Controls on the stability and inclinations of hillslopes formed on hard rock

In identifying controls on rock slope form a distinction is made between: (1) rock slopes with joints which dip steeply out of a cliff and hence are subject to mass failure of the rock mass above a critical joint; and (2) rock slopes with inclinations which are either in equilibrium with the mass strength of their rocks, or have profiles which will develop towards strength equilibrium as cross joints open. In the first class of slope, stability results not just from the basic frictional resistance of the rock but also from the frictional roughness along the critical joint and from the normal stress acting across that joint. Stability may be reduced by weathering and loss of strength of the joint wall rock. As a result of normal stress variations with depth, induced by overburdens, high cliffs which are not undercut have a concave profile. The second group of slopes includes those with inclinations controlled at the scale of individual joint blocks, buttressed slopes and those on unjointed rock masses. Buttressed and unjointed rock masses develop towards a condition of mass strength equilibrium as cross joints open. Strength equilibrium slopes may be recognized by application of a rock mass strength classification proposed for geomorphic purposes. Eleven propositions are formulated which identify controls on rock slope development and some consequences of these controls.     

地震与水压力耦合作用下岩质边坡倾覆解析方法

以往对平面破坏模式的岩质边坡稳定性评价,主要关注潜在滑坡体在自重、坡体内静水压力和地震荷载耦合作用下沿破坏面的抗滑稳定性,并未涉及各类外荷载作用线不通过潜在滑体重心而引起的绕坡趾倾覆稳定性。针对这一问题,提出地震与张裂缝水压耦合作用下的岩质边坡倾覆稳定性解析方法,基于力矩平衡原理推导出岩质边坡抗倾覆稳定性系数的一般表达式;通过深入的变动参数比较研究,探讨张裂缝水压和地震荷载对抗倾覆安全系数的影响,认为水压是控制岩质边坡倾覆破坏的决定性因素,而地震荷载处于次要因素,其在一定程度上增加或减小抗倾覆稳定性。在此基础上建立不同参数组合下的岩质边坡抗倾覆稳定图,为工程技术人员快速评估饱水岩质边坡地震倾覆稳定性提供直接依据。     

Approaches to dynamic equilibrium in theoretical simulations of slope development

The model SLOP3D is used to identify characteristic aspects of slope development under different conditions. A series of slopes along the Kall valley in the northern Eifel is reproduced by a developmental sequence of model slopes. The spatial and temporal variations of the components of slope development systems (relief, slope form, weathering rates, denudation rates) are discussed by means of mass movement and wash denudation models. The negative feedbacks between system components create a tendency towards the establishment of a dynamic equilibrium which is reached, however, only if the endogenic and exogenic conditions remain constant for the required relaxation time. The latter is shown to be a function of slope length, of the rate of uplift, of the denudational process type, and of the intensity of exogenic inputs (e.g. precipitation). Varying rock resistance leads to the development of shield inselbergs only if the rate of denudation becomes higher than the maximum possible weathering rate of the resistant bedrock.     

Linking weathering and rock slope instability: non‐linear perspectives

Weathering is linked complexly to the erosion and evolution of rock slopes. Weathering influences both the strength of rock slopes and the stresses that act upon them. While weathering has often been portrayed in an over‐simplified way by those studying rock slope instability, in reality it consists of multiple processes, acting over different spatial and temporal scales, with many complex inter‐linkages. Through a demonstration of the sources of non‐linearities in rock slope weathering systems and their implications for rock slope instability, this paper proposes five key linkages worthy of further study. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Piedmont landscape of Maryland: A new look at an old problem

The Piedmont upland of Maryland has been variously interpreted as a peneplain, a series of peneplains, a surface of marine planation, and a landscape in dynamic equilibrium. These different perspectives of landform evolution are related to different scales of time and space. Both equilibrium and episodic erosion features can be recognized in the modern landscape. An equilibrium condition is suggested by adjustment of first and second order streams to rock structure and lithology, entrenchment of some streams against gneiss domes, altitudinal zonation of rock types around gneiss domes, correlation of lithology with overburden thickness on uplands, decreasing overburden thickness on uplands related to decreasing degree of metamorphism of crystalline rocks, and correlation of secondary mineral assemblages with subsurface drainage and slope. The long-term episodic character of erosion is suggested by clastic wedges on the adjacent Coastal Plain, an upland of low relief that truncates non-carbonate rocks of different lithologies, isovolumetric chemical weathering of alumino-silicate rocks, clastic deposition in marble valleys, and weathering profile truncation by modern drainage. The Maryland Piedmont may have been an area of positive relief subject to subaerial erosion since Triassic and possibly Permian time. The upland surface preserved in the eastern Piedmont developed by the Late Cretaceous. In the interval from the Late Cretaceous to the Late Miocene, low input of terrigenous sediments to the Coastal Plain, dominance of marine sedimentation, and spotty evidence of saprolite formation on crystalline rocks, suggest that the Maryland Piedmont was an area of low relief undergoing intense weathering. Incised valleys were formed during a cycle of erosion probably initiated in the Late Miocene and extensive colluvial sediments were deposited on hillslopes by periglacial processes during the Pleistocene.     

Rock mass strength and the form of some inselbergs in the central namib desert

A rock mass strength classification, involving eight parameters, has been applied to selected inselbergs in the Namib Desert. The inselbergs are formed of schists, gneiss, granite and marble. Their slope inclinations are in a strength equilibrium with their rocks. The study suggests that the strength classification is consistent and has a general validity, and that rock slopes, undergoing uniform weathering, retreat to form slopes which are adjusted to their rock mass strength: this is a more general statement than the common hypothesis of parallel retreat. The favoured hypothesis of slope evolution in the Namib is one of retreat rather than downwearing.     

THE STABILITY OF ROCK-VENEERED HILLSLOPES

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Modelling the relative dominance of wave erosion and weathering processes in shore platform development in micro‐ to mega‐tidal settings

In this paper we use a numerical model to explore the relative dominance of two main processes in shore platform development: wave erosion; weathering due to wetting and drying. The modelling approach differs from previous work in several aspects, including: the way that it accounts for weathering arising from gradual surficial intertidal rock degradation; subtidal profile shape development; and the consideration of a broad erosion parameter space in which, at either end of the erosion spectrum, shore platform profiles are produced by waves or weathering alone. Results show that in micro‐tidal settings, wave erosion dominates the evolution of (i) shore platforms that become largely subtidal and (ii) sub‐horizontal shore platforms that have a receding seaward edge. Weathering processes dominate the evolution of sub‐horizontal shore platforms with a stable seaward edge. In contrast, sloping shore platforms in mega‐tidal settings are produced across the full range of the process‐dominance spectrum depending on the how the erosional efficacy of wave erosion and weathering are parameterized. Morphological feedbacks control the process‐dominance. In small tidal environments wave processes are strongly controlled by the presence/absence of an abrupt seaward edge, but this influence is much smaller in large tidal environments due to larger water depths particularly at high tides. In large tidal environments, similar shore platform profile geometries can be produced by either wave‐dominant or weathering‐dominant process regimes. Equifinality in shore platform development has been noted in other studies, but mainly in the context of smaller‐scale (centimetre to metre) erosion features. Here we draw attention to geomorphic equifinality at the scale of the shore platform itself. Progress requires a greater understanding of the actual mechanics of the process regimes operating on shore platforms. However, this paper makes a substantial contribution to the debate by identifying the physical conditions that allow clear statements about process dominance. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Landscape form and millennial erosion rates in the San Gabriel Mountains,CA

It has been long hypothesized that topography, as well as climate and rock strength, exert first order controls on erosion rates. Here we use detrital cosmogenic ¹⁰Be from 50 basins, ranging in size from 1 to 150 km², to measure millennial erosion rates across the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California, where a strong E–W gradient in relief compared to weak variation in precipitation and lithology allow us to isolate the relationship between topographic form and erosion rate. Our erosion rates range from 35 to 1100 m/Ma, and generally agree with both decadal sediment fluxes and long term exhumation rates inferred from low temperature thermochronometry. Catchment-mean hillslope angle increases with erosion rate until ～ 300 m/Ma, at which point slopes become invariant with erosion rate. Although this sort of relation has been offered as support for non-linear models of soil transport, we use 1-D analytical hillslope profiles derived from existing soil transport laws to show that a model with soil flux linear in slope, but including a slope stability threshold, is indistinguishable from a non-linear law within the scatter of our data. Catchment-mean normalized channel steepness index increases monotonically, though non-linearly, with erosion rate throughout the San Gabriel Mountains, even where catchment-mean hillslope angles have reached a threshold. This non-linearity can be mostly accounted for by a stochastic threshold incision model, though additional factors likely contribute to the observed relationship between channel steepness and erosion rate. These findings substantiate the claim that the normalized channel steepness index is an important topographic metric in active ranges.     

The temporal and spatial development of landslides in the axmouth-lyme regis undercliffs national nature reserve,Devon

A chronology of landsliding is presented, including suggestions as to a date for initiation. Periods of activity known from historical sources are correlated with known periods of climatic deterioration. The current morphology of the landslide slopes is closely related to the geological succession and structure. These permit the landslides and their development to be differentiated on the basis of whole slope and toe morphology, and much of the whole-slope activity can be related to conditions at the toe. Examples of geomorphological maps, slope categories maps, and cross sections are presented along with an example of the ‘evolutionary’ maps which may be derived from Ordnance Survey plans and aerial photographs. These generally indicate that weakening of materials by weathering, seepage erosion at the toe, and marine erosion result in frequent mass movement events of a low magnitude. These events ultimately influence the stability of larger slipped blocks behind, which fail less frequently. It is suggested that whole-slope failures in this region have a maximum frequency of once in 120 to 150 years, and that problems of interpretation of historical accounts may mean that it is very much less frequent than this.     

Seismic stability of jointed rock slopes under obliquely incident earthquake waves

Seismic stability of slopes has been traditionally analyzed with vertically propagated earthquake waves. However, for rock slopes, the earthquake waves might approach the outcrop still with a evidently oblique direction. To investigate the impact of obliquely incident earthquake excitations, the input method for SV and P waves with arbitrary incident angles is conducted, respectively, by adopting the equivalent nodal force method together with a viscous-spring boundary. Then, the input method is introduced within the framework of ABAQUS software and verified by a numerical example. Both SV and P waves input are considered herein for a 2D jointed rock slope. For the jointed rock mass, the jointed material model in ABAQUS software is employed to simulate its behavior as a continuum. Results of the study show that the earthquake incident angles have significance on the seismic stability of jointed rock slopes. The larger the incident angle, the greater the risk of slope instability. Furthermore, the stability of the jointed rock slopes also is affected by wave types of earthquakes heavily. P waves induce weaker responses and SV waves are shown to be more critical.     

南海北部陆坡稳定性定量分析

随着海洋工程的发展,海底滑坡作为一种潜在的地质灾害逐渐成为人们关注的热点.本文采用二维极限平衡法计算并分析了海底斜坡稳定性问题.通过对斜坡模型在各种条件下安全系数的计算,定量分析了斜坡内在因素(如斜坡角度、主要土力学参数)和主要触发机制(地震、快速堆积等)对安全系数的影响.理论计算表明,静态条件下,均质斜坡角度小于20°时,均处于稳定状态;对于含软弱层的斜坡,快速堆积等引起的不排水状态下斜坡安全系数明显降低,斜坡角度大于14°时就会发生失稳.拟静态条件下,当地震动峰值加速度(PGA)小于0.15g时,对于角度小于20°的均质斜坡处于稳定状态,但PGA大于0.25g时,角度大于13°的斜坡即处于失稳状态;对于含软弱层斜坡,PGA为0.1g时,角度大于10°的斜坡即处于不稳定状态;当PGA大于0.3g时,3°以上的海底斜坡即处于失稳状态,发生海底滑坡.结合南海北部陆坡海底地形、地貌特征,在静态条件下,均处于稳定状态;但在地震加载的拟静态下,根据南海北部地震动峰值加速度分布,台湾浅滩段则处于不稳定状态.这解释了该区域大陆坡折带处海底滑坡广泛发育的原因,也表明了地震是引发南海北部滑坡最主要的触发机制之一.     

Effects of slope angle and aspect on plant cover and species richness in a humid Mediterranean badland

Soil erosion is one of the most severe land degradation processes in the Mediterranean region. Although badlands occupy a relatively small fraction of the Mediterranean area, their erosion rates are very high. Many studies have investigated to what extent vegetation controls soil erosion rates. This study, however, deals with the impact of erosion on vegetation establishment. In semi‐arid badlands of the Mediterranean, soil water availability constitutes the main limiting factor for vegetation development. As a consequence, south‐facing slopes are typically less vegetated due to a very large water stress. However, these findings do not necessarily apply to humid badlands. The main objective of this paper is to determine the topographic thresholds for plant colonization in relation to slope aspect and to assess the spatial patterns of vegetation cover and species richness. We surveyed 179 plots on highly eroded badland slopes in the Central Pyrenees. We defined four aspect classes subdivided into slope angle classes. Colonization success was expressed in terms of vegetation cover and species richness. Slope angle thresholds for plant colonization were identified for each slope aspect class by means of binary logistic regressions. The results show that a critical slope angle exists below which plants colonize the badland slopes. Below this critical slope angle, plant cover and species richness increase with a decreasing slope angle. The largest critical slope angles in humid badlands are observed on south‐facing slopes, which contrasts with the results obtained in semi‐arid badlands. North‐facing slopes however are characterized by a reduced overall vegetation cover and species richness, and lower topographic threshold values. The possible underlying processes responsible for this slope‐aspect discrepancy in vegetation characteristics are discussed in terms of environmental variables that control regolith development, weathering and erosion processes. Moreover, possible restoration strategies through the use of vegetation in highly degraded environments are highlighted. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The shapes of some mountain peaks in the Canadian Rockies

Different mountain shapes in sedimentary sequences in the Canadian Rockies were enhanced by glacial erosion and have been modified postglacially by gravity-driven slope processes. Slope modification by both glacial erosion and postglaciation landslides is related to rock structure, particularly bedding dip, rock mass strength and slope geometry. Five mountain peak shapes in monoclinal sequences each fall into different ranges of bedding dips. Castellate (1) and matterhorn (2) mountains occur in sub-horizontal beds and their slopes on all sides follow combinations of bedding planes and joints. The overall slopes are generally 37 to 65° and oblique to both bedding and joints. Slopes in sub-horizontal beds may be controlled by their rock mass strength. Cuestas (3) develop in gently to moderately dipping beds. Dip slopes and steeper, normal escarpments form their cataclinal and anaclinal sides respectively, with the dihedral angle between them about 90°. Hogbacks (4) in moderately to steeply dipping beds have similar slope angles on both cataclinal and anaclinal slopes. Cataclinal slopes are either dip slopes or underdip slopes but anaclinal slopes are often steepened escarpments; the dihedral angle between the slopes is usually less than 90°. Dogtooth (5) mountains occur in steeply dipping to sub-vertical beds and the dihedral angle can be as low as 60°. Slope gradients in inclined beds are closely related to landslides, whose modes are controlled by bedding dips. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Field evidence for the influence of weathering on rock erodibility and channel form in bedrock rivers

Erosion processes in bedrock‐floored rivers shape channel cross‐sectional geometry and the broader landscape. However, the influence of weathering on channel slope and geometry is not well understood. Weathering can produce variation in rock erodibility within channel cross‐sections. Recent numerical modeling results suggest that weathering may preferentially weaken rock on channel banks relative to the thalweg, strongly influencing channel form. Here, we present the first quantitative field study of differential weathering across channel cross‐sections. We hypothesize that average cross‐section erosion rate controls the magnitude of this contrast in weathering between the banks and the thalweg. Erosion rate, in turn, is moderated by the extent to which weathering processes increase bedrock erodibility. We test these hypotheses on tributaries to the Potomac River, Virginia, with inferred erosion rates from ~0.1 m/kyr to >0.8 m/kyr, with higher rates in knickpoints spawned by the migratory Great Falls knickzone. We selected nine channel cross‐sections on three tributaries spanning the full range of erosion rates, and at multiple flow heights we measured (1) rock compressive strength using a Schmidt hammer, (2) rock surface roughness using a contour gage combined with automated photograph analysis, and (3) crack density (crack length/area) at three cross‐sections on one channel. All cross‐sections showed significant (p < 0.01 for strength, p < 0.05 for roughness) increases in weathering by at least one metric with height above the thalweg. These results, assuming that the weathered state of rock is a proxy for erodibility, indicate that rock erodibility varies inversely with bedrock inundation frequency. Differences in weathering between the thalweg and the channel margins tend to decrease as inferred erosion rates increase, leading to variations in channel form related to the interplay of weathering and erosion rate. This observation is consistent with numerical modeling that predicts a strong influence of weathering‐related erodibility on channel morphology. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Glaciers,rock avalanches and the ‘buzzsaw’ in cirque development: Why mountain cirques are of mainly glacial origin

It has been proposed that most cirques are source-area depressions of large, deep-seated rock-slope failures. Yet the close relation between cirques and climate is convincing evidence of the dominance of glacial erosion, rather than rock-slope failure, in mountain cirque development and distribution. Cirque floor altitudes have a lower limit that varies with snowfall by 1000 m or more between windward and leeward sides of mountain systems. Glaciation levels and equilibrium line altitudes implied by cirques vary in parallel with those for modern glaciers. Cirques are often found mainly on the poleward or leeward slopes of individual mountain ranges, as are modern small glaciers (because of solar radiation and wind effects on ablation and accumulation). Most rock-slope failures (RSFs: rock slides, rock avalanches and gravitational deformations) do not involve the deep-seated rotational movement that would produce a cirque form. Although some deep-seated RSFs with arcuate head scars may be confused with cirques, identification as a glacial cirque is more confident as the floor is longer, wider and more gently sloping. Some scars from major RSFs may resemble poor or moderately developed cirques, but tend to have steeper floors, to be more scattered and closely related to geology, whereas glacial cirques develop on all rock types. Deep-seated RSFs high on slopes can be associated with seismic shaking, but cirques develop without relation to seismicity. Degree of cirque development can be related to duration of exposure to glaciation. Often RSFs are found adjacent to cirques, or in glacial transfluences; only a proportion are well situated to develop into glacial cirques. Valley-head cirques are continued down-valley by glacial troughs. The ‘overdeepening’ (rock basins with reversed slopes) found in a large minority of cirques is not due to rock avalanching, fluvial or periglacial erosion. The RSF proposal should therefore be rejected in favour of the traditional glacial explanation, without any nivation stage being necessary. Rock-slope failure is one of several possible ways of initiating hollows for glacier accumulation, as well as an ancillary process of cirque extension or widening through collapse of glacially oversteepened slopes. Headward extension of adjacent cirques on a ridge leads to displacement of the divide, sometimes by 2 km or more, lowering ridge and summit altitudes and producing the ‘glacial buzzsaw’ effect. Where a relatively lower snowline has led to cirque erosion on all sides of a mountain, cirque intersection lowers summits further. The buzzsaw hypothesis is not applicable, however, where remnants of a preglacial summit surface survive. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seepage erosion and its implication to the formation of amphitheatre valley heads: A case study at Obara,Japan

Seepage erosion was investigated in an amphitheatre with a semicircular valley head, steep slopes, and a flat bottom developed in granodiorite hills at Obara, Aichi prefecture, Japan. A high sediment yield occurred where the measuring sites were located at the base of the landslide debris in the base of the convex slopes, whereas sediment outflows were small where the measuring sites were located at the base of the strong convex slopes. This implies that the seepage erosion was an effective agent for removal of debris deposited at the base of the slope. Small landslides can be found at the lower slopes within the area of the observed amphitheatre. The slope stability analysis and subsurface water observation of the lower slope suggest that the small landslides in this amphitheatre are due to over-steepened slopes, and relatively insensitive to subsurface water status. Colluvium in the flat valley bottom thinly covers the bedrock surface. Therefore the topography of the amphitheatre was found to be formed by parallel retreat of slopes by the repetition of basal seepage erosion and subsequent small landslides.     

Hillslope response to tectonic forcing in threshold landscapes

Hillslopes are thought to poorly record tectonic signals in threshold landscapes. Numerous previous studies of steep landscapes suggest that large changes in long‐term erosion rate lead to little change in mean hillslope angle, measured at coarse resolution. New LiDAR‐derived topography data enables a finer examination of threshold hillslopes. Here we quantify hillslope response to tectonic forcing in a threshold landscape. To do so, we use an extensive cosmogenic beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be)‐based dataset of catchment‐averaged erosion rates combined with a 500 km² LiDAR‐derived 1 m digital elevation model to exploit a gradient of tectonic forcing and topographic relief in the San Gabriel Mountains, California. We also calibrate a new method of quantifying rock exposure from LiDAR‐derived slope measurements using high‐resolution panoramic photographs. Two distinct trends in hillslope behavior emerge: below catchment‐mean slopes of 30°, modal slopes increase with mean slopes, slope distribution skewness decreases with increasing mean slope, and bedrock exposure is limited; above mean slopes of 30°, our rock exposure index increases strongly with mean slope, and the prevalence of angle‐of‐repose debris wedges keeps modal slopes near 37°, resulting in a positive relationship between slope distribution skewness and mean slope. We find that both mean slopes and rock exposure increase with erosion rate up to 1 mm/a, in contrast to previous work based on coarser topographic data. We also find that as erosion rates increase, the extent of the fluvial network decreases, while colluvial channels extend downstream, keeping the total drainage density similar across the range. Our results reveal important textural details lost in 10 or 30 m resolution digital elevation models of steep landscapes, and highlight the need for process‐based studies of threshold hillslopes and colluvial channels. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE EQUIVALENT SLOPE - A NEW METHOD FOR CALCULATING SOIL LOSS FROM IRREGULAR SLOPES

he slopes in field conditions are always irregular, but the supposed uniform slopes are used in most erosion models. Some studies used several uniform slopes to approximate an irregular slope for estimating soil erosion. This approximation is both time-consuming and weak in physical insights. In this paper, the concept of equivalent slope is presented based on that runoff potential on uniform slope is equal to that of irregular slope, and the equivalent uniform slope is used to estimate soil erosion instead of the irregular slopes. The estimated results of slope-length factors for convex and concave slopes are consistent with those from the method of Foster and Wischmeier, The experiments in the southern part of the Loess Plateau in China confirmed the applicability of the present method. The method is simple and has, to some extent, clear physical meanings, and is applicable for estimating soil erosion from irregular slopes.