Analysis of historical data for a better understanding of post-construction landslides at an artificial waterway

With growing urbanization, an increasing number of landslides worldwide are linked to construction works, especially along transportation routes. To get a better understanding of these post-construction landslides at artificial waterways, archive studies have been conducted, in addition to analysis of historical scientific literature and technical reports. The resultant database is used to describe the occurrence and the characteristics of the landslides at the Mittelland Canal, and to evaluate aspects of conditioning and preparatory factors, potential triggers and applied mitigation measures. The Mittelland Canal has been chosen because it is one of the most important artificial waterways in Europe, and the high number of landslides that occur there is unique. In particular, landslides at the Mittelland Canal were frequently reported in the first half of the 20^th century. The susceptibility to landslides is strongly influenced by material characteristics, as a large number of landslides is linked to sites where fine-grained mudstone is abundant, which quickly decomposes under immersion in water or under dynamic stress. In addition, landslides can be linked to the creation of over-steepened slopes. Construction works can also be considered another preparatory factor for landslides. In addition, some landslides in World War II appear to be connected to the blast of aerial bombings. Precipitation seems to play a minor role in triggering landslides. The applied mitigation measures were developed recently, marking the importance of the canal as a transportation route. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Landslide Tsunamis: Recent Findings and Research Directions

— Underwater landslides can trigger local tsunamis with high runup, endangering human life and devastating coastal cities, offshore structures, communication cables, and port facilities. Unfortunately, hazards from underwater landslides are not well understood and the extents of their potential damage remain difficult to ascertain at present. There is immediate need for multidisciplinary research to improve our understanding and plan countermeasures for mitigating their hazards. Conceived in the wake of the Papua New Guinea earthquake landslide and tsunami of 1998, this volume summarizes the state-of-the-art knowledge on underwater landslides and their potential to generate tsunamis from the multidisciplinary perspectives of observational and engineering seismology, geotechnical engineering, marine geology, and hydrodynamics. These various fields of engineering and science offer new synergetic opportunities to examine landslide tsunamis. This paper makes recommendations on future research directions, and will hopefully advance scientists' and engineers' understanding of these natural hazards and assist planners in mitigating their risks.     

Growth and collapse of the Reunion Island volcanoes

This work presents the first exhaustive study of the entire surface of the Reunion Island volcanic system. The focus is on the submarine part, for which a compilation of all multibeam data collected during the last 20 years has been made. Different types of submarine features have been identified: a coastal shelf, debris avalanches and sedimentary deposits, erosion canyons, volcanic constructions near the coast, and seamounts offshore. Criteria have been defined to differentiate the types of surfaces and to establish their relative chronology where possible. Debris avalanche deposits are by far the most extensive and voluminous formations in the submarine domain. They have built four huge Submarine Bulges to the east, north, west, and south of the island. They form fans 20–30 km wide at the coastline and 100–150 km wide at their ends, 70–80 km offshore. They were built gradually by the superimposition and/or juxtaposition of products moved during landslide episodes, involving up to several hundred cubic kilometers of material. About 50 individual events deposits can be recognized at the surface. The landslides have recurrently dismantled Piton des Neiges, Les Alizés, and Piton de La Fournaise volcanoes since 2 Ma. About one third are interpreted as secondary landslides, affecting previously emplaced debris avalanche deposits. On land, landslide deposits are observed in the extensively eroded central area of Piton des Neiges and in its coastal areas. Analysis of the present-day topography and of geology allows us to identify presumed faults and scars of previous large landslides. The Submarine Bulges are dissected and bound by canyons up to 200 m deep and 40 km long, filled with coarse-grained sediments, and generally connected to streams onshore. A large zone of sedimentary accumulation exists to the north–east of the island. It covers a zone 20 km in width, extending up to 15 km offshore. Volcanic constructions are observed near the coast on both Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise volcanoes and are continuations of subaerial structures. Individual seamounts are present on the submarine flanks and the surrounding ocean floor. A few seem to be young volcanoes, but the majority are probably old, eroded seamounts. This study suggests a larger scale and frequency of mass-wasting events on Reunion Island compared to similar islands. The virtual absence of downward flexure of the lithosphere beneath the island probably contributes to this feature. The increased number of known flank–failure events has to be taken into consideration when assessing hazards from future landslides, in particular, the probability of landslide-generated tsunamis. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Effects of coastal erosion on landslide activity revealed by multi-sensor observations

Coastal erosion is becoming an increasingly serious consequence of climate change. This study demonstrates the effects of coastal erosion on landslide activity while considering the amount of erosion and changes in pore water pressure. To determine the factors related to landslide slip generation, we specifically measured the displacement, deformation, pore water pressure, and amount of erosion with high temporal resolution (1 s–1 h) for a coastal landslide in Hokkaido, north-eastern Japan, for 7 months. It has been determined that landslides occur simultaneously with high pore water pressure. Toe erosion events also occurred several times, while the landslide exhibited major displacement. Because toe erosion and the increase in pore water pressure occurred simultaneously, we tried to determine which of the two contributed majorly to the landslide displacement by conducting a stability analysis that incorporates the effects of the two factors. From the actual observed data, toe erosion and the increase in pore water pressure had comparable effects on the destabilization of the studied landslide. Specifically, the time series for the safety factor shows that the landslide in the case with toe erosion was destabilized more than that in the case with no erosion, with a difference of more than 5% in the safety factor. The model with toe erosion provided a better explanation for the landslide displacement. Furthermore, the inclination data suggested that erosion took place at least 1 month before the landslide displacement. This implied that coastal erosion played a role in the preparation and ongoing displacement of the coastal landslide. Inland landslides with toes that are subject to undercutting due to river incision or artificial construction have geomorphological settings that are similar to those of the studied landslide. The knowledge obtained here can contribute to the understanding of destabilization mechanisms and terrain changes related to such landslides. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于InSAR相位梯度叠加的毛尔盖库岸 滑坡隐患快速识别

库岸滑坡失稳会造成严重的危害并带来巨大的经济损失。合成孔径雷达干涉测量(Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, InSAR)已成为滑坡探测领域的重要技术手段。时序InSAR具备识别滑坡隐患的能力,但是面对海量数据,该技术仍然存在数据处理耗时久、识别效率低等问题。因此,提出一种基于InSAR相位梯度叠加的滑坡隐患快速识别方法,该方法采用改进后的Sobel算子对InSAR差分干涉对进行梯度运算,去除各项误差后,采用梯度叠加方式快速识别发生形变的区域。通过该方法在毛尔盖库岸成功快速识别出23处滑坡隐患,识别结果可靠性高,并且具备更优秀的微弱形变探测能力。在识别速度方面,相较于Stacking-InSAR和SBAS-InSAR分别提升1.4和1.9倍,该方法能从海量数据中快速且准确识别滑坡隐患,可以为广域滑坡隐患的快速识别提供借鉴与参考。     

Landslide distribution and size in response to Quaternary fault activity: the Peloritani Range,NE Sicily,Italy

Landslides contribute to dismantle active mountain ranges and faults control the location of landslides. Yet, evidence of the long‐term, regional dependency of landslides on active faults is limited. Previous studies focused on the transient effects of earthquakes on slope stability in compressive and transcurrent regimes. Here we show that in the Peloritani range, NE Sicily, Italy, one of the fastest uplifting areas in the Mediterranean, a clear geographical association exists between large bedrock landslides and active normal faults of the Messina Straits graben. By interpreting aerial photographs, we mapped 1590 landslides and sackungs and 626 fault elements and their facets in a 300 km² area in the eastern part of the range. We used the new landslide and fault information, in combination with prior geological and seismic information, to investigate the association between bedrock landslides and faults. We find that the distribution and abundance of landslides is related to the presence of large active normal faults, and matches the pattern of the local historical seismicity. Landslide material is more abundant along the East Peloritani Fault System where the long‐term activity of the faults, measured by the average yearly geological moment rate, is larger than in the West Peloritani Fault System where landslides are less abundant. Along the fault systems landslide material concentrates where the cumulated fault throws are largest. We conclude that large landslides and their cumulated volume are sensitive to local rates of tectonic deformation, and discriminate the deformation of the single fault segments that dissect the Peloritani range. Our findings are a direct test of landscape evolution models that predict higher rates of landslide activity near active faults. Our work opens up the possibility of exploiting accurate landslide and fault maps, in combination with geological and seismic information, to characterize the long‐term seismic history of poorly instrumented active regions. © 2015 The Authors Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Estimation of regional material yield from coastal landslides based on historical digital terrain modelling

High‐resolution historical (1942) and recent (1994) digital terrain models were derived from aerial photographs along the Big Sur coastline in central California to measure the long‐term volume of material that enters the nearshore environment. During the 52‐year measurement time period, an average of 21 000 ± 3100 m³ km^?1 a^?1 of material was eroded from nine study sections distributed along the coast, with a low yield of 1000 ± 240 m³ km^?1 a^?1 and a high of 46 700 ± 7300 m³ km^?1 a^?1. The results compare well with known volumes from several deep‐seated landslides in the area and suggest that the processes by which material is delivered to the coast are episodic in nature. In addition, a number of parameters are investigated to determine what influences the substantial variation in yield along the coast. It is found that the magnitude of regional coastal landslide sediment yield is primarily related to the physical strength of the slope‐forming material. Coastal Highway 1 runs along the lower portion of the slope along this stretch of coastline, and winter storms frequently damage the highway. The California Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining this scenic highway while minimizing the impacts to the coastal ecosystems that are part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This study provides environmental managers with critical background data on the volumes of material that historically enter the nearshore from landslides, as well as demonstrating the application of deriving historical digital terrain data to model landscape evolution. Published in 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

数值模拟在地震小区划滑坡灾害评价中的应用

工程场地地震安全性评价、特别是在地震小区划工作中,对地震滑坡的评价通常采用定性分析方法,因此,对其影响范围未给出定量的评价结果。本文以吕梁新城地震小区划滑坡评价为例,通过对该区的地质条件、地貌特征的研究,针对具有典型特征的剖面,选取地震力、内聚力、摩擦角作为影响因子,采用离散单元法(DEM)对潜在滑坡体的稳定性进行了数值模拟计算,得到了可能失稳的滑坡体潜在滑动的影响范围。并在此基础上通过对已知滑坡与潜在滑坡剖面结构特征的类比,对整个研究区内滑坡体的影响范围进行了评价。研究结果可为吕梁新城的规划提供依据,也可为同类工程中地震滑坡灾害的定量评价提供参考。     

汶川地震特大型滑坡分布特征研究

2008年＂5.12＂汶川特大地震引发了数以万计的滑坡、崩塌、危岩等次生地质灾害,对灾区人民生命财产造成了惨痛损失。尤其是破坏面积大、危害范围广的特大型滑坡,给人们生命财产造成了巨大灾难,而且潜在危险性仍然存在。笔者通过实地调查、资料查阅等方式搜集统计了汶川地震区的特大型滑坡并对其分布特征作了较为全面的归纳总结和分析研究。     

近海大气环境下钢框架自振频率评估研究

由于沿海地区的钢结构建筑常暴露在露天,不可避免地受到大气环境的腐蚀。本文在材料力学和结构分析的基础上,研究沿海地区钢框架结构自振频率的变化,进而对结构在近海大气环境下存在的潜在损伤进行评估。基于工字形与箱形截面,提出结构自振频率与结构构件厚度变化的关系式,并分别考虑构件内外表面腐蚀的影响。以一榀钢框架结构为例,分析其在腐蚀5、10、20年后结构前10阶自振频率的变化。分析结果表明,随着腐蚀程度的增加,结构自振频率降低的越大。研究成果可为锈蚀钢框架损伤评估提供一定的参考依据。     

Slope control on the frequency distribution of shallow landslides and associated soil properties,North Island,New Zealand

The extrapolation of results from field trials to larger areas of land for purposes of regional impact assessment is an important issue in geomorphology, particularly for landform properties that show high stochastic variability in space and time, such as shallow landslide erosion. It is shown in this study, that by identifying the main driver for spatial variability in shallow landslide erosion at field scales, namely slope angle, it is possible to develop a set of generic functions for assessing the impact of landslides on selected soil properties at larger spatial scales and over longer time periods. Research was conducted within an area of pastoral soft‐rock Tertiary hill country in the North Island of New Zealand that is subject to infrequent high intensity rainfall events, producing numerous landslides, most of which are smaller than several hundred square metres in size and remove soil to shallow depths. All landslides were mapped within a 0·6 km² area and registered to a high resolution (2 m) slope map to show that few landslides occur on slopes < 20° and 95% were on slopes > 24°. The areal density of landslides from all historical events showed an approximately linear increase with slope above 24°. Integrating landslide densities with soil recovery data demonstrates that the average value of a soil property fluctuates in a ‘saw‐tooth’ fashion through time with the overall shape of the curve controlled by the frequency of landslide inducing storm events and recovery rate of the soil property between events. Despite such fluctuations, there are gradual declines of 7·5% in average total carbon content of topsoil and 9·5% in average soil depth to bedrock, since the time of forest clearance. Results have application to large‐scale sediment budget and water quality models and to the New Zealand Soil Carbon Monitoring System (CMS). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Identification of the Jiangdingya Landslide of Zhouqu Based on SBAS-InSAR Technology

SBAS-InSAR technology is characterized by the advantages of reducing the influence of terrain-simulation error, time-space decorrelation, atmospheric error, thereby improving the reliability of surface-deformation monitoring. This paper studies the early landslide identification method based on SBAS-InSAR technology. Selecting the Jiangdingya landslide area in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province as the research area, 84 ascending-orbit Sentinel-1A SAR images from 2015 to 2019 are collected. In addition, using SBAS-InSAR technology, the rate and time-series results of surface deformation of the landslide area in Jiangdingya during this period are extracted, and potential landslides are identified. The results show that the early landslide identification method based on SBAS-InSAR technology is highly feasible and is a better tool for identifying potential landslides in large areas.     

Wetland buffers: numerical modeling of wave dissipation by vegetation

The resiliency of coastal communities is imperative because these areas experience risk of damage from coastal storms as well as increasing population pressures and development. The severity of this hazard is compounded by sea level rise and a potential increase in storm intensities due to climate change. The ability of coastal communities to plan for, resist, and quickly and completely recover from severe coastal storm events and flooding is of critical importance. There is a growing interest in applying complementary and redundant approaches to reduce the flood risk of these vulnerable communities, such as incorporating natural and nature‐based features into the project planning process. However, accounting for the benefits of these nature‐based features in coastal design is still challenging. One of the natural features generally acknowledged to offer coastal protection benefits is wetlands. Using laboratory experiments of artificial vegetation as a foundation, the bounds of wave dissipation by vegetation are explored analytically and the effectiveness of wave dissipation by vegetation over large scales is investigated using the spectral wave model STWAVE. Wave heights modeled using a vegetation dissipation formulation are compared to those modeled with the current practice of representing vegetation using bottom friction, particularly the Manning formulation. The vegetation dissipation formulation reduced more wave energy than the Manning bottom friction formulation for submerged wetlands. Because the Manning formulation does not integrate vegetation properties, to achieve consistent results would require varying the Manning n coefficient to account for the spatial and temporal variation in form drag induced by the plants due to changes in plant density, diameter, and degree of plant submergence. Thus, a re‐evaluation of existing methods for assessing wave dissipation by vegetation is recommended for wider application of vegetation dissipation formulations in numerical models. Such models are critical for evaluating coastal resiliency of communities protected by wetland features. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

The Ischia island flash flood of November 2009 (Italy): Phenomenon analysis and flood hazard

The island of Ischia is particularly susceptible to landslides and flash floods due to its particular geological and geomorphological context. Urbanization in recent decades coupled with the development of tourism has increased the risk. After the November 10, 2009 event occurring in the northern sector of the island (the town of Casamicciola), a detailed geo-morphological survey was conducted to ascertain the evolution of the phenomenon. In the watersheds upstream of Casamicciola, many landslides were mapped and the volume of material involved during detachment and sliding was estimated. In the lower course area, near the town and towards the sea, flow pathways were reconstructed with the aid of extensive video footage taken during the event. Rainfall data were also analyzed and a relationship was established between the hourly rainfall rate and the flash flood. The phenomenon was found to be quite complex, with many upstream landslides stopping before reaching the urban area. In the lower course the alluvial event occurred as a flood with a very small sediment discharge, which left a very thin layer of sediment. Reconstruction of the flash flood phenomenon suggested possible action for future risk mitigation, early warning and civil protection plans.     

On the sensitivity of tidal residuals off the west coast of Britain to mesh resolution

An irregular mesh model of the west coast of Britain is used to examine the sensitivity of tidal residuals to mesh resolution in the region. Computed residuals are compared with earlier published results determined with a high resolution (1 km grid) finite difference model of the eastern Irish Sea. Initial calculations show that tidal residuals are largest in nearshore regions particularly in the vicinity of headlands. Local refinement of the mesh in these regions leads to a more detailed picture of the flow field, particularly adjacent to the coast. Although large scale offshore features of the flow can be resolved using the high resolution finite difference model, such an approach leads to a “stair case” representation of the coastal boundary with an adjacent near coastal region of spurious tidal residuals. By using an irregular mesh that follows the coast, this effect is removed. In the Mersey river region the tidal residual is resolved with a mesh resolution of 120 m, although calculations show that its distribution is particularly sensitive to small scale features of the topography. A variable mesh that can accurately represent the lateral variations in river width and details of topography in both the nearshore and estuarine environment appears essential in modelling the coastal spread of freshwater plumes from rivers and pollutants discharged into the near coastal environment.     

区域边坡地震危险性评价理论研究进展

地震滑坡会对自然环境和人民生活带来极大破坏,在大区域范围内对边坡遭受地震影响的程度进行评价判断,主要采用具有预测性质的潜在地震诱发滑坡危险性评估的方法。因此,深入研究边坡地震危险性分析的基本理论并作出符合实际的危险性分布图对工程建设和灾害防治具有较大意义。梳理并阐述具有预测性质的边坡地震危险性分析所需数据资料及各类数据的研究进展,将利用永久位移法进行边坡地震危险性评价所需数据归纳为三种：(1)边坡在地震影响下破坏程度的判定依据;(2)区域地震动参数如峰值加速度、阿里亚斯强度;(3)边坡坡体基本参数如黏聚力、摩擦角、重度、滑块厚度、坡角等。边坡地震危险性评价的准确程度与这三类数据的研究程度与准确性有关。文章对三类数据分别详细阐述各自的研究现状与成果应用,最后分析理论存在的部分问题以及以后的研究方向。     

浙江省文泰震区地震滑坡危险性评估

地震滑坡灾害的震前预测与震后快速评估已成为减轻地震次生灾害的重要手段之一。本文使用简化Newmark模型,设定地震震级(M_S5.0),利用区域地质图、数字高程模型等基础数据,考虑地形对地震动的放大效应,对文泰震区潜在同震滑坡区域开展评估工作。研究表明,干燥与饱和状态下,设定地震作用下研究区内地震滑坡高危险区均主要分布在距设定震中15km以内的范围内,其分布与区内岩土体处于临界稳定状态的分布趋势相同。区内水库坝址与水库库体未受到潜在同震滑坡的影响,划定的重点关注区内位于潜在滑坡体下方的千秋门村、驮加村、高西村、杜山村、南峤村、包坑村、龙前村、新厂村以及各级公路易受到同震滑坡的影响,应提升重点关注区内承灾体的风险防范能力,尽可能减少潜在同震滑坡对区内生命财产安全造成的威胁。     

The role of chronic and episodic disturbances on channel–hillslope coupling: the persistence and legacy of extreme floods

Landscape form represents the cumulative effects of de‐stabilizing events relative to recovery processes. Most geomorphic research has focused on the role of episodic rare events on landscape form with less attention paid to the role and persistence of chronic inputs. To better establish the interplay between chronic and episodic extreme events at regional scales, we used aerial photography and post‐flood sediment sampling to assess stream and hillslope response and recovery to a 100–300 yr. flood caused by Tropical Storm Irene in New England. Within a 14 000 km² study area, analysis of aerial photographs indicated that the storm initiated (n = 534) and reactivated (n = 460) a large number of landslides. These landslides dramatically increased overall estimates of regional erosion rates (from 0.0023 mm/yr. without Irene to 0.0072 mm/yr. with Irene). Similarly, Irene‐generated LWD inputs of 0.25–0.5 trees/km exceeded annual background rates in a single event, and these concentrated inputs (10¹–10² of trees/landslide) are likely to result in large jams and snags that are particularly persistent and geomorphically effective. Finally, we found that landslide scars continue to provide elevated sediment inputs years after the event, as evidenced by sustained higher suspended sediment concentrations in streams with Irene‐generated landslides. Overall, our results indicate that infrequent, high‐magnitude events have a more important geomorphic role in tectonically stable, more moderate‐relief systems than has been previously recognized. Understanding the role of these events has particular relevance in regions such as New England, where the frequency and magnitude of extreme storms is expected to increase. Further, these effects may force reconsideration of conservation and restoration targets (for example in channel form and large wood loading and distribution) in fluvial systems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Significance of geomorphological and subsurface drainage controls on failures of peat‐covered hillslopes triggered by extreme rainfall

On 19 September 2003, 40 landslides of 140–18 000 m³ volume occurred within 2·5 km² on the slopes of Dooncarton Mountain (Republic of Ireland) during a storm that may have exceeded 90 mm within 90 minutes. The landslides were investigated to determine the reasons for such a high density of slope failures. All of the landslides were surveyed within four months, and nine of them were investigated in detail. The six largest landslides, all peat failures, accounted for 57% of the more than 100 000 m³ of material displaced during the event. A consistent sequence of superficial materials was found on the failed hillslopes, including an extensive iron pan at the base of a buried soil horizon 0·3 m below the base of the peat. Morphologically, almost all of the landslides occurred on steep planar slopes or around sharp convexities, with the latter failures developing retrogressively upslope. The only significant relationship found from analysis of 371 subsurface pipes and 142 seepage cracks (defined here as contiguous fissures conducting concentrated subsurface flow) across all the failures was that the thinner the peat cover, the deeper the pipes and seepage cracks occurred below the base of peat. It is concluded that most of the landslides were probably caused by a combination of excess water pressures in the buried soil horizon and the thinner overburden of peat or peaty soil associated with the steeper slope segments. Pipes and seepage cracks formed on the iron pan probably existed prior to the failure event and may have contributed to the high water pressures as rainwater inputs exceeded their discharge capacities. One large peat slide was probably triggered by excess water pressures developed within and between artificial tine cuts. The properties of the blanket peat were generally of little consequence in the occurrence of the landslides, but relict desiccation cracks and other structural weaknesses through the peat mass were probably highly significant. Although several aspects of the peat failures correspond to previously published examples, the context of these failures in terms of the topography and upland catena is distinctive. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.