Mapping of landslide hazard zonation using GIS at Golestan watershed, northeast of Iran

Landslide hazard zonation is essential for planning future developmental activities. At the present study, after the preparation of a landslide inventory of the study area, nine factors as well as sub-data layers of factor class weights were tested for an integrated analysis of landslide hazard in the region. The produced factor maps were weighted with the analytic hierarchy process method and then classified into four classes—negligible, low, moderate, and high. The final produced map for landslide hazard zonation in Golestan watershed revealed that: (1) about 53.85 % of the basin is prone to moderate and high threats of landslides. (2) Landslide events at the Golestan watershed were strongly correlated to the slope angle of the basin. It was observed that the active landslide zones, including moderate to high landslide hazard classes, have a high correlation to slope classes over 30° (R ²?=?0.769). (3) The regions most susceptible to landslide hazard are those located south and southwest of the watershed, which included rock topples, falls, and debris landslides.     

Landslide dam formation susceptibility analysis based on geomorphic features

Global climate change has increased the frequency of abnormally high rainfall; such high rainfall events in recent years have occurred in the mountainous areas of Taiwan. This study identifies historical earthquake- and typhoon-induced landslide dam formations in Taiwan along with the geomorphic characteristics of the landslides. Two separate groups of landslides are examined which are classified as those that were dammed by river water and those that were not. Our methodology applies spatial analysis using geographic information system (GIS) and models the geomorphic features with 20?×?20 m digital terrain mapping. The Spot 6 satellite images after Typhoon Morakot were used for an interpretation of the landslide areas. The multivariate statistical analysis is also used to find which major factors contribute to the formation of a landslide dam. The objective is to identify the possible locations of landslide dams by the geomorphic features of landslide-prone slopes. The selected nine geomorphic features include landslide area, slope, aspect, length, width, elevation change, runout distance, average landslide elevation, and river width. Our four geomorphic indexes include stream power, form factor, topographic wetness, and elevation–relief ratio. The features of the 28 river-damming landslides and of the 59 non-damming landslides are used for multivariate statistical analysis by Fisher discriminant analysis and logistic regression analysis. The principal component analysis screened out eleven major geomorphic features for landslide area, slope, aspect, elevation change, length, width, runout distance, average elevation, form factor, river width, stream power, and topography wetness. Results show that the correctness by Fisher discriminant analysis was 68.0 % and was 70.8 % by logistic regression analysis. This study suggests that using logistic regression analysis as the assessment model for identifying the potential location of a landslide dam is beneficial. Landslide threshold equations applying the geomorphic features of slope angle, angle of landslide elevation change, and river width (H _L/W _R) to identify the potential formation of natural dams are proposed for analysis. Disaster prevention and mitigation measures are enhanced when the locations of potential landslide dams are identified; further, in order to benefit such measures, dam volume estimates responsible for breaches are key.     

Landslides and Rainfall Characteristics Analysis in Taipei City during the Typhoon Nari Event

The severe Typhoon Nari ended on September 15, 2001 with a high-intensity and high-accumulation storm that dumped up to 1249 mm of rain in Taipei City, Taiwan. The high-intensity and high-accumulation event caused flooding and triggered more than 400 soils slips and debris flows and large, complex landslides. Detailed information on 63 events, including rainfall, initiation time, and magnitude of landslides were documented and analyzed to identify the landslides and rainfall characteristic in Taipei City during Typhoon Nari. The result reveals that slump, slide, and debris flow events are associated with the situation of high-intensity or high-accumulation rainfall. The rainfall intensity-duration condition resulted in smaller magnitude and shallow failures. Medium to massive landslide were mainly related to the high-accumulation rainfall. A landslide regionalization process based on rainfall, geomorphologic and geologic characteristics is proposed. Results of the proposed process show good agreement with landslide events observed in the Taipei City during Typhoon Nari.     

Local rainfall thresholds for forecasting landslide occurrence: Taipingshan landslide triggered by Typhoon Saola

This paper presents a case study of the Taipingshan landslide, which was triggered by Typhoon Saola in 2012. Taipingshan villa is one of the most famous scenic locations within the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area in northern Taiwan. Since the early 1990s, evidence of recent landslide activity appeared throughout the Taipingshan villa and included features such as tension cracks, ground settlement, and cracking in manmade structures. In response, a series of geological investigations and in-site/laboratory tests were conducted in 2010 to estimate slope stability and predict critical rainfall thresholds (event accumulated rainfall) for landslide activity. Results revealed that the critical rainfall threshold for the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area is 1765 mm. In 2012, that threshold was tested when Typhoon Saola brought tremendous rainfall to northern and eastern Taiwan and triggered activity along the main scarp of sliding mass B located near the History Exhibition Hall. According to in situ extensometer readings and on-site precipitation data, the extensometer was severed at an accumulated rainfall 1694 mm. Field monitoring data during the typhoon event are in good agreement with the rainfall threshold. These preliminary results suggest that the threshold may be useful for assessing the rainfall threshold of other landslides and a good reference for establishing early warning systems for landslides.     

Landslide and debris flow initiated characteristics after typhoon Morakot in Taiwan

Typhoon Morakot brought extreme rainfall and initiated numerous landslides and debris flows in southern Taiwan in August of 2009. The purpose of this study is to identify the extreme rainfall-induced landslide frequency-area distribution in the Laonong River Basin in southern Taiwan and debris flow-initiated conditions under rainfall. Results of the analysis show that debris flows were initiated under high cumulative rainfall and long rainfall duration or high rainfall intensity. The relationship of mean rainfall intensity and duration threshold could reflect debris flow initiation characteristics under high rainfall intensity in short rainfall duration conditions. The relationship of cumulative rainfall and duration threshold could reflect debris flow initiation characteristics under high cumulative rainfall in long rainfall duration. Defining rainfall events by estimating rainfall parameters with different methodologies could reveal variations among intermittent rainfall events for the benefit of issuing debris flow warnings. The exponent of landslide frequency-area distribution induced by Typhoon Morakot is lower than that induced by the Chi-Chi earthquake. The lower exponent of landslide frequency-area distribution can be attributed to the transportation and deposition areas of debris flow that are included in the landslide area. Climate change induced high rainfall intensity and long duration of precipitation, for example, Typhoon Morakot brought increased frequency of debris flow and created difficulty in issuing warnings from rainfall monitoring.     

Rainfall thresholds for prediction of shallow landslides around Chamoli-Joshimath region,Garhwal Himalayas,India

Majority of landslides in the Indian sub-continent are triggered by rainfall. Several attempts in the global scenario have been made to establish rainfall thresholds in terms of intensity-duration and antecedent rainfall models on global, regional and local scales for the occurrence of landslides. However, in the context of the Indian Himalayas, the rainfall thresholds for landslide occurrences are not yet understood fully. Neither on regional scale nor on local scale, establishing such rainfall thresholds for landslide occurrences in Indian Himalayas has yet been attempted. This paper presents an attempt towards deriving local rainfall thresholds for landslides based on daily rainfall data in and around Chamoli-Joshimath region of the Garhwal Himalayas, India. Around 128 landslides taken place in last 4 years from 2009 to 2012 have been studied to derive rainfall thresholds. Out of 128 landslides, however, rainfall events pertaining to 81 landslides were analysed to yield an empirical intensity–duration threshold for landslide occurrences. The rainfall threshold relationship fitted to the lower boundary of the landslide triggering rainfall events is I?=?1.82 D ^?0.23 (I?=?rainfall intensity in millimeters per hour and D?=?duration in hours). It is revealed that for rainfall events of shorter duration (≤24 h) with a rainfall intensity of 0.87 mm/h, the risk of landslide occurrence in this part of the terrain is expected to be high. Also, the role of antecedent rainfall in causing landslides was analysed by considering daily rainfall at failure and different period cumulative rainfall prior to failure considering all 128 landslides. It is observed that a minimum 10-day antecedent rainfall of 55 mm and a 20-day antecedent rainfall of 185 mm are required for the initiation of landslides in this area. These rainfall thresholds presented in this paper may be improved with the hourly rainfall data vis-à-vis landslide occurrences and also data of later years. However, these thresholds may be used in landslide warning systems for this particular region of the Garhwal Himalayas to guide the traffic and provide safety to the tourists travelling along this pilgrim route during monsoon seasons.     

Slope stabilization and landslide size on Mt. 99 Peaks after Chichi Earthquake in Taiwan

The study focuses on the landslide characteristics of Mt. 99 Peaks in Nantou County, the most serious landslide prone area caused by Chichi Earthquake in Taiwan. Several investigations and field surveys were made on Mt. 99 Peaks for 5 years to research the landslide area and depth, rainfall trend, and slope stabilization. The total landslide volume caused by the earthquake on Mt. 99 Peaks was about 1.47×10⁶ m³ and the mean landslide thickness was about 0.22 m. Gravel layers with a volume of more than 80% of total soil profile dominated Mt. 99 Peaks. The landslide on Mt. 99 Peaks was induced by heavy rainfall from July to September because the rainfall on Mt. 99 Peaks had a nonuniform distribution in time. Although the vegetation recovery on Mt. 99 Peaks was in progress, the soil slope had remained unstable. As a result, Typhoon Mindulle occurred in July 2004 collapsed the hillslope again after 5 years of Chichi Earthquake. This study suggests that vegetation recovery on Mt. 99 Peaks for 5 years was insufficient to stabilize the landslide affected area.     

基于Newmark模型的尼泊尔M_s8.1级地震滑坡危险性快速评估

在研究分析地震灾区地形地貌、地层岩性、地质构造、气象水文和典型地区滑坡的基础上,采用Newmark斜坡累积位移模型对2015年4月25日尼泊尔M_s8.1级地震诱发的滑坡危险性的空间分布状况进行了快速评估,通过典型地区的滑坡遥感解译结果验证表明评估结果具有较好的可信度,初步反映了尼泊尔地震诱发滑坡危险性分布的基本特征。然后考虑降雨作用对震后滑坡危险性的影响,对地震叠加降雨诱发滑坡危险性分布进行了快速预测。研究结果对地震应急救灾中的地质灾害防灾减灾具有重要的参考意义。     

Rainfall thresholds for the possible landslide occurrence in Sicily (Southern Italy) based on the automatic reconstruction of rainfall events

Review of the literature on the reconstruction of the rainfall responsible for slope failures reveals that criteria for the identification of rainfall events are lacking or somewhat subjective. To overcome this problem, we developed an algorithm for the objective and reproducible reconstruction of rainfall events and of rainfall conditions responsible for landslides. The algorithm consists of three distinct modules for (i) the reconstruction of distinct rainfall events, in terms of duration (D, in h) and cumulated event rainfall (E, in mm), (ii) the identification of multiple ED rainfall conditions responsible for the documented landslides, and (iii) the definition of critical rainfall thresholds for possible landslide occurrences. The algorithm uses pre-defined parameters to account for different seasonal and climatic settings. We applied the algorithm in Sicily, southern Italy, using rainfall measurements obtained from a network of 169 rain gauges, and information on 229 rainfall-induced landslides occurred between July 2002 and December 2012. The algorithm identified 29,270 rainfall events and reconstructed 472 ED rainfall conditions as possible triggers of the observed landslides. The algorithm exploited the multiple rainfall conditions to define objective and reproducible empirical rainfall thresholds for the possible initiation of landslide in Sicily. The calculated thresholds may be implemented in an operational early warning system for shallow landslide forecasting.     

降雨型滑坡时间概率的逻辑回归拟合及连续概率滑坡危险性建模

提高降雨型滑坡危险性预警精度和空间辨识度具有重要意义.以江西宁都县1980—2001年156个降雨型滑坡为例,首先基于传统的EE-D(early effective rainfall-rainfall duration)阈值法计算不同降雨诱发滑坡的时间概率级别;然后以各级别临界降雨阈值曲线对应的时间概率为因变量,并以对应的前期有效降雨量(early effective rainfall,EE)和降雨历时(D)为自变量,采用逻辑回归拟合出上述因变量与自变量之间的非线性关系,得到降雨诱发滑坡的连续概率值;之后对比C5.0决策树和多层感知器的滑坡易发性预测性能;最后利用降雨诱发滑坡的连续概率值与易发性图相耦合以实现连续概率滑坡危险性预警.结果显示：(1)宁都降雨型滑坡连续概率值的逻辑回归方程为1/P=1+e^{4.062+0.747 4×D-0.079 44×EE},其拟合优度为0.983;(2)2002—2003年的20处用于连续概率阈值测试的降雨型滑坡大都落在连续概率值大于0.7的区域,只有4处落在小于0.7的区域;(3)C5.0决策树预测滑坡易发性的精度显著高于多层感知...     

Controlling parameter analyses and hazard mapping for earthquake-triggered landslides: an example from a square region in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province, China

On May 12, 2008, at 1428 hours (Beijing time), a catastrophic earthquake, with a magnitude of Ms 8.0, struck the Sichuan Province, China. About 200,000 landslides, as a secondary geological hazard associated with the earthquake, were triggered over a broad area. These landslides were of almost all types such as shallow, disrupted landslides, rock falls, deep-seated landslides, and rock avalanches. Some of these landslides damaged and destroyed large part of some towns, blocked roads, dammed rivers, and caused other serious damages. The purpose of this study is to detect correlations between landslide occurrence and the surface rupture plane, ground shaking conditions (measured by peak ground acceleration, PGA), lithology, slope gradient, slope aspect, topographic position, and distance from drainages by using two indices, landslide area percentage (LAP) and the landslide number density (LND), based on geographic information system (GIS) technology and statistical analysis method in a square region (study area) of Beichuan County, Sichuan Province, China. There were 5,096 landslides related with the earthquake which were delineated by visual interpretation and selected field checking throughout the study area. The total area (horizontal projection) of the 5,096 landslides is about 41.103 km². The LAP, which is defined as the percentage of the plane area affected by landslides, was 10.276 %, and the LND, means the number of landslides per square kilometers, was 12.74 landslides/km². Statistical analysis results show that both LAP and LND have a positive correlation with slope gradient and a negative correlation with distance from the surface rupture. However, the correlation between the occurrence of landslides with PGA, topographic position, and distance from drainages are uncertain, or has just a little positive correlation. The correlation between landslide and slope aspect also shows the effect of the directivity of the seismic wave. The Zbq formation had the most concentrated landslide activity with the LND value of 21.78 landslides/km _, ² and the ∈₁ q Gr. geological units had the highest LAP value. Furthermore, weight index (W _i) model is performed with a GIS platform to derive landslide hazard index map. The success rate of the model was 71.615 % and, thus, it was valid. In addition, comparison of five landslide controlling parameters’ influence on landslide occurrences was also carried out.     

Evolution of natural risk: analysing changing landslide hazard in Wellington,Aotearoa/New Zealand

This paper addresses the temporal variation of rainfall-triggered landslide hazard within the broader context of natural risk evolution. Analysis of a sequence of aerial photos covering a period of 60 years allowed the establishment of a record of landsliding for a site in the Wellington region, New Zealand. The data show one very dominant peak in the magnitude of landslide occurrence in the late 1970s, followed by a continuous decrease. Landslide hazard can be expressed by the frequency and magnitude of the landslide events, with the total surface area affected used as a surrogate for magnitude. However, the distinct decline of landslide magnitude through time from the 1980s onwards indicates that landslide hazard may change with time. This possibility is further explored by correlating potential landslide triggering storms with the magnitude of the landslide event, using the ‘Antecedent Soil Water Status’ model in combination with daily rainfall. The relation between magnitudes of rainfall and magnitudes of landslide events is found to be weak, suggesting that a given ‘Critical Water Content’ (antecedent soil water status and rainfall on the day) does not produce similar magnitudes of landsliding. Furthermore, the study shows that reactivation of previous landslides before the peak landslide occurrence of the late 1970s is low, while the situation is reversed after this peak and reactivation in the subsequent years plays a larger role. It is concluded that the pattern of landsliding cannot be explained by the pattern of rainfall and other factors are controlling the variation of landslide hazard in time. A possible explanation is a change of the geomorphological system with time, instigated by a massive period of landsliding (the late 1970s peak). Subsequent sediment exhaustion of source areas resulting from this period appears to alter the system’s subsequent reaction to an external trigger such as rainfall. The study demonstrates that landslide hazard analysis in general should not rely on the integral of the frequency–magnitude relationship only, but should include potential non-linear changes of system settings to increase the understanding of future system behaviour, and therefore hazard and risk.

Assessment of fractal dimension and geometrical characteristics of the landslides identified in North of Tehran,Iran

The aim of the presented study is to assess the fractal dimension (D) and the geometrical characteristics (length and width) of the landslides identified in North of Tehran, Iran. At first, the landslide locations (528 landslides) were identified by interpretation of aerial photographs, satellite images and field surveys, and then to calculate the fractal dimension (D), we used the computer programming named as FRACEK. In the next step, geometrical characteristics of each landslide such as length (L) and width (W) were calculated by ArcGIS software. The landslide polygons were digitized from the mentioned landslide inventory map and rotated based on movement direction. The fractal dimension for all landslides varied between 1.665 and 1.968. Subsequently, the relationship between the length/width ratios and theirs fractal D values for 528 landslides was calculated. The results showed that correlation coefficients (R), which are different regression models such as exponential, linear, logarithmic, polynomial, and power, between D and L/W ratio are relatively high, respectively (0.75, 0.75, 0.76, 0.78, and 0.75). It can be concluded that the fractal dimension values and geometry characteristics of landslides would be useful indices for the management of hazardous areas, susceptible slopes, land use planning, and landslide hazard mitigation.     

Modeling landslide recurrence in Seattle, Washington, USA

To manage the hazard associated with shallow landslides, decision makers need an understanding of where and when landslides may occur. A variety of approaches have been used to estimate the hazard from shallow, rainfall-triggered landslides, such as empirical rainfall threshold methods or probabilistic methods based on historical records. The wide availability of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital topographic data has led to the development of analytic methods for landslide hazard estimation that couple steady-state hydrological models with slope stability calculations. Because these methods typically neglect the transient effects of infiltration on slope stability, results cannot be linked with historical or forecasted rainfall sequences. Estimates of the frequency of conditions likely to cause landslides are critical for quantitative risk and hazard assessments. We present results to demonstrate how a transient infiltration model coupled with an infinite slope stability calculation may be used to assess shallow landslide frequency in the City of Seattle, Washington, USA. A module called CRF (Critical RainFall) for estimating deterministic rainfall thresholds has been integrated in the TRIGRS (Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-based Slope-Stability) model that combines a transient, one-dimensional analytic solution for pore-pressure response to rainfall infiltration with an infinite slope stability calculation. Input data for the extended model include topographic slope, colluvial thickness, initial water-table depth, material properties, and rainfall durations. This approach is combined with a statistical treatment of rainfall using a GEV (General Extreme Value) probabilistic distribution to produce maps showing the shallow landslide recurrence induced, on a spatially distributed basis, as a function of rainfall duration and hillslope characteristics.     

Landslides triggered by slipping-fault-generated earthquake on a plateau: an example of the 14 April 2010, Ms 7.1, Yushu, China earthquake

On 14 April 2010 at 07:49 (Beijing time), a catastrophic earthquake with Ms 7.1 struck Yushu County, Qinghai Province, China. A total of 2,036 landslides were interpreted from aerial photographs and satellite images, verified by selected field checking. These landslides cover about a total area of 1.194 km². The characteristics and failure mechanisms of these landslides are presented in this paper. The spatial distribution of the landslides is evidently strongly controlled by the locations of the main co-seismic surface fault ruptures. The landslides commonly occurred close together. Most of the landslides are small; there were only 275 individual landslide (13.5 % of the total number) surface areas larger than 1,000 m². The landslides are of various types. They are mainly shallow, disrupted landslides, but also include rock falls, deep-seated landslides, liquefaction-induced landslides, and compound landslides. Four types of factors are identified as contributing to failure along with the strong ground shaking: natural excavation of the toes of slopes, which mean erosion of the base of the slope, surface water infiltration into slopes, co-seismic fault slipping at landslide sites, and delayed occurrence of landslides due to snow melt or rainfall infiltration at sites where slopes were weakened by the co-seismic ground shaking. To analyze the spatial distribution of the landslides, the landslide area percentage (LAP) and landslide number density (LND) were compared with peak ground acceleration (PGA), distance from co-seismic main surface fault ruptures, elevation, slope gradient, slope aspect, and lithology. The results show landslide occurrence is strongly controlled by proximity to the main surface fault ruptures, with most landslides occurring within 2.5 km of such ruptures. There is no evident correlation between landslide occurrences and PGA. Both LAP and LND have strongly positive correlations with slope gradient, and additionally, sites at elevations between 3,800 and 4,000 m are relatively susceptible to landslide occurrence; as are slopes with northeast, east, and southeast slope aspects. Q₄ al-pl, N, and T₃ kn ¹ have more concentrated landslide activity than others. This paper provides a detailed inventory map of landslides triggered by the 2010 Yushu earthquake for future seismic landslide hazard analysis and also provides a study case of characteristics, failure mechanisms, and spatial distribution of landslides triggered by slipping-fault generated earthquake on a plateau.     

Integrated use of GIS and remote sensing for monitoring landslides in transportation pavements: the case study of Paphos area in Cyprus

This study considers the impact of landslides on transportation pavements in rural road network of Cyprus using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) techniques. Landslides are considered to be one of the most extreme natural hazards worldwide, causing both human losses and severe damages to the transportation network. Risk assessment for monitoring a road network is based on the combination of the probability of landslides occurrence and the extent and severity of the resultant consequences should the disasters (landslides) occur. Factors that can trigger landslide episodes include proximity to active faults, geological formations, fracture zones, degree and high curvature of slopes, water conditions, etc. In this study, the reliability and vulnerability of a rural network are examined. Initially, landslide locations were identified from the interpretation of satellite images. Different geomorphological factors such as aspect, slope, distance from the watershed, lithology, distance from lineaments, topographic curvature, land use and vegetation regime derived from satellite images were selected and incorporated in GIS environment in order to develop a decision support and continuous landslide monitoring system of the area. These parameters were then used in the final landslide hazard assessment model based on the analytic hierarchy process method. The results indicated good correlation between classified high-hazard areas and field-confirmed slope failures. The CA Markov model was also used to predict the landslide hazard zonation map for 2020 and the possible future hazards for transportation pavements. The proposed methodology can be used for areas with similar physiographic conditions all over the Eastern Mediterranean region.     

Linear discriminant analysis to describe the relationship between rainfall and landslides in Bogotá, Colombia

Bogotá is located in the central Andean region of Colombia, which is frequently affected by landslide processes. These processes are mostly triggered during the rainy season in the city. This fact remarks the importance of determining what rain-derived parameters (e.g. intensity, antecedent rain, daily rain) are better related with the occurrence of landslides. For this purpose, the linear discriminant analysis (LDA), a technique derived from multivariate statistics, was used. The application of this type of analysis led to obtain simple mathematical functions that represent the probability of occurrence of landslides in Bogotá. The functions also allow to identify the most relevant variables derived from records of rainfall linked to the generation of landslides. A proof of concept using the proposed methodology was done using historic rainfall data from a 9-km² area of homogenous climatology and geomorphology in the south part of Bogotá. Landslides needed to be grouped for the LDA. Each one of these grouping categories represents landslides that occurred in similar geomorphologic conditions. Another set of events with no landslides was generated synthetically. Results of the proof of concept show that rainfall parameters such as normalized rainfall intensity I _MAP, normalized daily rainfall R _MAP and rainy-days normal RDN have the best statistical correlation with the landslides observed in the zone of analysis.     

RS & GIS-based landslide susceptibility mapping of the Balason River basin,Darjeeling Himalaya,using logistic regression (LR) model

The present study deals with the preparation of a landslide susceptibility map of the Balason River basin, Darjeeling Himalaya, using a logistic regression model based on Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing. The landslide inventory map was prepared with a total of 295 landslide locations extracted from various satellite images and intensive field survey. Topographical maps, satellite images, geological, geomorphological, soil, rainfall and seismic data were collected, processed and constructed into a spatial database in a GIS environment. The chosen landslide-conditioning factors were altitude, slope aspect, slope angle, slope curvature, geology, geomorphology, soil, land use/land cover, normalised differential vegetation index, drainage density, lineament number density, distance from lineament, distance to drainage, stream power index, topographic wetted index, rainfall and peak ground acceleration. The produced landslide susceptibility map satisfied the decision rules and ?2 Log likelihood, Cox &; Snell R-Square and Nagelkerke R-Square values proved that all the independent variables were statistically significant. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the prediction accuracy of the landslide probability map was 96.10%. The proposed LR method can be used in other hazard/disaster studies and decision-making.     

The formation and evolution of a coastal alluvial fan in eastern Taiwan caused by rainfall-induced landslides

The formation and evolution of a coastal fan in eastern Taiwan associated with a sequence of rainfall-induced landslides during the 2009–2013 period are explored in this study. The evolution of these landslides is mainly attributed to the head-cutting process initiated by Typhoon Parma in October 2009. During the attack of Typhoon Megi in October, 2010, a subaerial coastal fan with a surface slope of 8.9° was formed after the mobilization of the rainfall-induced landslides. The geomorphic features both in the steep gully and on the coastal fan were categorized as the sequence of granular debris flows and sheet floods. Severe fan toe erosion occurred thereafter due to the wind-wave forcing. Even if the variations of both the cumulative rainfalls and the drainage areas are one or two orders of magnitude among devastating fan-forming landslides worldwide, the mean annual precipitation and the basin ruggedness index (Melton ratio) are effective indicators to normalize the rainfall threshold and to characterize the fan surface slope, respectively. Severe catastrophic landslides generally occur when the normalized cumulative rainfalls with respect to mean annual precipitation are greater than 0.1. The fan slope generally increases with the increasing Melton ratio for the catchment. Uchiogi’s empirical model is applicable for predicting the rainfall-induced area ratio of newly generated landslides. In this case study, the relationship of the fan area to the total landslide area follows a linear regressive curve when the ratio of landslide area with respect to the drainage area exceeds 0.0056.     

Environmental impacts caused by phosphate mining and ecological restoration: a case history in Kunming,China

This paper presents the environmental impacts caused by surface mining and the ecological rehabilitation of Haikou phosphate deposits, Kunming, China. Surface mining entails the removal of the overburden to expose bare rock surfaces, not only causing destruction of pre-existing vegetation, but also occupying large areas of land for dumping the spoil. Severe environmental impacts are caused, e.g. rock desertification, poor forest stand structure, loss of biodiversity, aesthetic depreciation of the landscape, and the potential hazard of landslide and ground erosion. Ecological restoration has been conducted in a demonstration area since 1989 by means of control of geological hazards and revegetation of the disturbed areas. On-site dumping of waste rock for restoration of the abandoned mine area was adopted, providing a new mode of mining reclamation with high economic, environmental, and social value. Countermeasures for prevention and control of landslides included cut and fill technology, drainage, safety netting protection, retaining wall construction, and vegetation cover. By recruiting native plant species to the mine site and planting a forest imitating a natural mixed forest, the mine area was successfully revegetated.