Subaqueous density flow processes and deposits of an island volcano landslide (Stromboli Island, Italy)

Stromboli is a 3000 m high island volcano, rising to 900 m above sea-level. It is the most active volcano of the Aeolian Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). Major, large volume (1 km³) sector collapses, four occurring in the last 13 kyr, have played an important role in shaping the north-western flank (Sciara del Fuoco) of the volcano, potentially generating a high-risk tsunami hazard for the Aeolian Islands and the Italian coast. However, smaller volume, partial collapses of the Sciara del Fuoco have been shown to be more frequent tsunami-generating events. One such event occurred on 30 December 2002, when a partial collapse of the north-western flank of the island took place. The resulting landslide generated 10 m high tsunami waves that impacted the island. Multibeam bathymetry, side-scan sonar imaging and visual observations reveal that the landslide deposited 25 to 30 × 10⁶ m³ of sediment on the submerged slope offshore from the Sciara del Fuoco. Two contiguous main deposit facies are recognized: (i) a chaotic, coarse-grained (metre-sized to centimetre-sized clasts) deposit; and (ii) a sand deposit containing a lower, cross-bedded sand layer and an upper structureless pebbly sand bed capped by sea floor ripple bedforms. The sand facies develops adjacent to and partially overlying the coarse deposits. Characteristics of the deposits suggest that they were derived from cohesionless, sandy matrix density flows. Flow rheology and dynamics led to the segregation of the density flow into sand-rich and clast-rich regions. A range of density flow transitions, both in space and in time, caused principally by particle concentration and grain-size partitioning within cohesionless parent flows was identified in the deposits of this relatively small-scale submarine landslide event.     

Susceptibility of intrusion-related landslides at volcanic islands: the Stromboli case study

Susceptibility of intrusion-related landslides in an active volcano was evaluated coupling the landslide susceptibility estimation by random forest (RF), and the probabilistic volcanic vent opening distribution, as proxy for magma injection, using the QVAST tool. In order to develop and test the method proposed here, the RF/QVAST approach was adopted for Stromboli volcano (Southern Italy) since it experienced moderate to huge instability events, it is geomorphologically prone to instability events, and it is affected by active intense volcanic activity that can produce slope instability. The main destabilizing factors of the volcanic flanks are the slope, the aspect, the terrain roughness, the land cover and the litho-technical features of the outcropping rocks. Estimation of volcanic susceptibility shows that the areas with high probability of new vent opening are located in the north-western unstable volcano flank (Sciara del Fuoco), in the volcano summit and the north-eastern volcano flank coherent with the possible re-activation of the eruptive fissures related to the regional tectonic setting. The areas with higher probability of intrusion-related landslides are located in the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco, while the rest of the island show moderate to low probability of intrusion-related landslide occurrence.     

Exhumed lateral margins and increasing flow confinement of a submarine landslide complex

Submarine landslides, including the basal shear surfaces along which they fail, and their subsequent infill, are commonly observed in modern seabed and seismic reflection data sets; their resultant relief impacts sediment routing and storage patterns on continental margins. Here, three stacked submarine landslides are documented from the Permian Ecca Group, Laingsburg depocentre, Karoo Basin, South Africa, including two superimposed lateral margins. The stratigraphic framework includes measured sections and correlated surfaces along a 3 km long, 150 m high outcrop. Two stacked 2·0 to 4·5 km wide and 90 m and 60 m deep erosion surfaces are recognized, with lateral gradients of 8° and 4°, respectively. The aim of this study was to understand the evolution of a submarine landslide complex, including: evolution of basal shear surfaces/zones; variation of infill confinement; and location of the submarine landslides in the context of basin‐scale sedimentation and degradation rates. Three stages of formation are identified: (i) failure of submarine landslide 1, with deposition of unconfined remobilized deposits; (ii) failure of submarine landslide 2, forming basal shear surface/zone 1, with infill of remobilized deposits and weakly confined turbidites; and (iii) failure of submarine landslide 3, forming basal shear surface/zone 2, with infill of remobilized deposits and confined turbidites, transitioning stratigraphically to unconfined deposits. The expression of basal shear varies laterally, from metres thick zones in silt‐rich strata to sharp stepped surfaces in sand‐rich strata. Faulting and rotation of overlying bedding suggest that the shear surfaces/zones were dynamic. Stacking of landslides resulted from multi‐phase slope failure, increasing down‐dip topography and confinement of infilling deposits. The failure slope was probably a low supply tilted basin margin evidenced by megaclast entrainment from underlying basin‐floor successions and the lack of channel systems. This study develops a generic model of landslide infill, as a function of sedimentation and degradation rates, which can be applied globally.     

Numerical model of the Stromboli volcano (Italy) including the effect of magma pressure in the dyke system

Summary  The Stromboli island, in the Aeolian archipelago (Italy), is one of the most active volcanoes in Europe. In the last 13,000 years, its growth has been complicated by four sector collapses affecting the NW flank, the latest of which resulting in the formation of Sciara del Fuoco (SdF) horseshoe-shaped depression. Slope instability phenomena are represented not only by giant deep-seated gravitational slope deformations, but also by more frequent large landslides, such as occurred in December 2002–January 2003, and shallow landslides, involving loose or weakly cemented deposits, that constitute a natural hazard and affect residential and tourists safety. It is noteworthy that in volcanic environment the instability factors are manifold and much more complex than in other non-volcanic contexts. This paper deals with the Stromboli NW flank instability, and focuses on the effects of magma pressure in the feeding system. Two main objectives have been pursued: (1) to test a methodological approach, in order to evaluate a complex instability process; (2) to contribute to the understanding of volcano deformation and collapse mechanisms and associated hazard. A numerical model was developed by the Finite Difference Method and the FLAC 4.0 code, considering a cross-section of the entire volcano, orthogonal to the SdF and including both subaerial and submerged slopes. The stability of the volcano was analysed under gravity alone, and by introducing the magma pressure effect, both related to magmastatic and overpressure components. The results indicate that gravity alone is not sufficient to affect the stability of the volcano slopes, nor is the magmastatic pressure component. If an excess magma pressure component is introduced, instability is produced in accordance with field evidences and recent slope dynamics. Correspondence: Tiziana Apuani, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “A. Desio”, via Mangiagalli 34, 20133 Milano, Italy     

Mechanism for the rapid motion of the Qianjiangping landslide during reactivation by the first impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam reservoir, China

The first impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam reservoir in China started from a water surface elevation of 95 m on June 1, 2003 and reached 135 m on June 15, 2003. Shortly after the water level reached 135 m, many slopes began to deform and some landslides occurred. The Qianjiangping landslide is the largest one; it occurred on the early morning of July 14, 2003 and caused great loss of lives and property. Field investigation revealed that, although failure occurred after the reservoir reached 135 m, the stability of the slope was already reduced by preexisting sheared bedding planes. To study the mechanism of the rapid motion of this reactivated landslide, two soil samples were taken from a yellow clay layer and a black silt layer in the sliding zone, respectively, and a series of ring shear tests were conducted on the samples. One series of ring shear tests simulates the creep deformation behavior, while the other series simulates different shear rates. Conclusions drawn from analysis of the ring shear tests indicate that the mechanism of the rapid motion of the reactivated landslide was caused by the rate effect of the black silt layer during the motion phase after the creep failure. The yellow clay layer did not play any important role in the rapid motion in the 2003 event.     

Influence of saturation on rainfall generated landslides in shale along Murree-Kohala road,Pakistan

On August 10, 2010 a series of landslides of more than 90,000 m³ occurred along the Muree-Kohala road in the northern area of Pakistan. A study was undertaken to evaluate the likely impacts of percent saturation and bulk density on mobilized shear strength along the basal rupture surface of the landslide. A series of unconfined compression test and unconsolidated undrained triaxial tests were performed on remolded samples of different densities with varied percentages of saturation. The results of these tests suggest that soil cohesion and friction decreases with increasing saturation. The tests also showed that the shear strength parameters tend to increase with increasing dry density; however, all the samples exhibited a noticeable loss of shear strength with increasing degree of saturation, independent of soil density.Limit equilibrium slope stability analyses were performed along the most probable failure planes, based on shear strength parameters corresponding to degrees of saturation, which varied between 30% to about 100%. This resulted in drop of factor of safety from FS = 1.64 down to 0.51 as the degree of saturation approaches unity.These results suggest that the causative factor in triggering the landslide along Murree-Kohala was the partial saturation of the zone that developed the basal rupture plane. As rain infiltrated the slope, the bulk unit weight of the soil increased, while the shear strength along the developing plane of rupture decreased sufficiently to concentrate shear strain when the material became more than 60% saturation (FS < 1.0).     

Study of preexisting shear surfaces of reactivated landslides from a strength recovery perspective

Residual shear strength is generally considered in the design of preventive measures for slopes consisting of preexisting shear surfaces of large-scale landslides. Recent research suggests that the preexisting shear surface of a reactivated landslide can regain strength with the passage of time, which might also be considered in designing the slope stability measures. In this study, three reactivated landslide soils were tested in a ring shear apparatus for the discontinued shear periods of 1, 3, 7, 15, and 30 days with the following main objectives: (i) to understand the strength recovery behavior of landslide soils in a residual state of shear after as long as 30 days of discontinued shear, (ii) to understand the comparative pattern of strength recovery in highly plastic and less plastic soils, and (iii) to understand the mechanism involved in strength recovery at a residual state of shear. The results indicate that recovered strength measured in the laboratory is hardly noticeable after a rest period of 3 days, but recovered strength is lost after a small shear displacement. This paper primarily focuses on the effect of strength recovery from residual strength on preexisting shear surface soils and the mechanisms behind it.     

Laboratory experiments on three-dimensional deformable granular landslides on planar and conical slopes

Landslides of subaerial and submarine origin may generate tsunamis with locally extreme amplitudes and runup. While the landslides themselves are dangerous, the hazards are compounded by the generation of tsunamis along coastlines, in enclosed water bodies, and off continental shelves and islands. Tsunamis generated by three-dimensional deformable granular landslides were studied on planar and conical hill slopes in the three-dimensional NEES tsunami wave basin at Oregon State University based on the generalized Froude similarity. A unique pneumatic landslide tsunami generator (LTG) was deployed to control the kinematics and acceleration of the naturally rounded river gravel and cobble landslides to simulate broad ranges of landslide shapes and velocities along the slope. Lateral and overhead cameras are used to measure the landslide shapes and kinematics, while acoustic transducers provide the shape of the subaqueous deposits. The subaerial landslide shape is extracted from the camera images as the landslide propagates under gravity down the hill slope, and surface reconstruction of the landslide is conducted using the stereo particle image velocimetry (PIV) system on the conical hill slope. Subaerial landslide surface velocities are measured with a planar PIV system on the planar hill slope and stereo PIV system on the conical hill slope. The submarine deposits are characterized by the runout distances and the deposit thickness distributions. Larger cobbles are observed producing hummock type features near the maximum runout length. These unique laboratory landslide experiments serve to validate deformable landslide models as well as provide the source characteristics for tsunami generation.     

Evaluation of potential landslide damming: Case study of Urni landslide,Kinnaur, Satluj valley,India

This work aims to understand the process of potential landslide damming using slope failure mechanism,dam dimension and dam stability evaluation. The Urni landslide, situated on the right bank of the Satluj River, Himachal Pradesh(India) is taken as the case study. The Urni landslide has evolved into a complex landslide in the last two decade(2000-2016) and has dammed the Satluj River partially since year 2013,damaging ～200 m stretch of the National Highway(NH-05). The crown of the landslide exists at an altitude of ～2180-2190 m above msl, close to the Urni village that has a human population of about 500.The high resolution imagery shows ～50 m long landslide scarp and ～100 m long transverse cracks in the detached mass that implies potential for further slope failure movement. Further analysis shows that the landslide has attained an areal increase of 103,900 ± 1142 m^2 during year 2004-2016. About 86% of this areal increase occurred since year 2013. Abrupt increase in the annual mean rainfall is also observed since the year 2013. The extreme rainfall in the June, 2013; 11 June(～100 mm) and 16 June(～115 mm),are considered to be responsible for the slope failure in the Urni landslide that has partially dammed the river. The finite element modelling(FEM) based slope stability analysis revealed the shear strain in the order of 0.0-0.16 with 0.0-0.6 m total displacement in the detachment zone. Further, kinematic analysis indicated planar and wedge failure condition in the jointed rockmass. The debris flow runout simulation of the detached mass in the landslide showed a velocity of ～25 m/s with a flow height of ～15 m while it(debris flow) reaches the valley floor. Finally, it is also estimated that further slope failure may detach as much as 0.80 ±0.32 million m^3 mass that will completely dam the river to a height of 76±30 m above the river bed.     

Analysis of a progressive slope failure in the Xiangjiaba reservoir area,Southwest China

The rehabilitation construction in the reservoir area of Xiangjiaba hydropower station in Southwest China has caused many landslides. A shallow progressive failure that occurred on the resettlement site of Xin’an Town of Pingshan County in Sichuan Province was selected as a case study. This landslide occurred in a long and gently inclined area by slope excavation under rainfall conditions. It is about 3.0 m deep with a total length of 35 m and is composed of some subfailures. Undisturbed samples were retrieved, on which the basic properties, shear strength, expansive potential, mineral compositions, and microstructures were tested and analyzed. The results show (1) the landsliding materials belong to medium expansive soil, consisting of the clay minerals of illite–smectite (I/S) and chlorite–smectite (C/S); (2) shear strength of the soil is sensitive to water, which greatly decreases once saturated; and (3) many fractures and relatively large pores are developed in the soils. Back analysis of the landslide shows that the shear strength at failure is less than the residual shear strength obtained from lab tests, indicating that some processes contributing to the slope failure could not be reflected by the shear box test. Based on the above analysis, the progressive process of the slope failure was interpreted, and it is inferred that the rainfall entered into the slope mainly through fractures and relatively large pores in the soil. It caused not only the great decrease in soil strength but also the swelling trend. The latter one would lead to growth, interaction, and coalescence of the fractures. Soon after, these fractures formed the shear planes (zones), which further decreased the resistance of the landslide. Under these favorable conditions, the slope excavation directly triggered the failure.     

Petrology, geochemistry, S, Cl and F abundances, and S oxidation state of sideromelane glass shards from Pleistocene ash layers north and south of Gran Canaria (ODP Leg 157)

Major elements, S, F, Cl concentrations and relative proportions of S⁶⁺ to total S were analyzed with electron microprobe in sideromelane glass shards from Pleistocene volcaniclastic sediments drilled during ODP Leg 157. Glasses are moderately to strongly evolved and represent a spectrum from alkali basalt, basanite and nephelinite through hawaiite, mugearite and tephrite to phonolitic tephrite. Measured S⁶⁺/ΣS (0.03–0.98) and calculated Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ (2.5–5.8) ratios in the melt yield preeruptive redox conditions ranging from NNO−1.4 to NNO+2.1. The morphology of the glass shards, variations of S and Cl concentrations (0.010–0.127 wt% S, 0.018–0.129 wt% Cl), calculated preeruptive temperatures (1030–1200 °C) and oxygen fugacities suggest that glasses deposited even within the same ash layers have diverse origin and may have resulted from both submarine and subaerial eruptions. Most vesicle-free glasses are characterized by high concentrations of S and represent undegassed or slightly degassed submarine lavas, whereas vesiculated glasses with low concentrations of S and Cl are strongly degassed and can be ascribed to the eruptions in shallow water or on land. Sideromelane glass shards at Sites 953 are thought to have resulted from submarine eruptions northeast of Gran Canaria, glasses at Site 954 represent mostly volcaniclastic material of shallow water submarine and subaerial eruptions on Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and glasses deposited at Site 956 resulted from submarine or explosive eruptions on Tenerife. Received: 8 April 1997 / Accepted: 27 October 1997     

Experimental and numerical investigations of a catastrophic long-runout landslide in Zhenxiong,Yunnan, southwestern China

On 11 January 2013, a catastrophic landslide of ～0.2 million m³ due to a prolonged low-intensity rainfall occurred in Zhenxiong, Yunnan, southwestern China. This landslide destroyed the village of Zhaojiagou and killed 46 people in the distal part of its path. The displaced landslide material traveled a horizontal distance of ～800 m with a vertical drop of ～280 m and stopped at 1520 m a.s.l. To examine the possible mechanism and behavior of the landslide from initiation to runout, the shear behavior of soil samples collected from the sliding surface and runout path was examined by means of ring shear tests. The test results show that the shear strength of sample from the sliding surface is less affected by shear rate while the shear rate has a negative effect on the shear strength of runout path material. It is suggested that the source and runout path materials follow the frictional and Voellmy rheology, respectively. Post-failure behavior of the landslide was modeled by using a DAN-W model, and the numerical results show that the selected rheological relationships and parameters based on the results of ring shear tests may provide good performance in modeling the Zhenxiong landslide.     

The large-scale landslide on the flank of caldera in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

An extraordinarily large-scale landslide with a volume of about 200 million m³, a width of about 1,600 m, and a height of about 750 m occurred on 2004 March 26, 13:45 local time, on a steep caldera wall on the northwest flank of Mt. Bawakaraeng (2,830 m) at the headwater of the Jeneberang River in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The debris avalanche extended about 7 km from the headwater and buried the river valley, causing devastating damage. There are a great many calderas in the world, notably Japan. If a large-scale sector collapse were to occur in a heavily populated area, it would be a devastating disaster for the people living in the area. The aim of this paper is to outline such a landslide and explain its mechanism of occurrence. We evaluated the stability of the original slope before the landslide using the limit equilibrium method and the finite-element-based shear strength reduction method (SSRFEM) with the strength reduction factor. The limit equilibrium method showed that a rise in the groundwater level caused the landslide. Although the critical slip surface predicted by the SSRFEM was shallower than that of the actual slip surface, the end positions of the actual and predicted slip surfaces were almost the same. Moreover, the end position of the critical slip surface before the landslide—the headwater of the Jeneberang River—was a knick point at which the slope inclination became steeper. SSRFEM analysis may be useful for evaluating the slope stability of large-scale landslides, because the critical slip surface predicted by it was close to the actual surface, even though we assumed homogenous conditions without information on the degree of weathering or ground properties. As the knick point formed at the end of the critical slip surface and is equivalent to the end of the actual slip surface, we assume such topographic features to be a primary geomorphologic cause of the landslide.     

Location of the source and shallow velocity model deduced from the explosion quakes recorded by two seismic antennas at Stromboli volcano

The seismic wavefield associated to the ongoing eruptive activity at Stromboli volcano (Italy) is investigated using data from two small-aperture, short-period seismic arrays deployed on the northern and western flanks, located at about 1.7 km from the active craters. Two distinct approaches are used to analyze the recorded signals:

• 1.1) the zero-lag cross-correlation method is used to analyze the explosion quakes data, to estimate slowness and backazimuth as a function of lapse time;
• 2.2) multiple filter technique and phase matched filtering are used to estimate Rayleigh wave dispersion, to obtain a shallow velocity model of the two sites.

Estimates of slowness vectors at the two different array sites show a primary (volcanic) source located at shallow depth beneath the crater region. Secondary sources associated with path effects are located in close proximity of the sector graben of Sciara del Fuoco and of the old parasitic cone of Timpone del Fuoco. The shallow velocity structure derived for the western flank depicts striking resemblance with that previously inferred for the northern flank of the volcano.     

Biological stabilization of mine dumps: shear strength and numerical simulation approach with special reference to Sisam tree

The stability of mine waste dump is very important for an economic and safety point of view. The biological method is the most popular and eco-friendly approach to stabilize the mine waste dump in the long term. Trees outclass grasses and shrubs for long term stability as the roots of trees are stronger and penetrate deeper. Their roots bind the dump material and form a composite material having high shear strength. The mechanics of stabilization by tress have yet not been fully understood. Moreover, one always refers to biological stabilization of slope qualitatively rather than quantitatively. A numerical simulation tool has been used in the present paper to assess the increased factor of safety of a vegetated dump slope. The Sisam tree was chosen for the present study as it is commonly available in northern India, needs little care and has high economic value. The increased shear strength of the dump mass having tree roots was calculated by shear box test. The tree roots occupy large space, hence, a large size shear box (1.5 m × 1.5 m × 0.75 m) has specifically been designed and fabricated for determining the shear strength of dump root matrix. A small size shear box (0.30 m × 0.30 m × 0.15 m) has also been designed and fabricated to determine the increased shear strength due to small trees. It was observed that the Sisam tree of even moderate size binds the upper layers of mine dump and improve the factor of safety substantially. It was also observed that the stability of dump slope improves with time (i.e. size of tree).     

海底泥流的流变试验及强度模型

海底泥流是海底斜坡发生失稳滑动后,经复杂的水土交换作用演变成的稀式海底滑坡体,表现出土体和流体的双重特征,而现有的测试方法难以获得低剪切应变率下连续变化的强度值,不能很好地揭示其综合强度特性。利用新型全流动贯入仪和RST流变仪,对模拟海底泥流在不同剪切应变率下的流变和强度特性进行了多组试验研究,并基于试验结果分析了不排水剪切强度、屈服应力和表观黏度与含水率的相关性。基于剪切稀化理论,提出分阶段拟合模式来描述海底泥流从低剪切应变率到中高剪切应变率的流变关系;通过多种常规流变模式拟合结果的对比分析,显示出新流变模式的适用性和优势。考虑强度软化的影响,建立了全剪切应变率范围内海底泥流的不排水剪切强度模型,为海底泥流运动过程的数值模拟和灾害评价提供科学依据。     

Evaluation of slope stability by finite element method using observed displacement of landslide

To monitor land deformation in detail, we ran a large-scale field test in which an artificial landslide was induced by the application of a load to a natural slope. The measured landslide displacement was reproduced numerically through the use of finite element model analysis with a two-dimensional elasto-viscoplastic model. The analysis suggested that the strength of the sliding surface decreased as the landslide mass moved. We propose a simple method for estimating safety factors. The method involves back-calculation of shear strength parameters through reproduction of observed landslide displacements and calculating the ratio of driving force to resisting force acting on the sliding surface as modeled by joint elements. This ratio, the “stability index”, shows the same trend as safety factors calculated by a two-dimensional limit equilibrium method and a shear strength reduction method that use back-calculated shear strength parameters estimated from the limit equilibrium state. The results indicate that the stability index may be applicable to the assessment of slope stability.     

重塑硅藻土抗剪强度的环剪试验研究

硅藻土是一种强结构性土,具有密度小、孔隙大、干燥土块吸水率高等特点。天然硅藻土的抗剪强度大,但在外界扰动或风化后,结构性强度丧失,易发生滑坡等斜坡变形破坏现象,因此,研究其在大变形下的力学性质很有必要。利用环剪仪可以研究土体在较大剪切位移条件下抗剪强度变化规律,对重塑硅藻土进行环剪试验研究,得到了不同竖向压力下的应力-位移曲线,认为重塑硅藻土为典型的应变软化型土;根据测试结果得到了重塑硅藻土的抗剪强度和残余强度,并从物质组成和微观结构特征方面对重塑硅藻土的力学性质进行了分析,为硅藻土滑坡的成因分析和灾害防治提供了依据。     

The characteristics and failure mechanism of the largest landslide triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake, May 12, 2008, China

Strong earthquakes are among the prime triggering factors of landslides. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (M _w = 7.9) triggered tens of thousands of landslides. Among them, the Daguangbao landslide is the largest one, which covered an area of 7.8 km² with a maximum width of 2.2 km and an estimated volume of 7.5 × 10⁸ m³. The landslide is located on the hanging wall of the seismogenic fault, the Yingxiu–Beichuan fault in Anxian town, Sichuan Province. The sliding mass travelled about 4.5 km and blocked the Huangdongzi valley, forming a landslide dam nearly 600 m high. Compared to other coseismic landslides in the study area, the Daguangbao landslide attained phenomenal kinetic energy, intense cracking, and deformation, exposing a 1-km long head scarp in the rear of the landslide. Based on the field investigation, we conclude that the occurrence of the landslide is controlled mainly by the seismic, terrain, and geological factors. The special location of the landslide and the possible topographic amplification of ground motions due to the terrain features governed the landslide failure. The effects of earthquakes on the stability of slopes were considered in two aspects: First, the ground shaking may reduce the frictional strength of the substrate by shattering of rock mass. Second, the seismic acceleration may result in short-lived and episodic changes of the normal (tensile) and shear stresses in the hillshopes during earthquakes. According to the failure mechanism, the dynamic process of the landslide might contain four stages: (a) the cracking of rock mass in the rear of the slope mainly due to the tensile stress generated by the ground shaking; (b) the shattering of the substrate due to the ground shaking, which reduced the frictional strength of the substrate; (c) the shearing failure of the toe of the landslide due to the large shear stress caused by the landslide gravity; and (d) the deposition stage.     

Performance-based assessment of earthquake-induced catastrophic landslide hazard in liquefiable soils

This paper outlines a methodology for evaluating the likelihood of catastrophic landslide occurrence on gentle slopes in liquefiable soils during earthquake. The approach is based on a modified Newmark sliding block model of assessing the earthquake-induced undrained landslide displacements for conditions of no shear stress reversals on the sliding surface. By employing the shear resistance-displacement relationship from undrained monotonic ring shear tests, the simulation model incorporates the sensitivity of computed displacements to variations in yield acceleration. The proposed approach involves an examination of undrained seismic slope performance under various horizontal seismic waveforms scaled to different specific values of the peak earthquake acceleration. An example problem illustrates how the proposed methodology may be used to demarcate, based on the magnitude of permanent seismic displacement, the levels of low, moderate and high risk of catastrophic landslide on a gentle slope in a saturated cohesionless soil susceptible to liquefaction during earthquake.