Driftwood deposition from debris flows at slit-check dams and fans

Experience shows that debris flows containing large woody debris (driftwood) can be more damaging than debris flows without driftwood. In this study, the deposition process of debris flows carrying driftwood was investigated using numerical simulations and flume experiments. Debris-flow trapping due to driftwood jamming in a slit-check dam was also investigated. A numerical model was developed with an interacting combination of Eulerian expression of the debris flow and Lagrangian expression of the driftwood, in which the fluctuating coordinates and rotation of the driftwood were treated stochastically. The calculated shapes and thicknesses of a debris-flow fan and the positions and orientations of the deposited driftwood on a debris-flow fan were consistent with experimental flume results. The jamming of driftwood in a slit-check dam was evaluated based on geometry and probability. The simulated results of outflow discharge and the proportion of driftwood passed through the slit-check dam also agreed with the experimental results.     

帕隆藏布江特大型泥石流的成灾模式及防治对策——以扎木镇-古乡段为例

文章通过对雅鲁藏布江的Ⅰ级支流—帕隆藏布江扎木镇-古乡段辫状水系地貌的研究,认为其与两岸支谷发育的泥石流群有关。通过对位于该河段下游的古乡沟和上游的地质弄巴泥石流特征的重点剖析,发现了特大型泥石流发育的2个重要特征,即支谷上游冰蚀围谷中赋存大量巨厚古今冰碛物和支谷中游峡谷段大型崩塌滑坡坝溃决。提出了特大型泥石流的成灾模式,并以该成灾模式解释了2000年易贡巨型滑坡堵江事件。最后,提出了基于上述成灾模式的帕隆藏布江流域特大型泥石流灾害防治的原则和方法。     

Effect assessment of debris flow mitigation works based on numerical simulation by using Kanako 2D

Mitigation works are very essential for mitigation of debris-flow hazards in mountainous areas. Usually, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of existing mitigation works in a catchment. This paper presented a method for quantitative assessment of debris flow mitigation measures by using Kanako system, a user-friendly GUI-equipped debris flow simulator that allows good visualization and easy interpretation. Kanako 2D (Ver. 2.04) was applied to a case study at Caijia Gully, Sichuan Province, China. Mitigation works including check dams, drainage channel, and deposition basin were constructed in the gully in 2001 and 2006. Kanako 2D can simulate debris flow from steep area to alluvial fan. 1D simulation was applied for assessing the effect of the check dams at the lower part of the gully, and 2D simulation was applied for the effect of the drainage channel and deposition basin on the alluvial fan. The simulation results indicate that debris flow will cause great damage to residential area on the alluvial fan if mitigation measures were not implemented in the gully. For old dams which have been filled up with deposits of previous debris flows, the results show that they still have the function for controlling debris flow due to the gradient reduction of the channel bed in front of the dams by the trapped debris flow deposition. After the comprehensive control of debris flow including trapping, drainage, and deposition in the gully, the simulation results indicate that the risk on the alluvial fan can be reduced to an acceptable level.     

Empirical Relationships for Debris Flows

The assessment of the debris flow hazard potential has to rely on semi-quantitative methods. Due to the complexity of the debris-flow process, numerical simulation models of debris flows are still limited with regard to practical applications. Thus, an overview is given of empirical relationships that can be used to estimate the most important parameters of debris-flow behavior. In a possible procedure, an assessment of a maximum debris-flow volume may be followed by estimates of the peak discharge, the mean flow velocity, the total travel distance, and the runout distance on the fan. The applicability of several empirical equations is compared with available field and laboratory data, and scaling considerations are used to discuss the variability of the parameters over a large range of values. Some recommendations are made with regard to the application of the presented relationships by practicing engineers, apart from advocating field reconnaissance and searching for historic events wherever possible.     

A debris-flow alarm system for the Alpine Illgraben catchment: design and performance

We describe the development, implementation, and first analyses of the performance of a debris-flow warning system for the Illgraben catchment and debris fan area. The Illgraben catchment (9.5 km²), located in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in the Rhone River valley, is characterized by frequent and voluminous sediment transport and debris-flow activity, and is one of the most active debris-flow catchments in the Alps. It is the site of an instrumented debris-flow observation station in operation since the year 2000. The residents in Susten (municipality Leuk), tourists, and other land users, are exposed to a significant hazard. The warning system consists of four modules: community organizational planning (hazard awareness and preparedness), event detection and alerting, geomorphic catchment observation, and applied research to facilitate the development of an early warning system based on weather forecasting. The system presently provides automated alert signals near the active channel prior to (5–15 min) the arrival of a debris flow or flash flood at the uppermost frequently used channel crossing. It is intended to provide data to support decision-making for warning and evacuation, especially when unusually large debris flows are expected to leave the channel near populated areas. First-year results of the detection and alert module in comparison with the data from the independent debris-flow observation station are generally favorable. Twenty automated alerts (alarms) were issued, which triggered flashing lights and sirens at all major footpaths crossing the channel bed, for three debris flows and 16 flood flows. Only one false alarm was issued. The major difficulty we encountered is related to the variability and complexity of the events (e.g., events consisting of multiple surges) and can be largely solved by increasing the duration of the alarm. All of the alarms for hazardous events were produced by storms with a rainfall duration and intensity larger than the threshold for debris-flow activity that was defined in an earlier study, supporting our intention to investigate the use of rainfall forecasts to increase the time available for warning and implementation of active countermeasures.     

Sedimentology of the debris-flow-dominated Warm Spring Canyon alluvial fan, Death Valley, California

Facies analysis of widely distributed exposures of the 32·6 km² and 8·1-km-long Warm Spring Canyon fan, central Death Valley, shows that it has been built principally by debris-flow deposits. These deposits were derived from a mature Panamint Range catchment mostly underlain by Precambrian mudrock, quartzite and dolomite. Stacked, clast-rich and matrix-supported debris-flow lobes of slightly bouldery, muddy, pebble–cobble gravel in beds 20–150 cm thick dominate the fan from apex to toe, accounting for 75–98% of most exposures. Interstratified with the debris flows are less abundant (2–25% of cuts), thinner (5–30 cm) and more discontinuous beds of clast-supported and imbricated, pebble–cobble gravel deposited by overland flows and gully flows. This facies formed by the surficial fine-fraction water winnowing of the debris flows primarily during recessional flood stage of the debris-flow events. Two other facies associations make up a small part of the fan. The incised-channel tract consists of a 250-m-wide clast-supported ribbon of irregularly to thickly bedded, boulder, pebble, cobble gravel nested within debris-flow deposits. This channel fill is oriented generally perpendicular to the Panamint range front. It formed by extensive erosion and winnowing of debris flows deposited within the incised channel, into which all water discharge from the catchment is funnelled. The limited presence of this facies only straddling the present incised channel indicates that this channel overall has maintained a consistent position on the fan except for slight lateral shifts, some caused by strike-slip offset. Fault offset temporarily closed the upper incised channel, causing recessional debris-flow mud to be ponded behind the dam. The other local facies assemblage consists of subrounded to rounded, moderately sorted pebble gravel in low-angle cross-beds that slope both basinwards and fanwards. This gravel was deposited in beachface, backshore and shoreface barrier-spit environments that developed where Lake Manly impinged on the Warm Spring fan during late Pleistocene time. These deposits straddle headcuts into, and were derived from, erosion of the debris-flow deposits. Wave energy sorted finer sediment from the shore zone, concentrated coarser sediment and rounded the coarse to very coarse pebble fraction by selective reworking.     

Assessment of Risk due to Debris Flow Events: A Case Study in Central Taiwan

In this paper, based on the concepts of uncertainty and reliability analyses, a method used for assessment of risk due to debris flow events is proposed. First, procedures for obtaining the configuration of debris-flow fans are presented. Then, the parameters affecting the configuration of debris-flow fans are identified and their corresponding means and standard deviations are derived. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the Shih-Pa-Chung Creek in central Taiwan. The expected deposition thickness at any point in the deposition area is computed and then the contours of risk for the 50-year and 100-year events are constructed. Regarding the expected deposition thickness, it is found that the closer the distance from the canyon mouth, the larger the debris-flow thickness becomes. The results also show that the contours of risk are of the shape of an ellipse similar to the shape of deposition area, and the risk at a point decreases with increasing distance of that point from the canyon mouth. In addition, when the return period of rainfall event is fixed, the variation in risk decreases as the distance from the canyon mouth increases. For the assessment of risk due to debris flow events, the proposed method is recommended as an alternative to the existing methods, because the influence of all the uncertainty of the parameters is considered.     

泥石流灾害的物源控制与高性能减灾

传统的观点认为山区泥石流灾害的形成主要取决于降水,其产汇流运动的过程是可采用水文过程模拟的物理过程。基于目前泥石流灾害集中分布于地震带和干旱河谷的现象以及现有的泥石流形成与防治研究基础,我们发现在人类居住与活动的山区,其坡度和降水极易满足泥石流灾害的形成条件,因此物源控制着泥石流灾害的孕育、形成和演化,主宰了灾害性泥石流的过程。物源的动态变化改变了泥石流发育的难易程度,主导了泥石流的规模和频率变化。泥石流物源在内外动力作用下经历松散化或密实化两个不同的演化过程,不同密度的土体通过剪缩或剪胀形成不同规模、频率与性质的泥石流。此外物源也控制了泥石流的规模放大过程。实践证明基于物源控制理论的区域预测、分级多指标预警和工程调控技术是科学有效的。因此,灾害性泥石流是一个地质作用主导的地质过程,该过程的特征描述需要更多地考虑基于地质环境条件的经验模型,且高效能的灾害预测预警与调控需要基于物源控制的机理和过程而进行。     

Debris-flow event in the Frangerello Stream-Susa Valley (Italy)—calibration of numerical models for the back analysis of the 16 October, 2000 rainstorm

Three debris-flow simulation model software have been applied to the back analysis of a typical alpine debris flow that caused significant deposition on an urbanized alluvial fan. Parameters used in the models were at first retrieved from the literature and then adjusted to fit field evidence. In the case where different codes adopted the same parameters, the same input values were used, and comparable outputs were obtained. Results of the constitutive laws used (Bingham rheology, Voellmy fluid rheology and a quadratic rheology formulation which adds collisional and turbulent stresses to the Bingham law) indicate that no single rheological model appears to be valid for all debris flows. The three applied models appear to be capable of reasonable reproduction of debris-flow events, although with different levels of detail. The study shows how different software can be used to predict the debris-flow motion for various purposes from a first screening, to predict the runout distance and deposition of the solid material and to the different behaviour of the mixtures of flows with variation of maximum solid concentration.     

物源条件对震后泥石流发展影响的初步分析

强震过后一定时期内,泥石流的活跃性增强,即数量增多、规模增大、频率增加。而随着松散物质储量的减少,泥石流的活跃性会随之衰减。为了具体考察物源条件对震后泥石流活动的影响,使用震后泥石流逐年平均输沙量作为刻画泥石流活跃性的指标,在云南蒋家沟和西藏古乡沟泥石流数据的基础上,定量地分析了震后泥石流活跃性的变化过程。分析表明存在降雨控制型和物源控制型两种泥石流流域。前者的泥石流在震后很长一段时间内都不衰减,其发生主要取决于降雨条件。后者最大规模的泥石流发生于地震过后的短时间内,尔后泥石流活动随时间显著减弱。泥石流规模和频率的关系与暴雨不一致。当物源控制型流域的无量纲化活跃性指标值降为0.12左右时,可以认为泥石流进入了稳定或者衰弱期,不会再有大规模的泥石流事件发生。数据拟合结果表明,整个泥石流活跃性的衰减过程可以用幂函数来描述。其衰减指数与剩余物质储量和总物质储量之比存在密切的关系。这为定量预测震后泥石流发展趋势提供了一个初步的模型。     

Debris-flow hazards on tributary junction fans,Chitral, Hindu Kush Range,northern Pakistan

The Chitral district of northern Pakistan lies in the eastern Hindu Kush Range. The population in this high-relief mountainous terrain is restricted to tributary-junction fans in the Chitral valley. Proximity to steep valley slopes renders these fans prone to hydrogeomorphic hazards, including landslides, floods and debris flows.This paper focuses on debris-flow hazards on tributary-junction fans in Chitral. Using field observations, satellite-image analyses and a preliminary morphometry, the tributary-junction fans in the Chitral valley are classified into (1) discrete and (2) composite. The discrete fans are modern-day active landforms and include debris cones associated with ephemeral gullies, debris fans associated with ephemeral channels and alluvial fans formed by perennial streams. The composite fans are a collage of sediment deposits of widely different ages and formed by diverse alluvial-fan forming processes. These include fans formed predominantly during MIS-2/Holocene interglacial stages superimposed by modern-day alluvial and debris fans. Composite fans are turned into relict fans when entrenched by modern-day perennial streams. These deeply incised channels discharge their sediment load directly into the trunk river without significant spread on fan surface. In comparison, when associated with ephemeral streams, active debris fans develop directly at composite-fan surfaces. Major settlements in Chitral are located on composite fans, as they provide large tracts of leveled land with easy accesses to water from the tributary streams. These fan surfaces are relatively more stable, especially when they are entrenched by perennial streams (e.g., Chitral, Ayun, and Reshun). When associated with ephemeral streams (e.g., Snowghar) or a combination of ephemeral and perennial streams (e.g., Drosh), these fans are subject to frequent debris-flow hazards.Fans associated with ephemeral streams are prone to high-frequency (∼10 years return period) debris-flow hazards. By comparison, fans associated with perennial streams are impacted by debris-flow hazards during exceptionally large events with return periods of ∼30 years. This study has utility for quick debris-flow hazard assessment in high-relief mountainous regions, especially in arid- to semi-arid south-central Asia where hazard zonation maps are generally lacking.     

Post-earthquake changes and prediction of debris flow scales in Subao River Valley,Beichuan County,Sichuan Province,China

Subao River lies along the Beichuan–Yingxiu fault in Beichuan County, which has been heavily impacted by the Wenchuan earthquake on 12 May 2008 and has become sources of many geo-hazards. On 24 September 2008, a rainstorm triggered a large debris flow in the catchment, causing several deaths and significant damages. A case study on changes of the debris flow was conducted in the river. The peak discharges were calculated in the Guanmenzi, Huangnidi, and Daanshan gullies. Results indicated that the peak discharges corresponded to various return periods in different gullies: 200 years in Daanshan, 100 years in Huangnidi, and 50 years in Guanmenzi. However, the triggering precipitation in these three gullies was only of a 20-year return period. The debris flows had undergone significant changes. Analysis indicated that the changes should be ascribed to the flow characteristics, initiation conditions, and the channel blockage impacted by the rapid accumulation of loose material. Channel blockage was the principal factor increasing the scale of the debris flow. The values on the blocking coefficient were presented based on density, height, and other characteristics of dams. Finally, all of the peak debris flow discharges of the Subao River Valley for a 20-year return period were calculated using the recommended blocking coefficient values.     

基于CFX的江口沟泥石流危险区范围预测模拟

拟建猴子岩水电站移民安置点位于江口沟泥石流堆积扇上,通过现场调查泥石流形成条件和运动特征,获得了1958年发生的50 a一遇泥石流危险区范围,根据雨洪法计算确定了泥石流的相关运动学参数。使用基于有限体积法的CFX软件,选择Bingham流变模型对江口沟泥石流流动过程的液面分布情况和速度场进行了三维数值模拟,得出了泥石流危险区范围和速度场分布情况。模拟结果显示,江口沟50 a一遇泥石流流过堆积区的平均速度为5.76 m/s,其中最大速度为13.59 m/s。数值模拟计算得出的危险范围较1958年扩大,是因为早期泥石流堆积物将原有地面特别是沟道附近地面抬高,使得现状条件下泥石流更容易向两侧漫流泛滥而扩大。上述结果为泥石流防治工程设计及危险区范围划定提供了一种新的方法,对工程实践具有重要的指导意义。     

Rainfall duration and debris-flow initiated studies for real-time monitoring

A rainfall-induced debris flow warning is implemented employing real-time rain gauge data. The pre-warning for the time of landslide triggering derives the threshold or critical rainfall from historical events involving regional rainfall patterns and geological conditions. In cases of debris flow, the time taken cumulative runoff, to yield abundant water for debris triggering, is an important index that needs monitoring. In gathered historical cases, rainfall time history data from the nearest rain gauge stations to debris-flow sites connected to debris flow are used to define relationships between the rainfall intensity and duration. The effects by which the regional rainfall patterns (antecedent rainfall, duration, intensity, cumulative rainfall) and geological settings combine together to trigger a debris-flow are analyzed for real-time monitoring. The analyses focused on 61 historical hazard events with the timing of debris flow initiation and rainfall duration to burst debris-flow characteristics recorded. A combination of averaged rainfall intensity and duration is a more practical index for debris-flow monitoring than critical or threshold rainfall intensity. Because, the outburst timing of debris flows correlates closely to the peak hourly rainfall and the forecasting of peak hourly rainfall reached in a meteorological event could be a valuable index for real-time debris-flow warning.     

Debris flows in the Lushan earthquake area: formation characteristics,rainfall conditions,and evolutionary tendency

Debris flows often occur in the mountainous watersheds of earthquake-affected areas, and in the Lushan earthquake area of southwestern China, they have become a significant hazard. In this study, the influencing factors and spatial distribution of debris flows were analyzed through a review of their occurrence history. Debris flows are mainly distributed in the northwestern part of the study area, which hosts the greatest density of active faults. The debris flows are generally formed by the ‘progressive bulking’ effect in channels, and deep incision, lateral erosion, and blockage breaking are common processes that amplify the magnitude of such debris flows. Rainfall thresholds for different types of debris flow were proposed to explain the spatial differences between debris-flow regions, and the temporal variations of those thresholds highlighted how the rainfall conditions required for the occurrence of debris flows have changed. Natural vegetation recovery, reduction in the availability of solid material, and artificial debris-flow control projects play important roles in raising the threshold of the rainfall conditions required for triggering debris flows.

     

Characteristics of debris flows from the lower part of the Lotru River basin (South Carpathians,Romania)

This paper focuses on characteristics of debris flows from the lower part of the Lotru River basin (South Carpathians, Romania). The damage produced by these debris flows has included burial of agricultural land, roads covered by debris flows, and even the obstruction of the Lotru River. Simple statistical analysis has been used to emphasize the characteristics of the debris flow sites. The collected data show that heavy rainfall is the main triggering mechanism of debris flow events in the Lotru hydrographic basin. The daily rainfall data for this region show that important debris flow events generally occur when rainfall exceeds 40 mm in 24 h, while rainfall levels between 25 and 40 mm in 24 h result in hyperconcentrated flows. For 11 of 14 studied debris flow sites, the fan area is greater than the source area, probably due to the thickness of the regolith, which is up to 5–10 m deep. Both source area and deposition area are very dynamic. The retreat rate calculated for five debris flow sites ranges from 5 to 30 m in 30 years (from 1975 to 2005). Channel cross section measurements on one of the debris flows show that velocity values vary from 1.31 to 2.64 m/s; corresponding discharge values vary from 4 to 10.03 m³/s.     

Comparison of numerical models of two debris flows in the Cortina d’ Ampezzo area,Dolomites, Italy

The accurate prediction of runout distances, velocities and the knowledge of flow rheology can reduce the casualties and property damage produced by debris flows, providing a means to delineate hazard areas, to estimate hazard intensities for input into risk studies and to provide parameters for the design of protective measures. The application of most of models that describe the propagation and deposition of debris flow requires detailed topography, rheological and hydrological data that are not always available for the debris-flow hazard delineation and estimation. In the Cortina d’Ampezzo area, Eastern Dolomites, Italy, most of the slope instabilities are represented by debris flows; 325 debris-flow prone watersheds have been mapped in the geomorphological hazard map of this area. We compared the results of simulations of two well-documented debris flows in the Cortina d’Ampezzo area, carried on with two different single-phase, non-Newtonian models, the one-dimensional DAN-W and the two-dimensional FLO-2D, to test the possibility to simulate the dynamic behaviour of a debris flow with a model using a limited range of input parameters. FLO-2D model creates a more accurate representation of the hazard area in terms of flooded area, but the results in terms of runout distances and deposits thickness are similar to DAN-W results. Using DAN-W, the most appropriate rheology to describe the debris-flow behaviour is the Voellmy model. When detailed topographical, rheological and hydrological data are not available, DAN-W, which requires less detailed data, is a valuable tool to predict debris-flow hazard. Parameters obtained through back-analysis with both models can be applied to predict hazard in other areas characterized by similar geology, morphology and climate.     

基于最小熵理论和未确知测度理论的泥石流敏感性分析

为了合理确定各影响因子权重,客观分析泥石流敏感性,基于最小熵分析原理和未确知测度理论建立泥石流敏感性分析模型。选取金沙江流域26条典型泥石流沟,确定9个主要影响因子,利用最小熵分析原理分析各因子对泥石流系统贡献率及权重,然后基于未确知测度理论计算各泥石流沟的多指标综合评价尺度向量,最后根据置信度识别准则确定各泥石流沟敏感度水平。将分析结果与已有成果进行对比可知,仅有7条泥石流沟敏感性结果有所差异。将评价结果与现场实际调查情况对比分析可知,22条泥石流沟的敏感度水平与泥石流实际发育情况相符,仅有4条沟评价结果偏于“保守”,因此,利用所提出的模型进行泥石流敏感度分析是十分有效的,并可对泥石流的防治提供合理的建议,可以在实际工程中推广应用。     

雅鲁藏布江大拐弯典型泥石流全新世以来发育历史及活动特征

雅鲁藏布江大拐弯附近晚更新世末次冰期—全新世发育多期次泥石流,组合形成了现代大规模扇形堆积体。以派镇蹦嘎沟泥石流为例,采用地面调查、钻孔及¹⁴C测年等方法,研究泥石流形成年代序列、堆积深度、冲出范围等特征,分析结果表明：现代蹦嘎沟依然有小规模的支沟泥石流发育且广泛堆积于沟道内,现存堆积扇区域尚未发现泥石流堆积;距今8500年左右为蹦噶沟全新世泥石流活跃期,单期次累积堆积深度约10.9 m;滨湖浅水相沉积(河流相)形成的浅灰色粉细砂中的两处碳样表明雅鲁藏布江现代河床在40～100年左右沉积深度约0.4 m,年平均沉积速率4～10 mm;海拔2906.1～2896.7 m及2849.4～2848.2 m处钻孔依次揭露厚度为9.4 m和1.2 m饼状青灰色粉质黏土,推测发生两次堵江事件。上述结果可为该区域全新世以来泥石流活动性特征研究提供参考。     

A similarity-based quantitative model for assessing regional debris-flow hazard

Debris flows belong to sudden disasters which are difficult to forecast. Thus, a detailed and coherent hazard assessment seems a necessary step to prevent or relieve such disasters and mitigate the risk effectively. Previous researchers have proposed several methods, such as regression analysis, fuzzy mathematics, and artificial neural networks for debris-flow hazard assessment. However, these methods need further improvements to eliminate the high relativity existing in their results. The current study reported a similarity-based debris-flow hazard assessment model to determine hazard levels of debris flow in regions, with steps like determining hazard-level-type regions, selecting environmental factors and calculating the similarities between the assessment-pending regions and assessed hazard-level-type ones. This methodology was then employed to assess the regional debris hazard of Yunnan Province in China as a case study and was verified via comparison with field surveys. As the results indicate, the proposed similarity-based debris-flow risk assessment model is simple and efficient and can improve the comparability and reliability of the assessment to some degree.