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.     

GPS在滑坡监测中的应用研究

本文主要介绍GPS用于地质灾害滑坡监测的技术和方法,并通过在中国四川雅安峡口滑坡示范区布设的GPS监测网的测量试验,阐述了在地形复杂、观测条件恶劣的山区进行GPS滑坡监测时,监测点位选择、监测网布设、数据处理的方法。监测结果表明,GPS滑坡监测的精度达到毫米级,完全可以应用于滑坡监测。      

GPS在滑坡监测中的应用研究——以四川雅安峡口滑坡为例

本文主要介绍GPS用于地质灾害滑坡监测的技术和方法,并通过在中国四川雅安峡口滑坡示范区布设的GPS监测网的测量试验,阐述了在地形复杂、观测条件恶劣的山区进行GPS滑坡监测时,监测点位选择、监测网布设、数据处理的方法。监测结果表明,GPS滑坡监测的精度达到毫米级,完全可以应用于滑坡监测。     

Geohistorical development of the Tochiyama landslide in north-central Japan

The Tochiyama landslide is one of several complex, deep-seated and large-scale landslides occurring in the Hokuriku Province in central Japan. The landslide is about 2 km long and about 500–1100 m wide; it occupies an area of approximately 150 ha and has a maximum depth of 60 m. The slide developed on a dip-slope structure, and is divisible into three layers in ascending order: older landslide debris and avalanche deposits, younger debris-avalanche deposits, and talus. The landslide complex is still active. A triangulation point on the upper part of the landslide shifted downhill by 3.3 m from 1907 to 1983, indicating an average rate of 4.3 cm/y. In 1991, the average rate of movement on the sliding surface was also 4.3 cm/y as measured by an automatic system with inclinometers installed in borehole No. 1–2. The rate measured for borehole No. 1–3, located 380 m upslope from No. 1–2, was over twice that of No. 1–2 for the same period; it has since accelerated to about 19 cm/y. Thus current movements on the basal sliding surface are inhomogeneous; the head of the slide complex is increasing the horizontal granular pressures on the lower part of the slide block.

On the basis of dating of two tephra layers and¹⁴C dating of carbonized wood intercalated within the landslide body, two stages of slide movement have been distinguished. The earlier occurred between about 46,000 to 25,000 years ago, and the latter occurred since 1361 A.D. The following sequence of events is inferred. During the middle Pleistocene, intense tectonic movements occurred in the Hokuriku Province, and as a consequence dip-slopes were developed in the Tochiyama landslide area. Low-angle fault planes (possibly representing slump features) and fracture zones then developed within flysch deposits underlying the landslide area, causing a reduction in shear strength. The erosion base level was lowered during the Würm glacial age, and due to severe erosion and incision of stream valleys, the surface slope angle rapidly increased, and toe resistance decreased. This combination of causes led to the development of a deep-seated primary landslide. As a result of an accumulation of younger deposits, regional uplift and further local erosion, stability of parts of the region decreased and led to landslide activity of a second stage. Reactivated and locally accelerating creep movements occur today and may forewarn of a stage of reactivated, hazardous rapid sliding, such as occurred with the adjacent and analogous Maseguchi landslide in 1947.     

Erratum to: Integration of GPS with InSAR to monitoring of the Jiaju landslide in Sichuan,China

In 2006, a cooperation project between China Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada started the monitoring of the landslide along the deep-cut valley in the western Sichuan using integrated GPS and InSAR observation at the Jiaju landslide. Both GPS and InSAR techniques provided complementary measurements with the GPS providing horizontal movement and InSAR providing vertical motion. Meanwhile, InSAR images demonstrate also an effective tool to recognize new landslides in complex steep mountain region. The GPS observations provide continuous monitoring data while InSAR data provide monthly measurements. The differential InSAR results show a deformation information that divided the Jiaju landslide to two areas, the north and south parts. The north part is sliding greater than the southern part in spatial domain. The sliding was faster in 2008 than that in 2006 in time domain, suggesting a gradual increased acceleration over time. The GPS displacement data during the past 2  years show the northern part slid horizontally 55–207 mm/a and vertically −23 mm/a, while the southern part slid horizontally 12–34 mm/a; and the vertical displacement mainly moved downward 0.05 to 12 mm/a. On average, the observations from December of 2006 to January of 2008 indicate that the northern part is sliding at 41.6 mm/a horizontally and 43.9 mm/a vertically, while the southern part is sliding at 16.1 mm/a horizontally and 17.5 mm/a vertically. The data acquired through the GPS and InSAR are generally comparable. Geological survey revealed some secondary landslides, cracks, and fissures within the deformation of the Jiaju landslide that could be induced by following factors: surface water drainage, river erosion, and slope cutting and overloading.     

三峡库区大坪滑坡变形对前缘塌岸的响应分析

随着三峡水库的长期运行,受库水位涨落和波浪作用影响,三峡水库土质岸坡的塌岸问题愈发严重,塌岸不仅造成了水土流失,甚至会诱发滑坡复活。大坪滑坡是三峡库区前缘塌岸发育最为明显的滑坡之一,以三峡库区大坪滑坡为例,结合大坪滑坡的地表宏观变形、地表GPS位移等数据,分析滑坡变形特征以及塌岸对滑坡变形的影响,在此基础上通过ABAQUS生死单元功能实现前缘塌岸对滑坡稳定性影响的数值模拟,进一步探索滑坡变形对前缘塌岸的响应关系。结果表明:大坪滑坡的变形主要受库水位涨落影响,前缘塌岸较发育,塌岸一侧GPS监测点地表位移变化较明显,显然塌岸对大坪滑坡地表变形影响较大;ABAQUS的有限元计算结果表明,塌岸对滑坡的变形影响十分明显,影响大小主要与塌岸方量相关;塌岸导致的滑坡变形主要集中在滑坡前部,并向后部逐渐扩展;ABAQUS中的生死单元法可以很好地实现塌岸对滑坡稳定性影响的模拟。     

The Portuguese bend landslide

The Portuguese Bend landslide, in coastal southern California, is an active, slow-moving mass of blocks and debris that extends from the shoreline to moderate altitudes along part of the southerly margin of the Palos Verdes Hills. These hills form a peninsula that is underlain by Cenozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks draped anticlinally over a core of Mesozoic schist. In the southerly parts of the peninsula, inherently weak units in the Altamira Shale Member of the Miocene Monterey Formation dip seaward in general concordance with the ground surface. Ground failure has been widespread in this area. It evidently began in mid- to late-Pleistocene time, and it has continued intermittently to the present.

The Portuguese Bend landslide represents a reactivation of movement of the eastern part of a complex of prehistoric landslides occupying an area of approximately two square miles. This latest episode of movement began in 1956, presumably in response to placement of fill during a road construction project. The active slide subsequently was enlarged by sequential failure of adjoining blocks of ground, and by September 1969 about 54,500,000 metric tons of debris was slowly moving downslope in an area of approximately 104 ha. Movement has been continuous since recent failure began in 1956, although the velocity of the active slide decreased markedly after that year. Between 1962 and 1972 the velocity fluctuated only slightly about an average value of about 1 cm per day.

The active slide is an irregular prism, roughly triangular in plan view. The southern side of the triangle trends approximately 1100 m east-west along a stretch of shoreline that essentially coincides with the toe of the slide. The other two sides of the triangle trend northeast and northwest from the ends of the toe and meet about 1200 m north of the shoreline. The thickness of the moving mass differs considerably from one place to another, reflecting both topographic irregularities and major undulations in the underlying surface of movement. The maximum thickness is approximately 75 m.

Movement is occurring along a distinct basal failure surface. The eastern part of the slide is underlain by bedrock, and is bordered by bedrock with a general structure that limits further deep-seated propagation of failure to the east and northeast. In contrast, the western part of the slide is underlain and bordered by extensive ancient landslide deposits that are marginally stable. Further encroachment of the active slide westward and northwestward into these materials was viewed as a distinct possibility at the time the dissertation was prepared and has occurred since then.

Continued movement of the Portuguese Bend landslide since 1956 has been due to four main factors. A rise in the water table during the period 1957–1968 has been documented in the northwestern part of the moving mass and is attributable mainly to infiltration of surface runoff entering numerous open fissures that cut the surface of the slide. The toe of the active slide daylights along the shoreline and is subjected to storm-wave erosion, so that any natural build-up of resisting forces is prevented in this area. The redistribution of mass as the slide has moved along an undulatory failure surface has been responsible for local fluctuations in the driving and resisting forces. Finally, smoothing of irregularities in the failure surface by the moving slide mass must have decreased some of the forces resisting movement.     

GPS RTK技术用于滑坡动态实时变形监测的研究

为了研究GPS RTK技术用于滑坡动态变形监测的精度和可靠性,本文结合某类滑坡的大型物理模型试验,在滑坡体上布设了若干监测点,并用GPS RTK技术、全站仪三维测量技术和GPS单历元定位技术实时跟踪监测了该滑坡在自然状态下从稳定到产生破坏的全部过程。通过对监测数据的处理和分析,获得了RTK技术用于滑坡变形监测的可靠性和精度等技术参数,即在基准站和流动站同步观测到的卫星数在7颗以上且RTK系统的数据链能够正常工作的情况下,RTK测量的平面和高程精度就能分别控制在15mm和20mm以内。研究结果表明,RTK技术在一定条件下完全可用于滑坡灾害的动态实时变形监测。     

Large reactivated landslides in weak rock masses: a case study from the Northern Apennines (Italy)

This case study paper is about a large rotational rock and earth slide—earth flow located in the Secchia River Valley, in the Northern Apennines of Italy, that has displayed multiple reactivation phases between 2002 and 2004. The main geological constraints of the mass movement are related to the overlap of flysch rock masses over clayey complexes that allows rock slides to take place in the source area. The disarrangement and weathering of rock masses following slope movements causes large amount of fine-grained debris to be accumulated on the slope and mobilised by earth sliding and flowing. Analysis of rainfall data at the onset of reactivation events has proved that they occurred after periods with cumulated values higher than the averages of the last 30 years. The quantification of the morphological modifications induced by these reactivations has been made possible by comparing pre- and post-event digital elevation models. Depletion and accumulation has been in the range of 30 m in different parts of the slope. In particular, an advancement of the landslide toe of more than 400 m, which caused a 30-m thick landslide tip to deposit, has been clearly seen. Monitoring data regarding subsurface movements and surface tension crack widening (tension cracks so large as to be properly described at trenches) has shown that sliding surfaces as deep as 43 m exist in the upper part of the landslide, while the accumulation lobe has moved by sliding and flowing over surfaces as deep as some 10 m. Velocities of cm/day have been recorded in the deep surfaces and in widening trenches of the source area, while the advancement of the accumulation lobe has been estimated as having velocities of up to 10 m/day. Groundwater in the landslide body has been observed at depths of 5–15 m in the upper areas, while it is estimated as being at the ground level in the toe. On this basis, it is concluded that the landslide still has a high potential for further development, both in the upper landslide zone and in the toe area.     

GPS PPP技术用于滑坡监测的试验与结果分析

为了研究全球定位系统(GPS)精密单点定位(PPP)技术用于滑坡等地质灾害监测时可能达到的精度和可靠性等问题,结合某类滑坡的大型物理模型试验,在滑坡体上布设了若干GPS监测点进行连续实时动态监测,利用PPP技术对该滑坡从稳定、开始滑动直至产生破坏的全过程监测数据进行了处理与分析,并与GPS单历元差分定位、载波相位实时差分定位技术监测结果进行了对比。结果表明:GPS PPP技术监测结果的内符合精度约为10 mm,外符合精度约为40 mm,且GPS PPP技术具有一些差分GPS无法比拟的优势,如无需基准站支持、作业成本低、效率高、可直接获取监测点在国际地球参考框架下的绝对坐标等。该技术完全可用于滑坡等地质灾害的实时动态监测和预警。     

Using GB-SAR technique to monitor slow moving landslide

A Ground-Based SAR (GB-SAR) interferometer was employed to measure the surface displacements of a landslide occurring in the Carnian Alps, north-eastern Italy, which has affected a national road and seriously damaged a road tunnel still under construction. Moreover, since the landslide is located on the left bank of the Tagliamento River Valley, it is feared that this mass movement might dam the river, creating a basin that would increase natural hazard for the valley inhabitants. The data collected from December 2002 to July 2005 by a conventional monitoring system, consisting of a GPS network and boreholes equipped with inclinometric tubes, showed that the landslide was moving at a quasi-constant rate of about 3 cm per year. Due to the slow deformation rate of the landslide, a recently developed GB-SAR technique based on the analysis of a restricted ensemble of coherent points was used. Two surveys, each lasting two days, were planned in December 2004 and July 2005, in order to map and measure the surface displacements that occurred over time. The results from the radar were compared with the ones derived from the GPS monitoring network. An agreement was achieved among the data collected, showing the capability of the GB-SAR technique to measure displacements even within a time span of several months between the surveys.     

滑坡抢险应急治理方案及效果探析——以四川达县杨柳垭滑坡为例

达县杨柳垭滑坡位于达县南郊火烽山东侧斜坡中下部,体积约60×104m3,属大型土质推移式滑坡。根据滑坡现状分析,采取监测＋后缘减载＋前缘堆载＋微型钢管桩等应急抢险措施,监测结果表明,滑坡在应急抢险进场阶段变形非常剧烈,大部分监测点日位移量都在20mm以上,个别的监测点超过100mm;应急抢险治理工程结束后,各监测点日位移量都在5mm以内,说明应急治理工程取得很好的效果,滑坡的变形已得到很好的控制。     

空间三维滑坡敏感性分区工具及其应用

对于滑坡敏感性分区目前有三种方法:定性法、统计法和基于岩土定量模型的确定性方法。定性法基于对滑坡敏感性或灾害评估的人为判断;统计法用一个来源于结合了权重因子的预测函数或指标;而确定性法,或者说是物理定量模型法以质量、能量和动量守恒定律为基础。二维确定性模型广泛用于土木工程设计,而无限边坡模型(一维)也用于滑坡灾害分区的确定性模型。文中提出了一个新的基于GIS(地理信息系统)的滑坡敏感性分区系统,这个系统可用于从复杂地形中确认可能的危险三维(3-D)滑坡体。所有与滑坡相关的空间数据(矢量或栅格数据)都被集成到这个系统中。通过把研究区域划分为边坡单元并假定初始滑动面是椭球的下半部分,并使用Monte Carlo随机搜索法,三维滑坡稳定性分析中的三维最危险滑面是三维安全系数最小的地方。使用近似方法假定有效凝聚力、有效摩擦角和三维安全系数服从正态分布,可以计算出滑坡失稳概率。3DSlopeGIS是一个计算机程序,它内嵌了GIS Developer kit(ArcObjects of ESRI)来实现GIS空间分析功能和有效的数据管理。应用此工具可以解决所有的三维边坡空间数据解问题。通过使用空间分析、数据管理和GIS的可视化功能来处理复杂的边坡数据,三维边坡稳定性问题很容易用一个友好的可视化图形界面来解决。将3DSlopeGIS系统应用到3个滑坡敏感性分区的实例中:第一个是一个城市规划项目,第二个是预测以往滑坡灾害对临近区域可能的影响,第三个则是沿着国家主干道的滑坡分区。基于足够次数的Monte Carlo模拟法,可以确认可能的最危险滑坡体。这在以往的传统边坡稳定性分析中是不可能的。     

Monitoring Koyulhisar landslide using rapid static GPS: a strategy to remove biases from vertical velocities

GPS is frequently used in the monitoring of natural hazards and other geophysical phenomena. Landslide monitoring is one such area in which various GPS methods are tested and various systematic error sources are introduced. In previous studies, one error source introduced on rapid static GPS was the effect of large height differences in GPS positions. In this study, we further investigate how GPS velocities/slip rates are affected by large station height differences when rapid static surveying is used. In order to demonstrate the influences, we used static GPS measurements from the Koyulhisar landslide in central Turkey. Comparison of rapid static GPS solutions with static GPS solutions using BERNESE 5.0 indicates that systematic biases occur in the estimated rapid static GPS deformation rates when the station height difference is large between baseline points. The effect is more significant on the vertical component, whereas it is negligible on the horizontal components. When reducing the height difference between the reference station and the rover stations, rapid static solutions from 15-min sessions show high correlation and similar deformation rates with static positioning solutions.     

滇西典型膨胀土滑坡稳定性分析

滇西山前地带广泛分布着一层具有弱膨胀性的粉质粘土,在降雨条件下常诱发滑坡灾害,成为当地一种典型的滑坡灾害类型。从土体非饱和特性出发,通过土体吸力测试,提出了基质吸力-含水量土水特征关系,确定了饱和含水量在37%左右,残余含水量约3.5%,进气值约190 kPa;三轴力学试验取得了非饱和土强度参数,土体吸力内摩擦角为4.3°;建立了饱和—非饱和渗流数值模型,对不同雨强条件下的滑坡失稳过程、机制进行了模拟。模拟结果为:强降雨引起滑坡稳定性明显降低的时间效应为2 d左右,雨强16 mm/d以上,持续降雨3 d后滑坡失稳滑动,雨强6 mm/d以下的降雨对滑坡稳定性没有明显影响。为该类型滑坡灾害的防治提供了重要科学依据。      

GPS测量在铁路施工控制网中的应用

白浩铁路一期工程线路自桑锡线的白音库伦车站引出,直至门迪诺尔,全线长约52.253km。根据野外施工条件采用GPS定位技术进行E级网平面控制测量,高程控制采用几何水准方法,在施测时加测一个临时点以增加图形强度。测量施工采用4台S82-2008双频GPS接收机按静态观测方法进行同步观测,观测时间控制在45min~60min。根据GPS网平差后坐标和点位精度分析,该项勘测工程控制网设计与施工措施合理,测量结果满足规范所规定的各项限差要求。白浩铁路一期工程GPS施测控制网的布设方法为GPS在沙漠地区特殊条件下的应用提供了一成功例证。     

D-InSAR-based landslide location and monitoring at Wudongde hydropower reservoir in China

Differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (D-InSAR) has become a useful technique for monitoring ground movement. The technique enables the analysis of very small ground movements in continuous, large areas and has the advantages of high accuracy, high resolution, all-weather adaptability, low cost, and inaccessible area coverage. Thus, D-InSAR has been widely used in the investigation of geologic hazards, such as subsidence, landslide, earthquake, and volcanic activity. In this paper, D-InSAR is used to locate and monitor landslide movement in the wide area of Wudongde Hydropower Reservoir in Jinsha River, China. Five SAR acquisitions are obtained by using the phased array-type L-band synthetic aperture radar sensor of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite. Detailed moving displacement maps in two time periods are derived by using the D-InSAR technique, and potentially moving landslide areas, as well as landslide hazard areas, are then located. The L1R-6 landslide, which is in active state, is investigated in detail. The deforming tendency obtained via D-InSAR is consistent with that obtained via global positioning system (GPS) monitoring. Error analysis of the D-InSAR results is also conducted. Finally, the grid function interpolation method of error reduction, which combines D-InSAR and GPS, is proposed to reduce the single-point error in D-InSAR monitoring and is further verified by the considerable improvement in the accuracy of L1R-6 landslide monitoring.     

Land Subsidence of Jakarta (Indonesia) and its Geodetic Monitoring System

Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia with a population of about 10 million people, inhabiting an area of about 25 × 25 km. It has been reported for sometime that locations in Jakarta are subsiding at different rates. Up to the present, there has been no comprehensive information about the characteristics and pattern of land subsidence in the Jakarta area. Usually land subsidence in Jakarta is measured using extensometers and ground water level observations, or estimated using geological and hydrological parameters. To give a better picture about land subsidence, geodetic-based monitoring systems utilizing leveling and GPS surveys have also been implemented.The land subsidence characteristics of Jakarta and its surrounding area areinvestigated using data from three repeated leveling surveys performed in1982, 1991, and 1997, and two repeated GPS surveys conducted in 1997and 1999. Leveling surveys detected subsidence up to about 80 cm duringthe period of 1982–1991, and up to about 160 cm during the 1991–1997period; while GPS surveys observed subsidence up to about 20 cm duringthe period of 1997–1999. Comparison with the hydrological data shows thatland subsidence in Jakarta is strongly related to excessive groundwater extraction.     

结构复杂滑坡活动对库水位变化的响应特征——以三峡库区柴湾滑坡为例

柴湾滑坡是三峡库区结构复杂的大型老滑坡之一,三峡水库蓄水后,该滑坡出现明显复活迹象。本文基于滑坡结构和2007-2015年监测数据,分析了该滑坡活动对库水位变化的响应特征;采用数值模拟手段分析了库水位变化时滑体内渗流场及孔隙水压力变化特征。研究发现,该滑坡在平、剖面上分别呈现牵引式分块与浅、中层分层的缓慢活动特征;当库水位降速>0 8 m/d时,滑坡活动呈现滞后的台阶式加剧趋势;越接近地表,滑坡活动对库水位变化愈敏感。柴湾滑坡活动特征受其复杂结构控制,滑坡中前部地下水与库水密切的水力联系以及中层、深层滑体良好的渗透性决定了滑坡的分块和分层活动特征。库水位上升时透水性较强滑体内的扬压力和库水位下降时透水性较弱滑体内的动水压力是造成滑坡分块分层活动的内在动力。     

The Magellan mound province in the Porcupine Basin

The Magellan mound province is one of the three known provinces of carbonate mounds or cold-water coral banks in the Porcupine Seabight, west of Ireland. It has been studied in detail using a large and varied data set: 2D and 3D seismic data, sidescan sonar imagery and video data collected during ROV deployment have been used to describe the mounds in terms of origin, growth processes and burial. The aim of this paper is to present the Magellan mounds and their setting in an integrated, holistic way. More than 1,000 densely spaced and mainly buried mounds have been identified in the area. They all seem to be rooted on one seismic reflection, suggesting a sudden mound start-up. Their size and spatial distribution characteristics are presented, together with the present-day appearance of the few mounds that reach the seabed. The underlying geology has been studied by means of fault analysis and numerical basin modelling in an attempt to identify possible hydrocarbon migration pathways below or in the surroundings of the Magellan mounds. Although conclusive evidence concerning the processes of mound initiation proves to be elusive, the results of both fault analysis and 2D numerical modelling failed to identify, with confidence, any direct pathways for focused hydrocarbon flow to the Magellan province. Diffuse seepage however may have taken place, as drainage area modelling suggests a possible link between mound position and structural features in the Hovland-Magellan area. During mound development and growth, the interplay of currents and sedimentation seems to have been the most important control. Mounds which could not keep pace with the sedimentation rates were buried, and on the few mounds which maintained growth, only a few corals survive at present.