汶川八级地震触发何家沟碎屑流滑坡基本特征及形成机理

汶川地震造成大量次生斜坡地质灾害,包含崩塌、滑坡及泥石流等灾种,其中以滑坡分布最为广泛、破坏力最强,且多以高速碎屑流为表现形式,何家沟滑坡即是其中典型例证。滑坡距发震断裂——映秀-北川南枝断裂不足5km,震前斜坡为双向临空的单薄山脊,其走向与断裂走向小角度相交,岩层走向与坡面斜交,中风化基岩结合紧密,结构面延伸性较好,强风化基岩较破碎,浅表部残坡积物较为松散。调查分析表明：残坡积物与强风化基岩是碎屑流滑坡的物质基础;中风化基岩面构成碎屑流滑坡滑床;斜坡临空面是滑坡产生的地形条件;高强度、长历时强震是导致滑坡产生的根本因素。滑坡的形成经历以下4个阶段：强震导致坡体表层残坡积物与强风化基岩松弛和解体;在强震作用下滑体从高位整体下错;松散物质沿中风化基岩面溃滑形成碎屑流和碎屑流堆积阶段。碎屑流产生后,受地形限制,停积于沟床内,在随后的“9．24”特大暴雨过程中进一步转化为泥石流次生灾害。     

Wildfire impacts on the processes that generate debris flows in burned watersheds

Every year, and in many countries worldwide, wildfires cause significant damage and economic losses due to both the direct effects of the fires and the subsequent accelerated runoff, erosion, and debris flow. Wildfires can have profound effects on the hydrologic response of watersheds by changing the infiltration characteristics and erodibility of the soil, which leads to decreased rainfall infiltration, significantly increased overland flow and runoff in channels, and movement of soil. Debris-flow activity is among the most destructive consequences of these changes, often causing extensive damage to human infrastructure. Data from the Mediterranean area and Western United States of America help identify the primary processes that result in debris flows in recently burned areas. Two primary processes for the initiation of fire-related debris flows have been so far identified: (1) runoff-dominated erosion by surface overland flow; and (2) infiltration-triggered failure and mobilization of a discrete landslide mass. The first process is frequently documented immediately post-fire and leads to the generation of debris flows through progressive bulking of storm runoff with sediment eroded from the hillslopes and channels. As sediment is incorporated into water, runoff can convert to debris flow. The conversion to debris flow may be observed at a position within a drainage network that appears to be controlled by threshold values of upslope contributing area and its gradient. At these locations, sufficient eroded material has been incorporated, relative to the volume of contributing surface runoff, to generate debris flows. Debris flows have also been generated from burned basins in response to increased runoff by water cascading over a steep, bedrock cliff, and incorporating material from readily erodible colluvium or channel bed. Post-fire debris flows have also been generated by infiltration-triggered landslide failures which then mobilize into debris flows. However, only 12% of documented cases exhibited this process. When they do occur, the landslide failures range in thickness from a few tens of centimeters to more than 6 m, and generally involve the soil and colluvium-mantled hillslopes. Surficial landslide failures in burned areas most frequently occur in response to prolonged periods of storm rainfall, or prolonged rainfall in combination with rapid snowmelt or rain-on-snow events.     

Characteristics of spatial distribution of debris flow and the effect of their sediment yield in main downstream of Jinsha River,China

Debris flow hazard posts a big threat to the main downstream of Jinsha River where a number of huge power stations are under construction. The characteristics of spatial distribution of debris flows and the effect of their sediment yield on the reservoir areas have been studied. An automatic recognition module was developed to extract the geometry of debris flow channels from remote sensing data. Spatial distribution pattern of debris flows is obtained through combining the inventory database and multi-source remote sensing investigation. The distribution of debris flows has high dependency on the various factors including geology, geomorphology, climate, hydrology and human economic activities. The debris flows distributed in the study area are characterized by group and pair distribution, uncompleted deposition fans, highly controlled by faults and tectonic activities, spatial variation between left bank and right bank, and different subdivisions. The sediment yield caused by debris flow activates is evaluated using multi-year observation data from numerous observation stations. Quantitative studies have been performed on the relationship between the sediment yield and the debris flow area. A relatively fix ratio of 2.6 (×10⁴ t/km²) has been found in different subdivisions of main downstream area which shows that the source of sediment discharged into Jinsha River primarily come from debris flow activities. Another ratio is evaluated to represent the transforming possibility of debris flow materials to bed-sediment load and suspended-sediment load in the river. Based on these findings, the potential effect of sediment yield caused by debris flows on reservoir areas is discussed. The zonation map shows the different effect of debris flow sediment on different dam site area which shows a good agreement with variation of debris flow spatial distribution.     

Initiation process of debris flows on different slopes due to surface flow and trigger-specific strategies for mitigating post-earthquake in old Beichuan County, China

The 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Ms 8.0) in China, produced an estimated volume of 28 × 10⁸ m³ loosened material, which led to debris flows after the earthquake. Debris flows are the dominant mountain hazards, and serious threat to lives, properties, buildings, traffic, and post-earthquake reconstruction in the earthquake-hit areas. It is very important to understand the debris flow initiation processes and characteristics, for designing debris flow mitigation. The main objective of this article is to examine the different debris flow initiation processes in order to identify suitable mitigation strategies. Three types of debris flow initiation processes were identified (designated as Types A, B, and C) by field survey and experiments. In “A” type initiation, the debris flow forms as a result of dam failure in the process of rill erosion, slope failure, landslide dam, or dam failure. This type of debris flow occurs at the slope of 10 ± 2°, with a high bulk density, and several surges following dam failure. “B” type initiation is the result of a gradual increase in headward down cutting, bank and lateral erosion, and then large amount of loose material interfusion into water flow, which increases the bulk density, and forms the debris flow. This type of debris flow occurs mainly on slopes of 15 ± 3° without surges. “C” type debris flow results from slope failures by surface flow, infiltration, loose material crack, slope failure, and fluidization. This type of debris flow occurs mainly on slopes of 21 ± 4°, and has several surges of debris flow following slope failure, and a high bulk density. To minimize the hazards from debris flows in areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake, the erosion control measures, such as the construction of grid dams, slope failure control measures, the construction of storage sediment dams, and the drainage measures, such as construction of drainage ditches are proposed. Based on our results, it is recommend that the control measures should be chosen based on the debris flow initiation type, which affects the peak discharge, bulk density and the discharge process. The mitigation strategies discussed in this paper are based on experimental simulations of the debris flows in the Weijia, Huashiban, and Xijia gullies of old Beichuan city. The results are useful for post-disaster reconstruction and recovery, as well as for preventing similar geohazards in the future.     

Debris flows: behaviour and hazard assessment

Debris flows are water‐laden masses of soil and fragmented rock that rush down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form lobate deposits when they spill onto valley floors. Because they have volumetric sediment concentrations that exceed 40 percent, maximum speeds that surpass 10 m/s, and sizes that can range up to ～10⁹ m³, debris flows can denude slopes, bury floodplains, and devastate people and property. Computational models can accurately represent the physics of debris‐flow initiation, motion and deposition by simulating evolution of flow mass and momentum while accounting for interactions of debris’ solid and fluid constituents. The use of physically based models for hazard forecasting can be limited by imprecise knowledge of initial and boundary conditions and material properties, however. Therefore, empirical methods continue to play an important role in debris‐flow hazard assessment.     

Cause of dominance by sheetflood vs. debris-flow processes on two adjoining alluvial fans, Death Valley, California

Two large, adjoining alluvial fans of the Panamint Range piedmont, Death Valley, California, are composed of different facies assemblages deposited by contrasting sedimentary processes. The Anvil Spring fan was built solely by water-flow processes (incised-channel floods and sheetfloods), whereas the neighbouring Warm Spring fan has been constructed principally by debris flows. The boundary between these fans delineates a sharp provincial piedmont contact between sheetflood-dominated fans to the south and debris-flow-dominated fans to the north. Factors such as climate, catchment area, fan area, catchment relief, aspect, vegetation types and density, and neotectonic setting are essentially identical for these two fans. The key difference between them is that their catchments are underlain by dissimilar bedrock types, which weather to yield distinctive sediment suites. Weathering of the granite and andesite of the Anvil fan catchment produces significant volumes of medium to very coarse sand, granules, pebbles, cobbles and boulders, but minimal silt and clay. In contrast, the shale, quartzite and dolomite that dominate bedrock in the Warm Spring catchment weather to yield a wide suite of sedimentary particles spanning from clay to boulders. The abundance of mud, and the unsorted character of the yielded sediment, cause precipitation-induced slope failures in the Warm Spring catchment to transform readily into debris flows. This propensity is due to the low permeability of the colluvial sediment, which causes added water to become trapped quickly and pore pressure to rise rapidly, promoting transformations to debris flows. In contrast, the limited volume of sediment finer than medium sand yielded from the Anvil fan catchment causes the colluvium to have high permeability. This factor prevents the transformation of wet colluvium to a debris flow during hydrologically triggered slope failures, instead maintaining sediment transport as entrained bed load or suspended load in a water flow.     

秦巴山区宁陕县城坡面型泥石流的形成机理

近年来,在异常强降雨下,秦巴地区大型滑坡、泥石流灾害频繁发生,尤其是高陡斜坡上罕见的坡面型泥石流不仅突发性强,而且成灾面积大,造成的经济损失十分惨重。本文以2003年8月29日发生于秦岭造山带腹地宁陕县城区的坡面型泥石流为例,通过野外地质调查和室内试验测试,分析了暴雨作用下宁陕城区高陡斜坡带坡面型泥石流的发育特征及其形成机理。作者认为,除了持续集中的特大暴雨和斜坡陡峻等因素外,斜坡表层残坡积物的物质组成尤其是残坡积土的粘粒含量和粘土矿物成分是坡面型泥石流大面积同时发生的重要控制性因素。通过不同含水状态下的粘性土抗剪强度试验结果统计分析,剖析了暴雨坡面型泥石流的形成过程,探讨了斜坡浅表层残坡积物快速流动变形的临界状态,从而为地质灾害预测预警提供了科学依据。     

Catastrophic debris flows triggered by a 14 August 2010 rainfall at the epicenter of the Wenchuan earthquake

The Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 produced large amounts of loose material (landslide debris) that are still present on the steep slopes and in the gullies. This loose material creates an important hazard as strong rainfall can cause the development of devastating debris flows that will endanger the resettled population and destroy the result of reconstruction efforts. On 14 August 2010, a total of 21 debris flows were triggered by heavy rainfall around the town of Yingxue, located near the epicenter of the Wenchuan earthquake. One of these debris flows produced a debris dam, which then changed the course of the river and resulted in the flooding of the newly reconstructed Yinxue town. Prior to this catastrophic event, debris flow hazard had been recognized in the region, but its potential for such widespread and devastating impacts was not fully appreciated. Our primary objective for this study was to analyze the characteristics of the triggering rainfall and the sediment supply conditions leading to this event. Our field observations show that even small debris flow catchment areas have caused widespread sediment deposition on the existing fans. It is concluded that the whole of the area shaken by the Wenchuan earthquake is more susceptible to debris flows, initiated by localized heavy rainfall, than had been assumed earlier. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the conditions leading to catastrophic debris flow events in the earthquake-hit area. This is essential for the implementation of proper early warning, prevention, and mitigation measures as well as a better land use planning in this area.     

Shingled Quaternary debris flow lenses on the north-east Newfoundland Slope

Debris flow deposits are the principal component of Quaternary continental slope sediments between the north-east Newfoundland Shelf and central Orphan Basin. In seismic profiles, these deposits occur as shingled, elongate, acoustically transparent lenses with their long axes orientated downslope. Deposits of individual flows form positive mounds on the sea floor; subsequent flows were diverted by the pre-existing topography into bathymetric lows between older debris flow deposits. These deposits show a large variation in the area of sea floor covered by individual flows (about 60–1000 km²), average thickness of deposits (9–37 m) and volume of sediment displaced (1–27 km³). The ratio of average thickness to a measure of deposit diameter, termed the aspect ratio, has a threefold variation from 0·0006 to 0·0021. Very low depositional slopes and low aspect ratios suggest relatively low viscosities, probably due to inmixing of water during downslope transport. Stratified sediments form three distinct horizons and are locally interbedded with the debris flow deposits. These are mainly hemipelagic deposits. The slope and rise to the west of the Orphan Basin are constructional in character. The apparent absence of upper slope erosional features and the abundance of debris flow deposits on the slope suggest that the supply of sediment to the continental slope occurred predominantly during times of maximum extent of Quaternary glacial ice. The ice sheet grounding line during several glacial maxima must have been situated at or near the present shelf break, supplying vast amounts of sediment directly to the upper slope. Oversteepening and subsequent slope failures fed material into deeper water.     

Improving mass-wasting inventories by incorporating debris flow topographic signatures

Debris flows are a prevalent and destructive mass-wasting type in many mountainous regions throughout the world, yet the recent identification of a debris flow topographic signature has not been incorporated into landslide inventories. We have detected this signature in a digital elevation model of the mountainous Oconaluftee River basin of the southern Appalachians, USA, where we have conducted mass-wasting inventories. We evaluate the applicability of this topographic signature in debris flow mapping efforts using inventories created by semiautomated classification of topographic derivative and vegetation index maps. Debris flow detection was increased by 12 % when the inventory was limited to the portion of the landscape that exhibits the debris flow topographic signature. The extent of drainages with this topographic signature, which have areas of 6 to 35 km², is corroborated by analyses of channel form, knickpoint and bedrock distributions, and hypsometry. This mass-wasting inventory technique provides a more focused approach to statistically characterize the land surface, which resulted in increased inventory proficiency across a landscape with an extensive and relatively well-documented debris flow history.     

Passage of debris flows and turbidity currents through a topographic constriction: seafloor erosion and deflection of flow pathways

Some of the Earth's largest submarine debris flows are found on the NW African margin. These debris flows are highly efficient, spreading hundreds of cubic kilometres of sediment over a wide area of the continental rise where slopes angles are often <1°. However, the processes by which these debris flows achieve such long run‐outs, affecting tens of thousands of square kilometres of seafloor, are poorly understood. The Saharan debris flow has a run‐out of ≈700 km, making it one of the longest debris flows on Earth. For its distal 450 km, it is underlain by a relatively thin and highly sheared basal volcaniclastic layer, which may have provided the low‐friction conditions that enabled its extraordinarily long run‐out. Between El Hierro Island and the Hijas Seamount on the continental rise, an ≈25‐ to 40‐km‐wide topographic gap is present, through which the Saharan debris flow and turbidites from the continental margin and flanks of the Canary Islands passed. Recently, the first deep‐towed sonar images have been obtained, showing dramatic erosional and depositional processes operating within this topographic `gap' or `constriction'. These images show evidence for the passage of the Saharan debris flow and highly erosive turbidity currents, including the largest comet marks reported from the deep ocean. Sonar data and a seismic reflection profile obtained 70 km to the east, upslope of the topographic `gap', indicate that seafloor sediments to a depth of ≈30 m have been eroded by the Saharan debris flow to form the basal volcaniclastic layer. Within the topographic `gap', the Saharan debris flow appears to have been deflected by a low (≈20 m) topographic ridge, whereas turbidity currents predating the debris flow appear to have overtopped the ridge. This evidence suggests that, as turbidity currents passed into the topographic constriction, they experienced flow acceleration and, as a result, became highly erosive. Such observations have implications for the mechanics of long run‐out debris flows and turbidity currents elsewhere in the deep sea, in particular how such large‐scale flows erode the substrate and interact with seafloor topography.     

Status and Trends in Research on Deep-Water Gravity Flow Deposits

Deep-water gravity flows are one of the most important sediment transport mechanisms on Earth. After 60 years of study,significant achievements have been made in terms of classification schemes,genetic mechanisms,and depositional models of deep-water gravity flows. The research history of deep-water gravity flows can be divided into five stages: incipience of turbidity current theory; formation of turbidity current theory; development of deep-water gravity flow theory; improvement and perfection of deep-water gravity flow theory; and comprehensive development of deep-water gravity flow theory. Currently,three primary classification schemes based on the sediment support mechanism,the rheology and transportation process,and the integration of sediment support mechanisms,rheology,sedimentary characteristics,and flow state are commonly used.Different types of deep-water gravity flow events form different types of gravity flow deposits. Sediment slump retransportation mainly forms muddy debris flows,sandy debris flows,and surge-like turbidity currents. Resuspension of deposits by storms leads to quasi-steady hyperpycnal turbidity currents(hyperpycnal flows). Sustainable sediment supplies mainly generate muddy debris flows,sandy debris flows,and hyperpycnal flows. Deep-water fans,which are commonly controlled by debris flows and hyperpycnal flows,are triggered by sustainable sediment supply; in contrast,deep-water slope sedimentary deposits consist mainly of debris flows that are triggered by the retransportation of sediment slumps and deep-water fine-grained sedimentary deposits are derived primarily from finegrained hyperpycnal flows that are triggered by the resuspension of storm deposits. Harmonization of classification schemes,transformation between different types of gravity flow deposit,and monitoring and reproduction of the sedimentary processes of deep-water gravity flows as well as a source-to-sink approach to document the evolution and deposition of deep-water gravity flows are the most important research aspects for future studies of deep-water gravity flows study in the future.     

Application of physical modelling of debris flow triggering to field conditions: Limitations posed by boundary conditions

Debris flows are often triggered by Hortonian overland flow during high-intensity rainstorms. Data derived from debris flow trigger zones in the southern French Alps were fed into a physical model of debris flow triggering based on Takahashi. Using a Monte Carlo approach with 1000 runs, the results show a wide distribution of safety factor values, indicating that physical modelling based on actual field measurements may not always be practical.As all safety factor values obtained are well below 1 even though debris flows only occur during very high-intensity rainstorms, the model used must be inappropriate. Apparently, the composition of the overland flow plays an important role: during high-intensity rainstorms it usually has a very high sediment content and contains stones. This prevents it from flowing through the pores of coarse debris accumulations in the central gully of a trigger zone; it will rather run over the debris. This situation is more stable than with the fluid flowing through the pores. The behaviour switch of the fluid above a certain sediment and stone content thus drastically changes the triggering conditions for debris flows and it is concluded that debris flow triggering in the area requires the occurrence of both overland flow and landsliding.     

Mechanisms and runout characteristics of the rainfall-triggered debris flow in Xiaojiagou in Sichuan Province, China

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake induced a large number of landslides, and a vast amount of loose landslide materials deposited on steep hill slopes or in channels. Such loose materials can become sources of deadly debris flows once triggered by storms. On 13 August 2010, a storm swept Yingxiu and its vicinity, triggering a catastrophic debris flow with a volume of 1.17?million?m³ in Xiaojiagou Ravine. The debris flow buried 1,100?m of road, blocked a river and formed a debris flow barrier lake. A detailed field study was conducted to understand the initiation mechanisms and runout characteristics of this debris flow. Two types of debris flows are identified, namely hill-slope debris flow and channelized debris flow. The hill-slope debris flow was triggered in the forms of firehose effect, rilling and landsliding, whereas the channelized debris flow was triggered in the form of channel-bed failure. This debris flow was a water?Crock flow since most particles were gravel, cobble or larger rocks and the fraction of silt and clay was less than 2%. Grain contact friction, pore-pressure effects and inertial grain collision were the three most important physical interactions within the debris flow. Such interactions yielded a smaller runout distance (593?m) compared with those of mud?Crock flows of similar size.     

Disastrous sediment discharge due to typhoon-induced heavy rainfall over fossil periglacial catchments in western Tokachi,Hokkaido, northern Japan

In August 2016, Typhoon 1610 (Lionrock) caused heavy rainfall in Hokkaido, which led to the discharge of a large volume of sediment and water from catchments on the eastern slope of the northern Hidaka Range. The eight catchments examined in this study are characterized by granitic lithology and late Pleistocene periglacial landforms with weakly cohesive, low-resistance periglacial debris thickly covering the weathered bedrocks. This characteristic of the landscape presumably provided a transport-limited condition where some debris flows were initiated by shallow landslides. As they moved, the debris flows grew larger through mobilization and erosion of sediment in channel beds and sidewalls. This sediment mobilization and erosion continued for an extensive distance along the course of the river. Morphological changes induced by channel aggradation and bank erosion were considerable and distinctive from upstream to downstream. Granitic periglacial sediments are amply present on the mountain slopes, river channels, and river banks in the area, likely due to the rarity of intensive rainfall events. These distinctive features of fossil periglacial catchments are important for disaster prevention and catchment-scale sediment management in sub-boreal areas, particularly in the context of climate change, which may generate more frequent and intensive rainfall events.     

Kuskonook Creek, an example of a debris flow analysis

Two debris flows occurred on Kuskonook Creek in British Columbia, Canada, in August and September 2004. The initiation factors included a major forest fire in the catchment in 2003, in association with relatively small rainfall events and the accumulation of sediment in the creek channels since the last large debris flow event. Previous regional studies and morphometric comparisons with other similar catchments indicate that Kuskonook Creek has characteristics predisposed to debris flows, even without the affects of a forest fire. Based on the investigations and analyses, a magnitude/frequency relationship for future debris events on Kuskonook Creek was developed, and this information was used to carry out a partial risk assessment. It is suggested that for design purposes, a 1/50-year return period and the corresponding debris flow magnitude of 15,000 m³ would provide conservative protection to the users of the provincial highway at the mouth of the creek.     

A prototype experiment of debris flow control with energy dissipation structures

Large-volume debris flow events are defined when the volume of solid materials exceeds 1 million m³. Traditional engineering measures, such as check dams, diversion channels, and flumes, are effective for normal debris flow control but are not sufficient to control large-volume debris flows. Experiments were conducted with an artificial step-pool system on the new Wenjiagou Gully to mitigate large-volume debris flows. The old Wenjiagou Gully was buried by 81.6 million m³ of loose solid material created by a landslide that was triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. The new gully was formed during the scouring process caused by debris flows in 2008. Large-volume debris flows were initiated by rainstorm flood with high kinetic energy. The artificial step-pool system was constructed with huge and big boulders on the new Wenjiagou Gully in 2009. The step-pool system dissipated flow energy in steps and hydraulic jumps. Analysis proved that the step-pool system dissipated two-third of the kinetic energy of flow; thus, the critical discharge for triggering debris flow increased threefold. Due to the step-pool system maximized the flow resistance and protected the bed sediment and banks from erosion, the rainstorm floods in 2009 did not trigger debris flows. In 2010, the step-pool system was replaced with 20 check dams. Huge boulders were broken into small pieces of diameter less than 0.5 m and were used as building materials for the 20 dams. Without the protection of the step-pool system, a rainstorm flood scoured the base of the dams and caused failures for all of the 20 check dams in August 2010. The flow incised the gully bed by 50 m. The loose bank materials slid into the flow mixed with water and formed a large-volume debris flow with a volume of 4.5 million m³. Many houses were buried by the debris flow, and 12 people were killed. Comparison of the two strategies proved that energy dissipation structures are necessary for controlling large-volume debris flows. Check dams, if they are stable, may reduce the potential of bank failures and control debris flows. The step-pool system dissipates flow energy and control gully bed incision and bank failure. A combination of check dams and step-pool systems may be the most effective for mitigating debris flows.     

Multi-geohazards susceptibility mapping based on machine learning—a case study in Jiuzhaigou,China

Jiuzhaigou, located in the transitional area between the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, is highly prone to geological hazards (e.g., rock fall, landslide, and debris flow). High-performance-based hazard prediction models, therefore, are urgently required to prevent related hazards and manage potential emergencies. Current researches mainly focus on susceptibility of single hazard but ignore that different types of geological hazards might occur simultaneously under a complex environment. Here, we firstly built a multi-geohazard inventory from 2000 to 2015 based on a geographical information system and used satellite data in Google earth and then chose twelve conditioning factors and three machine learning methods—random forest, support vector machine, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost)—to generate rock fall, landslide, and debris flow susceptibility maps. The results show that debris flow models presented the best prediction capabilities [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC 0.95)], followed by rock fall (AUC 0.94) and landslide (AUC 0.85). Additionally, XGBoost outperformed the other two methods with the highest AUC of 0.93. All three methods with AUC values larger than 0.84 suggest that these models have fairly good performance to assess geological hazards susceptibility. Finally, evolution index was constructed based on a joint probability of these three hazard models to predict the evolution tendency of 35 unstable slopes in Jiuzhaigou. The results show that these unstable slopes are likely to evolve into debris flows with a probability of 46%, followed by landslides (43%) and rock falls (29%). Higher susceptibility areas for geohazards were mainly located in the southeast and middle of Jiuzhaigou, implying geohazards prevention and mitigation measures should be taken there in near future.

     

Analysis of the triggering conditions and erosion of a runoff-triggered debris flow in Miyun County,Beijing, China

The occurrence of debris flow from channel-bed failure is occasionally noted in small and steeply sloping watersheds where channelized water flow dominates debris flow initiation. On August 12, 2016, a debris flow from channel-bed failures occurred in the Caozhuangzi Watershed of the Longtan Basin, Miyun, Beijing. Rainfall records over 10-min intervals and field investigations including channel morphology measurements were used to study the triggering conditions and erosion process. The results indicated that the occurrence of this event lagged the peak 10-min rainfall interval and that the cumulative rainfall prior to the occurrence time played an important role in its formation. A mean 10-min rainfall intensity–duration expression in the form of I₁₀?=?5.0?×?D^?0.21, where I₁₀ denotes the mean 10-min rainfall intensity and D is the rainfall duration ranging from 10 to 60 h, was proposed. The debris flows have low proportions of grain size fractions <?0.1 mm and higher fractions of grains 0.1–2 mm in size, indicating that the flow had low viscosity and was coarse-grain dominated. Channel morphology analysis revealed that abrupt changes in topography in the study area, including a steep section, a concave stream bank area, and a partial concave stream section were eroded more extensively than other sites. The maximum sediment erosion volume and erosion depth were not proportional to the variation in stream gradient. Consideration of the degree of erosion in the channel at sites with abrupt morphology changes, the maximum sediment erosion volume, and the erosion depth and volume at the initial channel site and downstream region of forest area together showed that the prime factor controlling erosion was entrained sediment volume. This work, thus, provides a case study regarding the triggering conditions of runoff-triggered debris flows and the topographical changes by debris flow erosion.     

Debris flow magnitude,frequency, and precipitation threshold in the eastern North Cascades,Washington, USA

We examine the magnitude, frequency, and precipitation threshold of the extreme flood hazard on 37 low-order streams in the lower Stehekin River Valley on the arid eastern slope of the North Cascades. Key morphometric variables identify the magnitude of the hazard by differentiating debris flood from debris flow systems. Thirty-two debris flow systems are fed by basins?<?6 km² and deposited debris cones with slopes?>?10°. Five debris flood systems have larger drainage areas and debris fans with slopes 7–10°. The debris flood systems have Melton ruggedness ratios from 0.42–0.64 compared to 0.78–3.80 for debris flow basins. We record stratigraphy at seven sites where soil surfaces buried by successive debris flows limit the age of events spanning 6000 years. Eighteen radiocarbon ages from the soils are the basis for estimates of a 200 to1500-year range in recurrence interval for larger debris flows and a 450?±?50-year average. Smaller events occur approximately every 100 years. Fifteen debris flows occurred in nine drainage systems in the last 15 years, including multiple flows on three streams. Summer storms in 2010 and 2013 with peak rainfall intensities of 7–9 mm/h sustained for 8–11 h triggered all but one flow; the fall 2015 event on Canyon Creek occurred after 170 mm of rain in 78 h. A direct link between fires and debris flows is unclear because several recent debris flows occurred in basins that did not burn or burned at low intensity, and basins that burned at high intensity did not carry debris flows. All but one of the recent flows and fires occurred on the valley’s southwest-facing wall. We conclude that fires and debris flows are linked by aspect at the landscape scale, where the sunny valley wall has flashy runoff due to sparse vegetation from frequent fires.