地震滑移量的数值计算方法。首先,根据土石坝地震动力响应分析,针对圆弧滑动面和非圆弧光滑渐变曲面形式滑动面,分别采用简化Bishop法及改进的简化Bishop法计算坝坡上潜在滑动体的各个时刻拟静力安全系数。随后,对其中安全系数小于1的瞬时超载阶段,通过时间积分确定潜在滑动体的滑移量。最后,结合算例并通过具体数值计算与分析探讨了竖向地震动分量、滑坡体竖向地震响应、振动孔隙水压力等各种因素对土石坝地震位移及抗震性能的影响。     

The sagging deep-seated gravitational movements on the eastern side of Mt. Amiata (Tuscany,Italy)

The eastern side of the Mt. Amiata volcano is affected by a series of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DsGSDs). The San Piero and the Podere Mezzavia DsGSDs affect the lower part of the slope. The main escarpments are located on the outer edges of the lava flows, but the landslides mostly affect the pre-volcanic Ligurian Terrains. A deeper movement, possibly exceeding 100 m in thickness, is evidenced by a long trench at the base of the main escarpment that indicates a sagging type movement. This deeper movement is responsible for the activation of a series of superficial rock and mud flows that show evidence of ongoing activity. The most likely location of the sliding surface is the tectonized contact between the Santa Fiora and Argille a Palombini Fms within the Ligurian units, although the superficial landslides prevent our determining with certainty if a clear-cut sliding surface already developed connecting the upper and the lower parts of the slope. These DsGSDs were activated along the flanks of a larger movement that affects the lava flow units cropping out in the middle slope of the volcano. A long main escarpment, secondary escarpments, trenches and borehole data suggest that the thickness could locally exceed 200 m and generate another sagging type movement. Up-slope and up-movement-facing counterscarps indicate the existence of a listric elongated spoon-shaped compound embryonic sliding surface. This sagging, which hosts the towns of Abbadia San Salvatore and Piancastagnaio, appears to be in a quiescent stage, according to preliminary monitoring with a global positioning system (GPS) network. The downcutting of the river network along the softer Pliocene terrains of the Radicofani basin is enhanced by the general uplift of the Apennines and seems to be the major factor in the activation of these DsGSDs.     

Landslides and neotectonic activities in the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) zone: Southeastern Kumaun,Uttarakhand

Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) zone is constituted of some of the landslide prone areas in southeastern part of Kumaun Sub-Himalaya. Role of landslides as natural hazard and hill slope modifying agent is well documented from various part of Himalayan region and southern hills of Kumaun particularly in the MBT zone, which are susceptible to various type of mass movement. The rocks making up the slopes has been put to a number of brittle deformation phases during the movement along the MBT, and are traversed by number of joint sets. In the open slope these intersecting joint sets forms wedges and are the most favorable site for initiation of rockfalls and other types of landslides. Landslides are taking place primarily due to high angle slopes, formation of structural wedges along the free steep slopes, sheared nature of the rocks due to proximity to the MBT and neotectonic activities along the MBT and other transverse faults. Wedge failure is a common type of landslides in rock slopes characterized by multiple joints and acts as sliding planes for the failed blocks. Field observations and wedge failure analysis indicates most of the landslides taking place in MBT zone of Kumaun Sub-Himalaya are joint controlled. Safety Factor analysis suggests MBT zone of Kumaun Sub-Himalayan region is prone to landslides and related mass movements. This zone is also neotectonically active as indicated by various geomorphic signatures such as structurally controlled drainage pattern, offsetting of fan by MBT and formation of number of small lakes.     

议京西大台地区的燕山运动

作者研究了京西大台地区的燕山运动，初步研究表明：这里不存在强烈的挤压变形迹象和显著的角度不整合．缺乏磨拉石建造。龙门组是厚度有限的河流相沉积，九龙山组是具有弱火山活动的湖相一滨湖相沉积。在隆起带和沉降带之间侏罗系地层显著的厚度变化率、大安山一斋堂滑覆构造及其派生的髫髻山断陷盆和大量高角度滑动面理，都显示了伸展构造背景下基底断块的差异升降。髫髻山组与壳幔相互作用有关的一套火山岩显示了上述运动的深部背景。     

Autochthonous block fields in southern Norway: Implications for the geometry,thickness, and isostatic loading of the Late Weichselian Scandinavian ice sheet

The consistent geographical and altitudinal distribution of autochthonous block fields (mantle of bedrock weathered in situ) and trimlines in southern Norway suggests a multi-domed and asymmetric Late Weichselian ice sheet. Low-gradient ice-sheet profiles in the southern Baltic region, in the North Sea, and along the outer fjord areas of southern Norway, are best explained by movement of ice on a bed of deforming sediment, although water lubricated sliding or a combination of the two, may not be excluded. The ice-thickness distribution of the Late Weichselian Scandinavian ice sheet is not in correspondence with the modern uplift pattern of Fennoscandia. Early Holocene crustal rebound was apparently determined by an exponential, glacio-isostatic rise. Later, however, crustal movements appear to have been dominated by large-scale tectonic uplift of the Fennoscandian Shield, centred on the Gulf of Bothnia, the region of maximum lithosphere thickness.     

Finite Element Analysis of a Deep-seated Slope Deformation

Summary A study is presented of the slow time dependent movement of the deep-seated deformation of Rosone. This rock slope, which mainly consists of gneiss, is located on the Italian side of Western Alps and has been affected by recurrent instability phenomena. Due to these, and also to the presence of various villages and man-made structures (such as a hydroelectric power plant), a significant amount of geological and geomechanical data has been collected in this area. They have led to the assumption that the slow movement develops along a deep-seated sliding surface, involving a volume of rock between 22 and 35 million cubic meters. To check these hypotheses, and to get some insight into the causes of the phenomenon, a series of non-linear, time-dependent analyses has been carried out through the finite element method. The slow movement of the rock mass, and the gradual loss of its mechanical properties with increasing deformation, has been accounted for in the calculations by means of a visco-plastic constitutive law, allowing for strain softening effects. The results of analyses lead to some conclusions on the causes of the observed movements, among which the possible influence of the groundwater pore pressure is likely to play an important role.     

滑坡运动过程仿真分析

滑坡是一个动态过程，滑坡体的运动是一个集滑动，转动，拉张等运动方式的复杂运动过程，传统的极限平衡和计算和有限元分析均无法描述滑坡的运动学特点和运动过程。非连续变形分析（DDA）是最近发展起来的一种新的离散数值分析方法。该方法基于块体的运动学理论及数值分析，可以开展块体的静力和动力学计算。应用非连续变形分析方法对长江三峡区新滩滑坡的运动全过程进行了数值模拟研究，模拟方案充分依据该滑坡的地质，地形特征，按不同岩土体和地质结构面类型进行块体单元的划分，共划分成504个块体单元。模拟结果表明，新滩滑坡是以斜坡中部姜家坡一带的局部破坏为其运动的开始阶段，并进一步牵引上部滑体和推动下部滑体。代表性块体单元的位移变化曲线和滑动速度变化曲线反映了滑动过程中滑坡体块体系统的变形是非连续的，各处块体的动态形态各异，从而很好地再现了新滩滑坡的整个动态过程，揭示了滑坡的运动机制。     

Rate of collisional deformation in Kamchatsky Peninsula,Kamchatka

Detailed data are discussed on the rate of Holocene horizontal and vertical movements along a fault in the southeastern Kamchatsky Peninsula, which is situated between the converging Aleutian and Kamchatka island arcs. The fault is the northern boundary of the block invading into the peninsula under pressure of the Komandorsky Block of the Aleutian arc. The rate of right-lateral slip along the fault was increasing in the Holocene and reached 18–19 mm/yr over the last 2000 years and 20 mm/yr by contemporary time. Comparison of these estimates with those that follow from offsets of older rocks also indicates acceleration of horizontal movements along the fault from the early Quaternary to the present. The results obtained from rates of GPS station migration show that about half the rate of the northwestern drift of the Komandorsky Block is consumed for movement of the block of the southern side of the fault. The remainder of movement of the Komandorsky Block is consumed for movements (probably, underthrusting) at the eastern continental slope of the Kamchatsky Peninsula.     

Tree-ring dated landslide movements and their relationship to seismic events in southwestern Montana, USA

To determine periods of incremental landslide movement and their possible relationship to regional seismic events, the tree-ring records of 32 tilted and damaged conifers at three sites on landslides in the Gravelly Range of southwestern Montana were examined. Several signs of disturbance in the tree-ring record indicating landslide movement were observed. Commonly, the tree-ring record displayed a marked reduction in annual ring width and/or the reaction wood formation. The tree-ring records from the three landslide sites indicate multiple periods of movement during the 20th century. Many of the periods of movement indicated by the strongest signals (most trees) at the sites occurred the year following significant earthquakes in the region. Those seismic events for which evidence in the tree-ring record was found at one or more of the three sites are the 1983 Borah Peak, 1959 Hebgen Lake, 1935 Helena, 1925 Clarkson, and 1908 Virginia City earthquakes. This study suggests that many of the landslide movements were triggered by, or are coincident with, earthquakes as much as 200 km from the study area.     

Measuring displacements of the Thompson River valley landslides,south of Ashcroft,BC, Canada,using satellite InSAR

The Thompson River valley, south of Ashcroft in British Columbia, Canada, has experienced several landslides since the mid-1800s. The national railways that run along the valley cross a number of these landslides. All the landslides occur in glacial deposits, typically sliding on weak clay layers. Some have failed rapidly to very rapidly and are currently inactive or showing deformation rates from a few millimeters to centimeters per year. An evaluation of satellite InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) using RADARSAT-2 images between September 2013 and November 2015 provides new insight into landslide displacements in the Thompson River valley. This information enhances the ongoing hazard management of unstable terrain. This paper presents the comparison of the InSAR measurements with other instrumentation (GPS and ShapeAccelArrays? -SAA) installed at one moving landslide and then addresses the extent and magnitude of the slope movements observed. InSAR was found to provide similar displacement values to those measured otherwise. The stable location showed displacements of +/?1 mm with an average near zero during the whole monitoring period. Six areas of slope movement were identified within the study area, all within or adjacent to the footprints of past landslides. The average line of sight (LOS) displacement rates range between 11 and 39 mm/year. Most of the landslides exhibited seasonal variations in velocity that corresponds to changes in river elevation in the valley.     

Study of regional linears in central Sicily by satellite imagery

New regional linears where discovered in Sicily using images produced by satellite-borne sensors. In particular a group of linears crossing both the Caltanissetta central basin and the “nappes” of the northern coast has been investigated.Several techniques of processing the remotely sensed data have been employed in order to enhance the lineations and to evaluate their character.The features observed from space have been compared to aerial stereo pairs and checked by ground control. It was found that the linears generally correspond to actual faulting on the “rigid” formations of the northern overthrusting area, whereas they are produced mainly by the alignment of morphological features on the “plastic” formations of Caltanisetta basin.The general geological and geophysical features of the Sicilian region are discussed and the implications of the new findings are introduced.A programme for further geological and geophysical studies is suggested.     

Kinematics of the Cerca del Cielo, Puerto Rico landslide derived from GPS observations

Global positioning system (GPS) technologies have been increasingly employed to monitor landslide movements. This paper demonstrates the use of GPS in the study of a creeping landslide in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The landslide is primarily composed of chalk colluvium that extends to depths of about 30 m at the head zone and 2 to 3 m at the toe zone. The slip surface lies at the base of the chalk colluvium, which slides southeast over a weathered brown mudstone unit. GPS monitoring of the landslide began in March 2008. Both campaign rapid static and continuous static GPS surveying methods were applied. Precision at the level of 0.5 mm horizontally and 1.3 mm vertically was achieved through 24-h continuous GPS monitoring. Rainfall data from a local weather station was also integrated into the study. Rainfall heavily influenced the movements of the landslide. A heavy rainfall in September 2008, which dumped 50 cm rain on the landslide area over a 4-day period, temporarily accelerated the sliding and generated rapid movement of 1 m horizontally and 0.5 m vertically. The slide slowed markedly after this significant movement. A prolonged moderate rainfall in November 2009 also temporarily accelerated the sliding. The landslide remains active. The creeping appears likely to continue in the future with short bursts of rainfall-induced rapid movements. Potential landslide causes are investigated, and two measures to minimize future risk are proposed at the end of the article.     

Geotechnical aspects of soil slips in Alpine regions

Slope movements are due to many different causes. Numerous investigations carried out during the last ten years have led to the supposition that almost all slope movements, and particularly those occurring in soils, are conditioned by a significant combination of factors.For the Alpine regions, quantity, duration and kind of precipitation have to be considered as direct mechanical causes. Combined with such contributing factors as geological and soil-mechanical properties, aspect, vegetation, slope inclination and slope morphology, they will determine the type, dimensions and process of slope movements.The detailed investigation of 140 slope movements in slightly cohesive soils show that the process of movement is represented by sliding and flow events. In particular it was found out that shallow scars with planar slides predominate so that the supposition of an infinite slope model for slope stability appears to be justified. In many cases debris flows and debris avalanches continued downslope of the source area of the scars.     

横江韧性剪切带基本特征

横江韧性剪切带与金矿关系密切。该带中央为揉流褶皱带,往两侧至边缘依次出现鞘褶皱、a型褶皱、b型褶皱。带内发育的拉伸线理方向与剪切带走向近于垂直,旋转石香肠指示剪切运动方向为北西一南东向右型剪切,表明本带为韧性推覆剪切带。     

Microscopic characteristics of orthoquartzite from sliding friction experiments. II. Gouge

Optical, TEM and SEM observations were made on gouge from orthoquartzite subjected to sliding friction experiments (Hayes, 1975; Dunn and Hayes, 1975) at a constant effective confining pressure of 500 bars and a strain rate of 2.5 · 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹, both dry and in the presence of pore fluids. All experiments exhibited stick-slip behavior, and brittle fracture of both surface asperities and the gouge is the dominant deformation mechanism. Crystalline, smooth filamentous projections on larger fragments and individual filaments found throughout the gouge indicate that ductile flow is occurring at the tips of surface asperities. Welded gouge and a small amount of glass are found in the dry samples. The presence of a fluid inhibits the formation of welded gouge and glass but promotes the production of angular fragments by causing them to move past one another instead of clumping. The gouge showed a 99.7% reduction in the average grain size for all experimental conditions indicating that mechanical abrasion is highly effective even with 2.5–5.9 mm axial displacements.The experimental results can aid our understanding of the formation of gouge and fractures during faulting and the stabilization of fault movements to prevent earthquakes. The experimentally-produced gouge is analogous to cataclastic rocks lacking primary cohesion which are produced during near-surface brittle fracturing. Observations of experimental and natural faults suggest that fracturing along the sliding surface increases with increased displacement. Fault stabilization is enhanced by the presence of a fluid which lowers the coefficient of sliding friction and which completely wets the gouge produced during the movement.     

Development of a geotechnical and geophysical database for seismic zonation of the Ankara Basin,Turkey

The Kocaeli earthquake (M _w = 7.4) of 17 August 1999 occurred in the Eastern Marmara Region of Turkey along the North Anadolu Fault and resulted in a very serious loss of life and property. One of the most important geotechnical issues of this event was the permanent ground deformations because of both liquefaction and faulting. These deformations occurred particularly along the southern shores of ?zmit Bay and Sapanca Lake between the cities of Yalova and Adapazar? in the west and east, respectively. In this study, three sites founded on delta fans, namely De?irmendere Nose, Yeniköy tea garden at Seymen on the coast of ?zmit Bay, and Vak?f Hotel site on the coast of Sapanca Lake were selected as typical cases. The main causes of the ground deformations at these sites were then investigated. Geotechnical characterization of the ground, derivation of displacement vectors from the pre- and post-earthquake aerial photographs, liquefaction assessments based on field performance data, and analyses carried out using the sliding body method have been fundamental in this study. The displacement vectors determined from photogrammetric evaluations conducted at De?irmendere and Seymen showed a combined movement of faulting and liquefaction. But except the movements in the close vicinity of shorelines, the dominant factor in this movement was faulting. The results obtained from the analyses suggested that the ground failure at De?irmendere was a submarine landslide mainly because of earthquake shaking rather than liquefaction. On the other hand, the ground failures at the Yeniköy tea garden on the coast of Seymen and the hotel area in Sapanca town resulted from liquefaction-induced lateral spreading. It was also obtained that the ground deformations estimated from the sliding body method were quite close to those measured by aerial photogrammetry technique.     

2013年7月10日四川省都江堰三溪村五里坡特大滑坡灾害遥感调查及成因机制浅析

2013年7月10日上午10时30分左右,四川省都江堰市中兴镇三溪村五里坡发生大规模山体滑坡。约264104m3的山体在前期降雨的影响下启动,在短短2min内将滑坡体下方约500m处的11户农家乐吞噬,造成44人死亡, 117人失踪,大量农户房屋受损。本文采用三期遥感数据源,分别对滑坡发生前的孕灾环境条件、滑坡早期变形特征及滑后发育特征等内容进行解译; 同时结合无人机航空摄影、地形测绘及地面调查手段,对滑坡发育的地层岩性、结构面产状、节理发育情况等内容进行现场验证; 在此基础上对滑坡成因机制及运动破坏模式进行分析。结果表明,五里坡滑坡是在较好的临空条件和结构面的有效组合条件下,受强降雨条件激发形成的灾害。在持续强降雨作用下,与母岩分割开来的滑动块体,在动水压力作用下,沿底层滑面向临空方向滑动。在越过前缘约36m高的陡坎后,运动方式转变为崩滑运动,滑坡体经瞬间加速并撞击碎裂化,形成高速运动的滑坡碎屑流。在此过程中,中途伴随着洪水汇入,滑坡碎屑流又进一步转化为泥石流,最终形成滑坡-碎屑流-泥石流的链式成灾模式。其运动和破坏模式较为典型,值得深入研究。     

Process of slip-surface development and formation of slip-surface clay in landslides in Tertiary volcanic rocks, Japan

Once landslide movement has been initiated, the sliding mass tends to move toward a more stable position. However, landslides that have occurred in some Tertiary volcanic rocks in Japan show recurrent movement. A possible reason for this behavior is that the mineral composition and properties of slip-surface materials results in better ‘lubrication’ along the slip surface as movement continues. In order to determine the causes, five landslides in Japanese Tertiary volcanics with different movement histories were studied. Based on geological investigation, the results presented in this paper were obtained by studying the development process and formation of slip surfaces and clays in landslides in these volcanics.

For rocks of similar types and mineralogies the clay content of slip-surface materials can be directly related to the displacement and history of slide movement. This study indicates that the type of slip surface ranges from: (1) striation type (showing only striations on bedrock without clay), to (2) brecciated type (clayey breccia), (3) mylonite type (clay with breccia), and to (4) clay type (clay without breccia). If the slip surface occurs in tuff or tuffaceous materials and is subjected to increasing slide movement, the smectite content in the slip-surface clay increases, while the silicate mineral content decreases. Furthermore, the smectite content is observed to increase within the same landslide from the head to the toe portion of the landslide (direction of groundwater flow). The groundwater along the slip surface (above the impervious zone) contains an increased concentration of Ca⁺⁺ ions. As the concentration of HCO₃⁻ ions exceeds 40 mg/l, an environment is created that promotes the formation of smectite. This process indicates that there is an active ion exchange within the groundwater near the slip surface that forms smectite. Thus, the formation of smectite in the slip surface requires the presence of tuff and a sufficient concentration of HCO₃⁻ ions in the groundwater.

The study results presented here indicate that frictional resistance decreases as clay content increases. The reason for repeated movement of Japanese landslides in Tertiary tuffs or tuffaceous rocks at or in the immediate vicinity of the slip surface is attributed to: (1) an increase in clay materials along the slip surface as the slide movement is repeated and (2) the presence of groundwater that promotes the formation of smectite. As is commonly known, smectite is one of the clay minerals that has lowest frictional resistance.     

强震触发崩塌滚石运动特征研究

高强度、长持时汶川地震诱发大量边坡滚石,滚石源于岩体结构面切割而成的块体或岩土质边坡中尺寸较大的孤石。以汶川地震未扰动现场滚石痕迹的判识、测量取样及分析,得出强震作用下块体(石)是以一定初始速度抛射而出的; 其坡面运动表现为滑动、滚动、跳跃与3种方式的组合。选取2个典型强震崩塌点为例进行研究,基本结论:(1)与重力作用下崩塌滚石运动特征是有显著区别的,地震触发滚石具有一定的平抛速度,初始速度除与地震烈度有关外,还与地形地貌有关,其中变坡点、凸起点、端部速度较大; (2)滚石三边(长、宽、高)比例越接近,其运距越远; 坡面相对1/2高度以上,运动方式表现为跳跃-滚动、跳跃-滑动为主,其下滚石则以滑动、滚动运动为主; (3)规模(质量)大的滚石多停留于第一着地点附近或边坡坡脚宽缓地带,滚石运动消能方式为摩擦或碰撞解体; 滚石平台阻滞率为54％,树(灌)木拦阻率为12％。通过反演,计算了非弹性碰撞法向恢复系数Rn与切向恢复系数Rt,其中裸露基岩Rn=0.2,Rt=0.6,一般覆盖层Rn=0.3,Rt=0.8。滚石在运动过程中的弹跳理论高度在0.2~1.3m之间,坡面相对高差与最远滚动距离之比约为1/2。