Statistical analysis of landslides caused by the Mw 6.9 Yushu,China, earthquake of April 14, 2010

The April 14, 2010 Yushu, China, earthquake (Mw 6.9) triggered a great number of landslides. At least 2,036 co-seismic landslides, with a total coverage area of 1.194 km², were delineated by visual interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images taken following the earthquake, and verified by field inspection. Based on the mapping results, a statistical analysis of the spatial distribution of these landslides is performed using the landslide area percentage (LAP), defined as the percentage of the area affected by the landslides, and landslide number density (LND), defined as the number of landslides per square kilometer. The purpose is to clarify how the landslides correlate the control factors, which are the elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, slope position, distance from drainages, lithology, distance from the surface rupture, and peak ground acceleration (PGA). The results show that both LAP and LND have strongly positive correlations with slope angle and negative correlations with distance from the surface rupture and distance from drainages. The highest LAP and LPD values are in places of elevations from 3,800 to 4,000 m. The slopes producing landslides are mostly facing toward NE, E, and SE. The geological units of Q₄ al-pl, N, and T₃ kn ¹ have the highest concentrations of co-seismic landslides. No apparent correlations are present between LAP and LND values and PGA. On both sides of the surface rupture, the landslide distributions are almost similar except a few exceptions, likely associated with the nature of the strike-slip seismogenic fault for this event. The bivariate statistical analysis shows that, in descending order, the earthquake-triggered landslide impact factors are distance from surface rupture > slope angle > distance from drainages > lithology > PGA. Besides, as the detailed co-seismic landslides inventories related to strike-slip earthquakes are still few compared with that of thrusting-fault earthquakes, this case study would shed new light on the subject. For instance, the landslide spatial distribution on both sides of the strike-slip seismogenic fault is rather different from that of thrusting-fault earthquakes. It reminds us to take different strategies of measures for prevention and mitigation of landslides induced by earthquakes with different mechanisms.     

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.     

走滑断裂型地震诱发的滑坡在断裂两盘的空间分布差异

以玉树地震滑坡为实例,选择高程、坡度、坡向、坡位、水系、地层岩性、同震地表破裂、地震动峰值加速度(PGA)8个因子,以地震滑坡面积百分比(LAP)与滑坡点密度(LND)为指标,研究走滑断裂型地震诱发滑坡在断裂两盘的空间分布差异。在分析这些影响因子的断裂两盘的差异的基础上,基于LAP与LND两个指标详细分析断裂两盘每个因子内部级别滑坡发育的情况。结果表明,总体上北盘的滑坡较南盘发育,除了个别因子级别内南北盘滑坡差别较大外,大部分表现为南北盘滑坡分布情况类似。总之,玉树地震滑坡在断裂两盘的空间分布基本类似,只是在某些因子分级内存在一定的差异。     

Landslides triggered by the 2016 Mj 7.3 Kumamoto,Japan, earthquake

The aim of this study is to establish a detailed and complete inventory of the landslides triggered by the Mj 7.3 (Mw 7.0) Kumamoto, Japan, earthquake sequence of 15 April 2016 (16 April in JST). Based on high-resolution (0.5–2 m) optical satellite images, we delineated 3,467 individual landslides triggered by the earthquake, occupying an area of about 6.9 km². Then they were validated by aerial photographs with very high-resolution (better than 0.5 m) and oblique field photos. Of them, 3,460 landslides are distributed in an elliptical area about 6000 km², with a NE-SW directed 120-km-long long axis and a 60-km-long NW-SE trending short axis. Most of the landslides are shallow, disrupted falls and slides, with a few flow-type slides and rock and soil avalanches. The analysis of correlation between the landslides and several control factors shows the areas of elevation 1000–1200 m, stratum of Q₃-Hvf, seismic intensity VIII and VIII+, and peak ground acceleration (PGA) 0.4–0.6 g register the highest landslide abundance. This study also discussed the relationship between the spatial pattern of the landslides and the seismotectonic structure featured by a strike-slip fault with a normal component and the volcanism in the study area.     

Spatial distribution analysis and susceptibility mapping of landslides triggered before and after Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake along Upper Bhote Koshi,Nepal

The 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake triggered thousands of landslides of various types scattered over a large area. In the current study, we utilized pre- and post-earthquake high-resolution satellite imagery to compile two landslide inventories before and after earthquake and prepared three landslide susceptibility maps within 404 km² area using frequency ratio (FR) model. From the study, we could map about 519 landslides including 178 pre-earthquake slides and 341 coseismic slides were identified. This study investigated the relationship between landslide occurrence and landslide causative factors, i.e., slope, aspect, altitude, plan curvature, lithology, land use, distance from streams, distance from road, distance from faults, and peak ground acceleration. The analysis showed that the majority of landslides both pre-earthquake and coseismic occurred at slope >30°, preferably in S, SE, and SW directions and within altitude ranging from 1000 to 1500 m and 1500 to 3500 m. Scatter plots between number of landslides per km^?2 (LN) and percentage of landslide area (LA) and causative factors indicate that slope is the most influencing factor followed by lithology and PGA for the landslide formation. Higher landslide susceptibility before earthquake is observed along the road and rivers, whereas landslides after earthquake are triggered at steeper slopes and at higher altitudes. Combined susceptibility map indicates the effect of topography, geology, and land cover in the triggering of landslides in the entire basin. The resultant landslide susceptibility maps are verified through AUC showing success rates of 78, 81, and 77%, respectively. These susceptibility maps are helpful for engineers and planners for future development work in the landslide prone area.     

2008年汶川地震滑坡详细编目及其空间分布规律分析

最新研究成果表明, 2008年5月12日汶川MS 8.0级地震触发了超过197000处滑坡。首先,基于GIS与遥感技术构建了汶川地震滑坡的3类编目图,分别为单体滑坡面分布数据、滑坡中心点位置和滑坡后壁点位置。构建方法为基于地震前后高分辨率遥感影像的目视解译方法,区分单体滑坡并圈定其边界,对滑坡后壁进行识别与定点,并开展了部分滑坡的野外验证工作。这些滑坡分布在一个面积大约为110000km2的区域内,滑坡总面积约为1160km2。选择一个面积约为44031km2的区域作为研究区,区内滑坡数量为196007个,滑坡面积为1150.622km2,这是最详细完整的汶川地震滑坡编录成果,也是单次地震事件触发滑坡最多的记录。其次,开展研究区内的地震滑坡空间分布规律的研究。基于滑坡面与滑坡中心点分别构建滑坡空间分布面积密度图与点密度图,结果表明:滑坡多沿着映秀北川断裂分布,多发生在断裂的上盘。滑坡的高密度区位于映秀北川同震地表破裂的南西段(映秀镇与北川县之间)的上盘区域,这一区域恰对应着逆冲分量为主的断裂上盘,表明逆冲断裂对上盘区域发生滑坡的极强烈的控制作用,而该区域正是形变最大的区域,因此说明是地震滑坡发生的强烈控制作用。基于滑坡面密度(LAP)、滑坡中心点密度(LCND)与滑坡后壁点密度(LTND)这3个衡量指标,使用统计分析方法,评价了汶川地震滑坡与地震参数、地质参数、地形参数的关系。结果表明:LAP、LCND与LTND这3个衡量指标与坡度、地震烈度与PGA存在明显的正相关关系; 与距离震中、距离映秀北川同震地表破裂存在负相关关系; 斜坡曲率越接近0,滑坡越不易发生; LAP、LCND与LTND的高值高程区间为1200～3000m; 滑坡发生的优势坡向为E、SE、S方向; 滑坡发育的易发岩性为砂岩与粉砂岩(Z)、花岗岩; 滑坡与坡位的相关关系不太明显。统计结果还表明LCND与LTND两个衡量指标的差异对地震与地质因子不敏感,而对地形因子较敏感。最后将本文的统计结果与以往的汶川地震滑坡空间分布规律统计成果进行了一些对比,对比结果表明,对于某些因子,如高程、岩性、距离震中、距离映秀北川断裂的统计分析结果,采用不完整的滑坡分布数据或点数据,与采用较完整的滑坡分布面数据会有一定的差异,这种差异并未出现在针对坡度与坡向等因子的统计对比结果中。总之,作者认为一个完备、详细的地震滑坡分布面要素编目图是地震滑坡空间分布规律定量分析、危险性定量分析与滑坡控制的地震区地貌演化研究的重要基础,否则,与实际情况相比,得到统计结果会有一定的偏差,本文的研究成果与以往成果的对比结果证明了这一点。     

俯冲带地区压扭断裂型地震触发滑坡及其剥蚀厚度空间分布规律分析

2010年1月12日海地MW 7.0级地震触发了大量的滑坡。我们基于GIS与遥感技术构建了3类详细完备的海地地震滑坡编录图,分别为单体滑坡面分布数据,滑坡中心点位置数据与滑坡后壁点位置数据。结果表明海地地震触发了30828处滑坡,这些滑坡大致分布在一个面积为3192.85km2的区域内,滑坡覆盖面积为15.736km2。基于滑坡中心点密度(LCND)、滑坡后壁点密度(LTND)、滑坡面积百分比(LAP)与滑坡剥蚀厚度(LET)这4个衡量指标,使用统计分析方法,分析了海地地震滑坡及其剥蚀厚度与地震参数、地形参数、公路参数的关系。分析结果表明滑坡与坡度、地震动峰值加速度(PGA)存在大致的正相关关系; 与距离恩里基约芭蕉园断裂、距离水系存在大致的负相关关系; 滑坡沿着恩里基约芭蕉园断裂距离的统计结果表明,震中以西距离震中22~26km与8~12km的区域,与震中以东距离震中6~18km的区域是地震滑坡易发区域; 斜坡曲率值越接近0,也就是坡面较平的斜坡越不容易在地震条件下发生滑动; LCND、LTND、LAP与LET高值对应的高程区间为200~1200m; 滑坡发生的优势坡向为E方向; 滑坡的发生与距离震中、距离公路没有太明确的关系。     

Spatial characteristics of landslides triggered by the 2015 M<Subscript>w</Subscript> 7.8 (Gorkha) and M<Subscript>w</Subscript> 7.3 (Dolakha) earthquakes in Nepal

High magnitude earthquakes trigger numerous landslides and their occurrences are mainly controlled by terrain parameters. We created an inventory of 15,551 landslides with a total area of 90.2 km² triggered by the 2015 M_w 7.8 (Gorkha) and M_w 7.3 (Dolakha) earthquakes in Nepal, through interpretation of very high resolution satellite images (e.g. WorldView, Pleiades, Cartosat-1 and 2, Resourcesat-2). Our spatial analysis of landslide occurrences with ground acceleration, slope, lithology and surface defomation indicated ubiquitous control of steep slope on landslides with ground acceleration as the trigger. Spatial distribution of landslides shows increasing frequency away from the Gorkha earthquake epicentre up to 130 km towards east, dropping sharply thereafter, which is an abnormal phenomenon of coseismic landslides. Landslides are laterally concentrated in three zones which matches well with the seismic rupture evolution of Gorkha earthquake, as reported through teleseismic measurements.     

Geometrical characteristics of earthquake-induced landslides and correlations with control factors: a case study of the 2013 Minxian,Gansu, China, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mw</Emphasis> 5.9 event

Geometric parameters are useful for characterizing earthquake-triggered landslides. This paper presents a detailed statistical analysis on this issue using the landslide inventory of the 2013, Minxian, China Mw 5.9 earthquake. Based on GIS software and a 5-m resolution DEM, geometric parameters of 635 coseismic landslides (with areas larger than 500 m²) were obtained, including height, length, width, reach angle (arc tangent of the height-length ratio), and aspect ratio (length-width ratio). The fitting relationship of height and length from these data is H = 0.6164L + 0.4589, with an average reach angle of 31.65°. The landslide aspect ratios concentrate in the range of 1.4～2.6, with an average of 2.11. According to the plane geometric shapes and aspect ratios, the landslides are classified into four categories: transverse landslide (LA1, L/W ≤ 0.8), isometric landslide (LA2, 0.8 < L/W ≤ 1.2), longitudinal landslide (LA3, 1.2 < L/W ≤ 3), and elongated landslide (LA4, L/W > 3). Statistics of these four types of landslides versus ten classified control factors (elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, curvature, slope position, distance to drainages, lithology, seismic intensity, peak ground acceleration, and distance to seismogenic fault) are used to examine their possible correlations and the landslide-prone areas, which would be helpful to the landslide disaster mitigation in the affected area.     

Spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake,China

The Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 is one of the most disastrous earthquakes in China. The earthquake triggered tens of thousands of landslides over a broad area, including shallow, disrupted landslides, rock falls, deep-seated landslides, and rock avalanches, some of which buried large sections of some towns and dammed the rivers. The purpose of this study is to investigate correlations between the occurrence of landslides with geologic and geomorphologic conditions, and seismic parameters. Over 56,000 earthquake-triggered landslides, with a total area of 811 km², are interpreted using aerial photographs and remote sensing images taken following the earthquake. The spatial distribution of these landslides is analyzed statistically using both landslide-point density (LPD), defined as the number of landslides per square kilometer, and landslide-area density (LAD), the percentage of the area affected by landslides, to determine how the occurrence of landslides correlates with distance from the epicenter, distance from the major surface rupture, seismic intensity and peak ground acceleration (PGA), slope angle, slope aspect, elevation, and lithology. It is found that both LAD and LPD have strong positive correlations with slope steepness, distance from the major surface rupture and seismic intensity, and that Pre-Sinian schist, and Cambrian sandstone and siltstone intercalated with slate have the most concentrated landslide activities, followed by the Permian limestone intercalated with shale, and Devonian limestone. Statistical analyses also indicate that the major surface rupture has influence on the spatial distribution of landslides, because LAD and LPD are relatively higher on the hanging wall than on the footwall. However, the correlation between the occurrence of landslides with distance from the epicenter of the earthquake is complicated, rather than a relatively simple negative correlation as found from other reported cases of earthquakes. This is possibly due to complicated rupture processes of the earthquake.     

Evaluating the susceptibility of landslide landforms in Japan using slope stability analysis: a case study of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake

This study analyzed 267 landslide landforms (LLs) in the Kumamoto area of Japan from the database of about 0.4 million LLs for the whole of Japan identified from aerial photos by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience of Japan (NIED). Each LL in the inventory is composed of a scarp and a moving mass. Since landslides are prone to reactivation, it is important to evaluate the sliding-recurrence susceptibility of LLs. One possible approach to evaluate the susceptibility of LLs is slope stability analysis. A previous study found a good correlation (R ² = 0.99) between the safety factor (F _s ) and slope angle (α) of F _s  = 17.3α ^?0.843. We applied the equation to the analysis of F _s for 267 LLs in the area affected by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake (M _j  = 7.3). The F _s was calculated for the following three cases of failure: scarps only, moving mass only, and scarps and moving mass together. Verification with the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake event shows that the most appropriate method for the evaluation of LLs is to consider the failure of scarps and moving mass together. In addition, by analyzing the relationship between the factors of slope of entire landslide and slope of scarp for LLs and comparing the results with the Aso-ohashi landslide, the largest landslide caused by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, we also found that morphometric analysis of LLs is useful for forecasting the travel distance of future landslides.     

Coseismic landslides triggered by the 8th August 2017 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>s</Subscript> 7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake (Sichuan,China): factors controlling their spatial distribution and implications for the seismogenic blind fault identification

On 8th August 2017, a magnitude M_s 7.0 earthquake struck the County of Jiuzhaigou, in Sichuan Province, China. It was the third M_s ≥?7.0 earthquake in the Longmenshan area in the last decade, after the 2008 M_s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake and the 2013 M_s 7.0 Lushan earthquake. The event did not produce any evident surface rupture but triggered significant mass wasting. Based on a large set of pre- and post-earthquake high-resolution satellite images (SPOT-5, Gaofen-1 and Gaofen-2) as well as on 0.2-m-resolution UAV photographs, a polygon-based interpretation of the coseismic landslides was carried out. In total, 1883 landslides were identified, covering an area of 8.11 km², with an estimated total volume in the order of 25–30?×?10⁶ m³. The total landslide area was lower than that produced by other earthquakes of similar magnitude with strike-slip motion, possibly because of the limited surface rupture. The spatial distribution of the landslides was correlated statistically to a number of seismic, terrain and geological factors, to evaluate the landslide susceptibility at regional scale and to identify the most typical characteristics of the coseismic failures. The landslides, mainly small-scale rockfalls and rock/debris slides, occurred mostly along two NE-SW-oriented valleys near the epicentre. Comparatively, high landslide density was found at locations where the landform evolves from upper, broad valleys to lower, deep-cut gorges. The spatial distribution of the coseismic landslides did not seem correlated to the location of any known active faults. On the contrary, it revealed that a previously-unknown blind fault segment—which is possibly the north-western extension of the Huya fault—is the plausible seismogenic fault. This finding is consistent with what hypothesised on the basis of field observations and ground displacements.     

Volume,gravitational potential energy reduction,and regional centroid position change in the wake of landslides triggered by the 14 April 2010 Yushu earthquake of China

In recent years, earthquake-triggered landslides have attracted much attention in the scientific community as a main form of seismic ground response. However, little work has been performed concerning the volume and gravitational potential energy reduction of earthquake-triggered landslides and their severe effect on landscape change. This paper presents a quantitative study on the volume, gravitational potential energy reduction, and change in landscape related to landslides triggered by the 14 April 2010 Yushu earthquake. At least 2,036 landslides were triggered by the earthquake. A total landslide scar area of 1.194 km² was delineated from the visual interpretation of aerial photographs and satellite images and was supported by selected field checking. In this paper, we focus on possible answers to the following five questions: (1) What is the total volume of the 2,036 landslides triggered by the earthquake, and what is the average landslide erosion thickness in the earthquake-stricken area? (2) What are the elevations of all landslide materials in relation to pre- and post-landsliding? (3) How much was the gravitational potential energy reduced due to the sliding of these landslide materials? (4) What is the average elevation change caused by these landslides in the study area? (5) What is the vertical change of the regional centroid position above sea level, as induced by these landslides? It is concluded that the total volume of the 2,036 landslides is 2.9399?×?10⁶ m³. The landslide erosion thickness throughout the study area is 2.02 mm. The materials of these landslides moved from an elevation of 4,145.243 to 4,104.697 m, resulting in a decreased distance of 40.546 m. The gravitational potential energy reduction related to the landslides triggered by the earthquake was 2.9213?×?10¹² J. The average regional elevation of the study area is 4,427.160 m, a value consistent with the assumption that the accumulated materials were remained in situ. This value changes from 4,427.160 to 4,427.158 m with all landslide materials moved out of the study area, resulting in a reduction in elevation of 2 mm. Based on the assumption that all landslide materials moved out of the study area, the elevations of the centroid of the study area’s crust changed from 2,222.45967 to 2,222.45867 m, which means the centroid value decreased by 1 mm. This value is 0.001 mm when assuming that the materials were remained in situ, which is almost negligible, compared with the situation of “all landslide materials moved out of the study area.”     

Analysis of a spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the 2004 Chuetsu earthquakes of Niigata Prefecture, Japan

On October 23, 2004, a series of powerful earthquakes with a maximum M _w = 6.6 located near the western coast of northern Honshu struck parts of northern Japan, particularly Niigata Prefecture; these earthquakes were known as the Chuetsu event. Thousands of landslides, as a secondary geotechnical hazard associated with these earthquakes, were triggered over a broad area; these landslides were of almost all types. The purpose of this study was to detect correlations between landslide occurrence with geologic and geomorphologic conditions, slope geometry, and earthquake parameters using two indexes based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In the study area, the landslide–area ratio (LAR), which is defined as the percentage of the area affected by landslides, was 2.9%, and the landslide concentration (LC), the number of landslides per square kilometer, was 4.4 landslides/km², which is much more than other reported cases of seismic activity with the same magnitude. This was possibly due to heavy rainfall just before the Chuetsu earthquakes. Statistical analyses show that LAR has a positive correlation with slope steepness and distance from the epicenter, while LC is inversely correlated with distance from the epicenter. The Wanazu Formation had the most concentrated landslide activity, followed by the Kawaguchi, Ushigakubi, Shiroiwa and Oyama Formations, although the Wanazu Formation occupied only 4.5% of the total area of geological units. With 8.2% of the area affected by seismic landslides, the Kawaguchi Formation had the highest LAR. It was followed by the Shiroiwa, Ushigakubi and Wanazu Formations with LAR ranging from 4.6% to 6.0%. For lots of geological subunits, landslides are more frequent in a range of slope angles between 15° and 40°. The susceptibility to landsliding of each geologic unit was thus evaluated to correlate with slope steepness. It was also noted that the effects of the earthquakes were made far worse by antecedent rainfall conditions induced by a␣typhoon, and further research emphasizing the role of antecedent rainfall was discussed.     

Landslides induced by a low magnitude seismic sequence at continental interiors: a case study of the Santa Rosa Canyon,northeastern Mexico

Landslides caused by a low magnitude earthquake swarm (2.8?≤?M?≤?3.6) in 2012 were documented at the Santa Rosa Canyon in northeastern Mexico. Disrupted landslides from falls and slides, in both rocks and soils, were identified based on fieldwork and high-resolution satellite imagery along stream banks from natural cliffs and along the road cut in the epicentral area. Most of the landslides occurred on slopes greater than 40°, where geological features played a key role in triggering slope instabilities. The maximum distance limit for disrupted slides from the epicentral area was 7 km. The area affected by landslides during the early stage of the seismic sequence (July through August 2012) was 90 km². Landslide identification was limited in some areas by the resolution of the satellite imagery and dense cloud coverage. Both the epicentral distance and the area affected by landslides are above the global bounds reported in literature. The final landslide inventory is the first documented case of earthquake-induced landslides in northeastern Mexico.     

Characteristics of moderate- to large-scale landslides triggered by the <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">w</Emphasis></Subscript> 7.8 2015 Gorkha earthquake and its aftershocks

The M _w 7.8 2015 Gorkha earthquake and its aftershocks significantly impacted the lives and economy of Nepal. The consequences of landslides included fatalities, property losses, blockades of river flow, and damage to infrastructural systems. Co-seismic landslides triggered by this earthquake were significantly widespread and pose a major geodisaster. There were tens of thousands of landslides triggered by the earthquake, majority of which were distributed in between the epicenter of the main shock and the M _w 7.3 aftershock. Although 14,670 landslides triggered by this earthquake were identified, only approximately 23% of them were of moderate to large scale with areas greater than 100 m². Of the moderate- to large-scale landslides identified, just over 90% were triggered by the main shock and smaller aftershocks prior to the major (M _w 7.3) aftershock, while nearly 10% were triggered by the ground shaking induced by the major aftershock. Moreover, the number of landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, specifically by the main shock, was slightly more than the expected number of landslides for the recorded maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) in comparison to the co-seismic landslides triggered by 26 earthquakes. Over 90% of those moderate- to large-scale landslides were concentrated within the estimated fault rupture surface. Majority of these moderate- to large-scale landslides were disrupted failures with over 96% of which were classified as earth falls. However, the majority of small-scale landslides were rock or boulder falls. The most number of moderate- to large-scale landslides were triggered in the slate, shale, siltstone, phyllite, and schist of the Lesser Himalayan formation followed by an equally significant number in both schist, gneiss, etc. of the Higher Himalayan formation and the phyllite, metasandstone, schist, etc. of the Lesser Himalayan formation. The sizes (i.e., areas) of the landslides were lognormally distributed, with a mode area of 322.0 m². Slope inclinations of the moderate- to large-scale landslides followed a normal distribution with a mean slope inclination of 32.6° and standard deviation of 13.5°. There exists a strong correlation between the number of landslides and the peak ground acceleration within the study area, specific for different geological formations.     

Geological Characteristics and Stability Evaluation of Wanjia Middle School Slope in Wenchuan Earthquake Area

To investigate the formation mechanism and the stability of Wanjia middle school slope in Wenchuan Earthquake Area, the macroscopic geological characteristics and the failure process of the landslide are researched by engineering geology analysis method, limit equilibrium method, and finit element method. The results show that after the Wenchuan Earthquake, retaining walls, houses and other infrastructure on the foot of Wanjia middle school slope were severely destroyed, 10 cm wide tension fracture appeared at the trailing edge of the slope. Wanjia middle school slope is a type of medium-sized soil landslide. The area of the deformation body is about 19,314 m², the total volume of the deformation body is about 23 × 10⁴ m³. There may be two potential sliding surfaces in the unstable slope: shallow and deep landslide. The analysis results of the limit equilibrium method and the finite element method show that: under dead weight, dead weight + rainstorm, dead weight + earthquake conditions, the plastic zone occurs mainly at the middle part or the trailing edge of the slope, and it doesn’t fully cut through the deep landslide body, so the deep landslide is stable. However, under rainstorm or earthquake conditions, the plastic zone almost completely cut thorough the shallow landslide body, it shows that the shallow landslide is in the understable–basic stable state. It is found that the results of finite element method is concordant with the results of the limit equilibrium method (F _s = 1.06–1.29, the shallow landslide is in the basic stable–stable state). The calculation results show that shallow landslides are likely to occur in Wanjia middle school slope during a rainstorm or an earthquake, so monitoring and control of the slope should be strengthened. The shallow landslide should be managed by some measures, such as anti slide pile retaining structures and drainage works, and the dangerous rock bodies on the slope surface should be cleaned up.     

逻辑回归模型在玉树地震滑坡危险性评价中的应用与检验

2010年4月14日07时49分(北京时间),青海省玉树县发生了Ms7.1级大地震。作者基于高分辨率遥感影像解译与现场调查验证的方法,圈定了2036处本次地震诱发滑坡。这些滑坡受地震地表破裂控制强烈,规模相对较小,常常密集成片分布。滑坡类型多样,以崩塌型滑坡为主,还包括滑动型、流滑型、碎屑流型、复合型等类型的滑坡。本文基于地理信息系统(GIS)与遥感(RS)技术,应用逻辑回归模型开展玉树地震滑坡危险性评价,并对结果合理性进行检验。应用GIS技术建立玉树地震滑坡灾害及相关滑坡影响因子空间数据库,选择高程、斜坡坡度、斜坡坡向、斜坡曲率、与水系距离、坡位、断裂、地层岩性、归一化植被指数(NDVI)、公路、同震地表破裂、地震动峰值加速度(PGA)共12个因子作为玉树地震滑坡影响因子,在GIS平台下将这些因子专题图层栅格化。应用逻辑回归模型得到每个因子分级的回归系数,然后建立滑坡危险性指数分布图。利用玉树地震滑坡空间分布图对滑坡危险性指数图进行检验,正确率达到83.21%。滑坡危险性分级结果表明,在占研究区总面积4.97%的"很高危险度"的较小范围内,实际发育滑坡数量为766个,占总滑坡面积的比例高达37.62%,表明地震滑坡危险性评价结果良好。不同危险性级别的滑坡点密度统计结果表明,滑坡点密度随着危险性级别的升高而非常迅速的升高。     

Numerical Modeling of the Seasonal Dynamic Characteristics of the Koxkar Glacier,in West Tianshan,China

Landslides commonly occurs in hilly areas and causes an enormous loss iof life and property every year. National highway-1D (NH-1D) is the only road link between the two districts (Kargil and Leh) of Ladakh region that connects these districts with Kashmir valley. The landslide failure record of the recent past along this sector of the highway is not available. The present study documents landslide susceptible zones and records occurrence of 60 landslides during the last 4 years showing an increasing trend in the occurrence of landslides over these years in this sector. The landslide susceptibility zonation map has been prepared based on the numerical rating of ten major factors viz. slope morphometry, lithology, structure, relative relief, land cover, landuse, rainfall, hydrological conditions, landslide incidences and Slope Erosion, categorised the area in different zones of instability based on the intensity of susceptibility. The landslide susceptibility map of the area encompassing 73.03 km² is divided into 150 facets. Out of the total of 150 facets, 85 facets fall in low susceptibility zone covering 43.56 km2 which constitute about 59.65% of the total area under investigation with a record of 5 landslides; 40 facets fall in the moderate susceptibility zone covering 16.94km² which constitutes about 23.19% of the study area with a record of 20 landslides; and 25 facets fall in the high susceptibility zone covering 12.53 km² which constitute about 17.15% of the study area with a record of 35 landslides. Most of the facets which fall in HSZ are attributed to slope modification for road widening.     

Surface recovery of landslides triggered by 2008 <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ms</Emphasis>8.0 Wenchuan earthquake (China): a case study in a typical mountainous watershed

The Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake that occurred on 12 May 2008 in southwestern China and triggered numerous landslides is one of the stronger ones in the steep eastern margins of the Tibetan Plateau. The surfaces of these landslides have recovered gradually with vegetation, which provide useful information about the evolution of geologic environment as well as the long-term assessment of landslides after earthquake. The Mianyuanhe watershed shows many co-seismic landslides. The active fault passing through its center is selected as a study area aiming to analyze the annual surface recovery rate (SRR) of landslides by interpretation of remote-sensing images in five periods from 2008 to 2013. The results are here described. (1) Although a large amount of loose deposits were transformed into debris flows, the surfaces of the landslides recovered rapidly with vegetation and almost no landslides occurred at new sites after the Wenchuan earthquake. In the year 2008, the exposed surface projected area (ESPA) of the landslides showed a total area of 56.3 km² and covered 28.9 % of the study area, which was reduced rapidly to 19.1 % in 2011 and 15.8 % in 2013. (2) The study area was divided into four geologic units, including clastic rocks, melange zone, carbonate rocks, and magmatic rocks. Smaller ESPAs and higher SRRs were found in the former two units versus the latter ones. (3) A single large landslide shows an SRR lower than a group of smaller ones having an equal total surface, while the SRRs of debris flows are lower than those of rockfalls and landslides. (4) The vegetation cover would return to the pre-earthquake level in 2020 approximately, which indicates that the impact of the Wenchuan earthquake on landslides and debris-flows activities would cease almost completely.