Ice, moraine, and landslide dams in mountainous terrain

We review recent work on ice, moraine, and landslide dams in mountainous terrain, thus complementing several comprehensive summaries on glacier dams in intracontinental and Arctic areas of low relief. We discuss the roles of tectonic and climatic forcing on ice-, moraine-, and landslide-dam formation and sudden drainage, and focus on similarities and differences between their geomorphic impacts on confined valleys drained by steep bedrock and gravel-bed rivers.Despite numerous reported failures of natural dams in mountain belts throughout the world, their relevance to long-term dynamics of mountain rivers remains poorly quantified. All types of dams exert local base-level controls, thus trapping incoming sediment and inhibiting fluvial bedrock incision. Pervasive geomorphic and sedimentary evidence of outburst events is preserved even in areas of high erosion rates, suggesting that sudden dam failures are characterized by processes of catastrophic valley-floor aggradation, active-channel widening, and downstream dispersion of sediment, during which little bedrock erosion seems to be achieved.We find that, in the absence of direct evidence of former dams, a number of similarities among the geomorphic and sedimentologic characteristics of catastrophic outburst flows may give rise to ambiguous inferences on the dam-forming process. This is especially the case for tectonically active mountain belts where there is ample and comparable potential for the formation and failure of ice, moraine, landslide, and polygenetic dams concomitant with climatic oscillations or earthquake disturbance. Hence, the palaeoclimatic implications of erroneously inferring the cause of dam formation may be significant.We recommend that future research on natural dams in mountainous terrain addresses (a) climate- and earthquake-controlled systematics in the pattern of formation and failure; (b) quantification of response of mountain rivers to catastrophic outburst events and their concomitant process sequences; (c) elaboration of a comprehensive classification of natural dams in mountainous terrain with special attention to polygenetic dams; (d) physical-based modelling of dam formation, failure, and routing of water and sediment outbursts; and (e) quantitative controls on the contribution of natural dams to sediment budgets in mountainous terrain.     

Predictive uncertainty of peak outflow relations for landslides dam breach

Risk assessment development considering the failure of landslide dams often requires the estimation of peak outflow through the breach. The empirical equations based on data from case studies tend to be the first direct approach. This paper conducted an uncertainty analysis when these empirical relations were utilized to predict the peak outflow of a breached landslide dam. The results suggest that the relations derived from manmade dams or embankments typically overestimate the peak outflow about 1/5 to 3/4 of an order of magnitude; and the relations derived from the database of landslide dams have much smaller mean prediction errors and also exhibit broad uncertainty bands. Application of the uncertainly analysis was illustrated by the Tangjiashan landslide dammed lake, formed during 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. In addition, the predicted results from Eq. 1 deduced herein were considered to be the reliable estimate of peak outflow through the breach of landslide dam.     

崩滑堰塞坝(湖)的地貌环境效应

崩滑堰塞坝(湖)具有显著的地貌环境效应,这种效应在时间尺度上分为短期和长期2种,主要表现在河流水文过程、地貌演变、环境生态、景观等方面.堰塞坝形成初期河流原有生境受到干扰,河流生态和景观出现退化.堰塞体溃决强烈改变下游水文过程及河流地貌,严重冲击河流生境和生态,并可能对下游基础设施和群众生命财产造成灾难性破坏.长期稳定维持的堰塞坝深刻影响河流地貌过程,并显著改善河流生境、生态,提升景观水平.堰塞坝(湖)是河床持续下切、岸坡失稳而自然反馈形成的裂点,能增加河流阻力,控制河床下切,如能长期维持是河流健康稳定的促进因素.     

Logistic regression model for predicting the failure probability of a landslide dam

Landslides may obstruct river flow and result in landslide dams; they occur in many regions of the world. The formation and disappearance of natural lakes involve a complex earth–surface process. According to the lessons learned from many historical cases, landslide dams usually break down rapidly soon after the formation of the lake. Regarding hazard mitigation, prompt evaluation of the stability of the landslide dam is crucial. Based on a Japanese dataset, this study utilized the logistic regression method and the jack-knife technique to identify the important geomorphic variables, including peak flow (or catchment area), dam height, width and length in sequence, affecting the stability of landslide dams. The resulting high overall prediction power demonstrates the robustness of the proposed logistic regression models. Accordingly, the failure probability of a landslide dam can also be evaluated based on this approach. Ten landslide dams (formed after the 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake, the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake and 2009 Typhoon Morakot) with complete dam geometry records were adopted as examples of evaluating the failure probability. The stable Tsao-Ling landslide dam, which was induced by the Chi-Chi earthquake, has a failure probability of 27.68% using a model incorporating the catchment area and dam geometry. On the contrary, the Tangjiashan landslide dam, which was artificially breached soon after its formation during the Wenchuan earthquake, has a failure probability as high as 99.54%. Typhoon Morakot induced the Siaolin landslide dam, which was breached within one hour after its formation and has a failure probability of 71.09%. Notably, the failure probability of the earthquake induced cases is reduced if the catchment area in the prediction model is replaced by the peak flow of the dammed stream for these cases. In contrast, the predicted failure probability of the heavy rainfall-induced case increases if the high flow rate of the dammed stream is incorporated into the prediction model. Consequently, it is suggested that the prediction model using the peak flow as causative factor should be used to evaluate the stability of a landslide dam if the peak flow is available. Together with an estimation of the impact of an outburst flood from a landslide-dammed lake, the failure probability of the landslide dam predicted by the proposed logistic regression model could be useful for evaluating the related risk.     

The 12 May Wenchuan earthquake-induced landslide lakes: distribution and preliminary risk evaluation

The Wenchuan earthquake, measured at M _s 8.0 according to the China Earthquake Administration, occurred at 14:28 on 12 May 2008 in the Sichuan Province of China. It brought overwhelming destruction to eight provinces and cities. Landslides and rock avalanches triggered by the earthquake produced 257 landslide lakes which were distributed along the fault rupture zone and river channels. The authors traveled to the disaster zone immediately after the earthquake to examine some of the features of the debris dams and performed a quick evaluation of the potential for outburst of earthquake-induced landslide lakes for the purpose of disaster relief. The preliminary analysis indicated that the landslide lakes could be classified as those exhibiting extremely high risk, medium risk, and low risk according to field observations and remote sensing, to determine material composition, dam structure, dam height, maximum water storage capacity, and size of the population potentially affected area. The failure risk of 21 debris dams were evaluated as follows: one dam with an extremely high danger risk, seven dams with a high danger, five dams with a medium danger, and eight dams of low danger. More concern was given to the Tangjiashan Lake and different scenarios for the potential sudden failure of its dam were assessed. The risk evaluation result was accepted in full, by the earthquake disaster relief office. A successful emergency dam treatment for risk reduction was planned, based on our assessments, and these measures were quickly carried out. According to this research, the earthquake destabilized the surrounding mountains, resulting in a prolonged geohazard for the area. Landslides and debris flows will continue to develop for at least 5 to 10 years after the Wenchuan earthquake and will produce additional dammed lakes. Recommendations and plans for earthquake–landslide lake mitigation were proposed, based on past successful practices.     

Stability of landslide dams and development of knickpoints

The Wenchuan earthquake triggered many landslides and numerous avalanches and created 100 odd quake lakes. The quake lakes may be removed or preserved. The removal strategy was applied to several large landslide dams, which were dangerous because massive amounts of water pooled up in the quake lakes. The dams could eventually fail under the action of dam outburst flooding, potentially endangering the lives of people in the downstream reaches. This paper studied the stability of landslide dams and the development of knickpoints by field investigations and experiments, and analyzing satellite images. The study concluded that if landslide dams were preserved, they would develop into knickpoints and act as a primary control of riverbed incision and, thus, reduce the potential of new landslide. The stability of landslide dams depends mainly on the development of the step-pool system and stream power of the flood flow. If a landslide dam consists of many boulders, a step-pool system may develop on the spillway channel of the dam, which would maximize the resistance, consume most of the flow energy and consequently protect the dam from incision. The development degree of the step-pool system is represented by a parameter S _p, which was measured with a specially designed instrument. A preservation ratio of landslide dams is defined as the ratio of preserved height after flood scouring to the original height of the dam. For streams with peak flood discharge lower than 30 m³/s, the preservation ratio is linearly proportional to S _p. For rivers with a peak flood discharge higher than 30 m³/s (30–30,000 m³/s), the minimum S _p value for stable channel increases with log p, in which p is the unit stream power. For a landslide dam with a poorly developed step-pool system, S _p is smaller than the minimum value and the outburst flood incises the spillway channel and causes failure of the dam. For preserved landslide dams, sediment deposits in the quake lakes. A landslide dam may develop into a knickpoint if it is stabilized by long-term action of the flow. Large knickpoints can totally change the fluvial processes and river morphology. Uplift of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau has caused extensive channel bed incision along almost all rivers. For many rivers, the incision has been partly controlled by knickpoints. Upstream reaches of a knickpoint have a new and unchanging base level. This brings about a transition from degradation to aggradation and from vertical bed evolution to horizontal fluvial process. Multiple and unstable channels are prominent in the reaches, upstream of the knickpoints. If hundreds of landslide dams occurred simultaneously on a reach of a mountain river, the potential energy of bank failure and the slope erosion would be greatly reduced and sediment yield from the watershed may be reduced to nearly zero. The quake lakes may be preserved long term and become beautiful landscapes. Streams with long-term unfilled quake lakes have good aquatic ecology.     

Influence of diversion channel section type on landslide dam draining effect

The present study focuses on the emergency response measures for landslide dams. This work presents a series of centrifuge model tests conducted on the draining processes of barrier dams that are based on the grain composition of the Tangjiashan landslide dam. The effects of diversion channels with trapezoid, triangular, and compound sections on the discharge, process, and size of the residual dam are discussed. The characteristics of the flow erosion during the process of discharge in the different channels are analyzed based on hydrodynamics. The results suggest that a diversion channel with a compound section has a higher initial discharge efficiency and lower peak flow, and the flow process curve corresponds to a “chunky-type.” The draining from this type of a diversion channel could clearly reduce the flood pressure of the river downstream and make the entire process smoother. Thus, the excavation of a diversion channel with a compound section is an efficient and safe method for landslide dam emergency mitigation.     

余震作用下堰塞坝体破坏及溃决过程大型振动台试验研究

山区特大地震往往导致大量堰塞湖,例如2008年汶川地震形成了至少257个堰塞湖,并且主震后发生了大量余震,这些余震可能会影响堰塞坝体的安全状态。通过大型振动台模型试验,研究了余震及库水耦合作用下堰塞坝体的破坏及溃决机理和过程。共进行了两组不同材料的振动台模型试验,分别模拟含黏粒较多且颗粒较小（坝体Ⅰ）和基本不含黏粒且颗粒较大（坝体Ⅱ）的两种坝体。在不同水位条件下进行振动台试验。研究成果表明:（1）地震和库水耦合作用下堰塞坝体的主要溃决方式是漫顶溢流,主要溃决过程为地震力使松散的堰塞坝体发生沉陷,库水渗入使沉陷加剧,最终水位上升漫过坝顶发生溢流冲蚀破坏。（2）地震一般不会直接引起堰塞坝体的破坏。地震力对坝体稳定性的主要影响是使坝体发生沉陷变形。在地震和库水耦合作用下,坝体沉陷比单一因素作用下更为剧烈,因此地震作用会使漫顶溢流提前发生。（3）地震和库水耦合作用下坝体Ⅰ沉陷量大于坝体Ⅱ,说明现实中由大粒径岩土体组成的堰塞坝体具有更好的稳定性。     

Dam-break risk analysis of the Attabad landslide dam in Pakistan and emergency countermeasures

The Attabad landslide dam caused significant property losses and many human casualties in Pakistan, and also greatly affected the operation of the China-Pakistan Karakoram Highway (KKH). This paper discusses the risk of dam breach and hazards to the KKH project construction site following a dam breach. The paper examines the following three topics. (1) The geomorphologic dimensionless blockage index (DBI) and the analogy method were used to analyze the stability of the Attabad landslide dam. The long-term behaviors of landslide dams downstream of the Attabad landslide dam indicate that the risk of a dam breach exists, but the probability of a total dam failure is low. (2) The peak discharge of a potential breach of the Attabad landslide dam was calculated for scenarios in which 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and total failure of the dam was breached. The potential breach discharge decreases with the downstream distance. (3) The potential impacts of the landslide dam breach on the KKH project construction site were analyzed. Based on the composition of the landslide dam, the probability of a 1/3 dam breach is high. To ensure the safety of downstream areas, disaster preparedness plans that correspond to the 1/2 dam breach scenario should be developed. Based on experience in addressing the landslide dam that was caused by the Wenchuan Earthquake, artificial controlled drainage measures are suggested and provide a technical reference for addressing the Attabad landslide dam and achieving recovery and normal operation of KKH.     

Numerical simulation of landslide dam breaching due to overtopping

The breach of landslide dam often causes significant disaster in the inundated area; the prediction of breach hydrograph is in high demand for the dam breach risk evaluation. In this study, according to the model tests and Tangjiashan landslide dam breach case, the surface erosion accompanied by intermittent mass failure is known as the key breaching mechanism for landslide dam due to overtopping failure. The downstream slope angle would gradually decrease during the dam-breaching process, whereas a planar wedge failure occurs when the breach slopes at the dam crest and downstream breach channel fail. Based on the breach mechanism, a numerical model for landslide dam breach due to overtopping is developed to simulate the coupling process of water and soil. The model focuses on the breach morphology evolution during the breaching for the sake of the improvement of breach hydrograph prediction. Furthermore, the model can handle one- and two-sided breach, as well as incomplete and base erosion at the vertical direction. The case study of Tangjiashan landslide dam-breaching feedback analysis testifies the rationality of the present model with the relative errors less than 10% for peak discharge, final breach widths, and time to peak. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the final breach depth and soil erodibility affect the breach flow prediction of the landslide dam significantly, whereas the one- or two-sided breach mode is less sensitive.     

考虑不同泄流槽方案的堰塞坝溃决机理分析——以唐家山堰塞坝为例

近年来,频发的地质构造活动和极端气候灾害诱发了大量堰塞坝,严重威胁上下游群众的生命财产安全。开挖泄流槽是最常用降低堰塞坝溃决风险的措施,由于时间非常急迫、交通极度瘫痪,其开挖量非常有限,因此如何利用有限的开挖量将溃坝风险降低至最小是亟待解决的问题。本文基于水土耦合冲刷机理,提出了考虑不同泄流槽方案的堰塞坝溃决机理分析方法,并应用于唐家山堰塞坝。该方法根据水力学参数和坝体抗冲刷性参数动态计算瞬时坝体冲刷率,进而分析泄流槽对溃决全过程的影响,从而自动获取最优的泄流槽设计方案。将此方法应用于唐家山堰塞坝案例发现:唐家山堰塞坝泄流槽最优设计时溃坝洪峰流量为1700m3·s-1,小于实际峰值流量6500m3·s-1,主要是因为增大泄流槽的纵坡率,显著增强溃坝前的冲刷并形成双洪峰,从而有效降低了溃决峰值流量。由于复合槽相对较小的水力半径限制了溃坝前的冲刷,使得临溃时水位较高,因此溃坝峰值流量比单槽大,溃坝风险降低效果不如单槽。     

正反粒序结构条件下滑坡堰塞坝破坏模式研究

滑坡堰塞坝是大型滑坡堆积体堵塞河道形成的土石坝。正、反粒序结构作为大型远程滑坡所特有的2种具有显著差异的地质结构特征,2种情况下坝体的破坏模式差异及稳定性影响因素亟需试验研究。文章通过室内水槽物理模型实验,对比不同粒径、不同结构的滑坡堰塞坝坝体的破坏过程差异,探究了正、反粒序结构条件下堰塞坝的稳定性差异、破坏模式及影响因素。研究结果表明：（1）堰塞坝破坏模式的变化取决于浸润线在下游坡面的出露位置,相比上游水位有一定的延迟性;（2）正、反粒序堰塞坝的破坏模式取决于坡体渗流与下游坡面临界起动坡降的关系;（3）细砂层的位置分布,不同埋深细砂层的起动临界坡降差异和细砂与中粗砂的孔隙率差异是造成正、反粒序坝体破坏差异的主要原因。该研究成果可为大型滑坡堰塞坝的防灾减灾提供理论指导。     

Experimental study on cascading landslide dam failures by upstream flows

Landslide dams in mountainous areas are quite common. Typically, intense rainfalls can induce upstream flows along the sloping channel, which greatly affects the stability and failure modes of landslide dams. If a series of landslide dams are sequentially collapsed by an incoming mountain torrent (induced by intense rainfall), large debris flows can be formed in a short period of time. This also amplifies the magnitude of the debris flows along the flow direction. The catastrophic debris flows, which occurred in Zhouqu, China on August 8, 2010, were indeed caused by intense rainfall and the upstream cascading failure of landslide dams along the gullies. Experimental tests were conducted in a sloping channel to understand the dynamic process of cascading landslide dam failures and their effect on flow scale amplification. Similar to the Zhouqu conditions, the modeled landslide dams were distributed along a sloping channel and breached by different upstream flows. For each experiment, the front flows were sampled, the entrained grain sizes were analyzed, and the front discharge along the channel was measured. The results of these experiments show that landslide dams occurring along the channel can be destroyed by both high and low discharge flows, although the mechanisms are quite different for the two flow types. Regardless of flow type, the magnitude of the flows significantly increases after a cascading failure of landslide dams, resulting in an increase in both the diameter and the entrained coarse particles percentage.     

基于GIS空间数据的滑坡SPH粒子模型研究

针对光滑粒子流体动力学方法（SPH）在滑坡模拟中建立粒子模型的难题,提出了基于地理信息系统（GIS）栅格数据的粒子排列与插入方法。根据该方法,建立了滑坡SPH粒子模型及相关粒子生成程序,进一步以结合摩尔-库仑破坏准则的SPH宾汉流体模型为核心,实现了运用SPH方法模拟滑坡破坏后三维运动的过程。该SPH模型在对唐家山滑坡的模拟中得到了验证,并预测了金坪子滑坡破坏后的影响范围。结果表明：基于GIS空间数据的滑坡SPH粒子模型具有可行性与良好的适用性。以GIS数据库为基础,开展滑坡灾害的模拟研究,将大大提高对滑坡等地质灾害的仿真分析,为滑坡灾害的预测与防治提供参考。     

Coupled DEM-CFD investigation on the formation of landslide dams in narrow rivers

Large-scale landslide dams can induce significant hazards to human lives by blocking the river flows and causing inundation upstream. They may trigger severe outburst flooding that may devastate downstream areas once failed. Thus, the advancement in understanding the formation of landslide dams is highly necessary. This paper presents 3D numerical investigations of the formation of landslide dams in open fluid channels via the discrete element method (DEM) coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). By employing this model, the influence of flow velocity on granular depositional morphology has been clarified. As the grains settle downwards in the fluid channel, positive excess water pressures are generated at the bottom region, reducing the total forces acting on the granular mass. In the meantime, the particle sedimentations into the fluid channel with high impacting velocities can generate fluid streams to flow backwards and forwards. The coupled hydraulic effects of excess water pressure and fluid flow would entrain the solid grains to move long distances along the channel. For simulations using different flow velocities, the larger the flow velocity is, the further distance the grains can be transported to. In this process, the solid grains move as a series of surges, with decreasing deposit lengths for the successive surges. The granular flux into the fluid channel has very little influence on the depositional pattern of particles, while it affects the particle–fluid interactions significantly. The results obtained from the DEM-CFD coupled simulations can reasonably explain the mechanisms of granular transportation and deposition in the formation of landslide dams in narrow rivers.     

Some considerations about the simulation of breach channel erosion on landslide dams

The analysis of the flood hazard related to the areas downstream of landslide dams is one of the most interesting aspects of studying the formation and the failure of natural dams. The BREACH code [14], simulating the collapse of earthen dams, both man-made and naturally formed by a landslide, was chosen in order to analyse the case of the Valderchia landslide (central Italy). The bed-load transport formula used in BREACH (Meyer-Peter and Muller, modified by Smart [27]) is based on flume experiments with well-sorted sediments. Such a methodology probably makes this equation not very suitable for describing the sediment transport peculiar to a landslide body presenting a very poor material sorting. The Schoklitsch [26] formula was implemented into the programme as an alternative to the Smart equation. However, because the landslide deposits may often have a strongly bimodal grain–size frequency curve, the percentile D ₅₀ (the typical granulometric parameter requested by bed-load sediment transport formulas) can sometimes correspond to one of the grain-size classes which are really present to a lesser degree. To consider this phenomenon, the BREACH programme (version 7/88-1) was implemented with a new procedure that calculates two granulometric curves, one for each mode of the original distribution, and evaluates transport of the landslide material separately. Results of the analysis show that the model is very sensitive to the bed-load equation and that the procedure implemented to consider the eventual bimodal distribution of the dam material simulates the armouring phenomenon (which can stop the erosion of the dam during the overtopping phase).     

堰塞坝体材料渗透特性及其稳定性研究

堰塞坝是由于崩塌、滑坡、泥石流等形成的天然坝体,不同于人工土石坝,堰塞坝坝体结构松散,颗粒级配不均匀,在较高水头作用下坝体可能发生渗透破坏而导致溃坝,严重威胁下游人民群众的生命及财产安全。由于堰塞坝存在较大粒径颗粒,常规的渗透试验装置难以满足要求,本文研制了直径为60cm的大直径渗透试验仪,进行了不同堰塞坝级配材料的渗透破坏试验,并探讨了堰塞坝体材料渗透特性的主要影响因素。研究发现:（1）堰塞坝材料的渗透破坏形式取决于材料级配,粗颗粒含量较多时为管涌破坏,细颗粒含量较多或粒径缺失时为流土破坏;（2）堰塞坝渗透系数随干密度的增大而减小,主要取决于细料填充粗料孔隙的程度,单独使用不均匀系数或曲率系数不适用于评价渗透系数的变化;（3）基于试验数据提出了用于堰塞坝渗流破坏形式的判别公式,并推导出堰塞坝管涌破坏的临界水力坡降计算公式。     

Breaching parameters of landslide dams

Landslide dams pose enormous risks to the public because of the potentially catastrophic floods generated by breaching of such dams. The need to better understand the threats of landslide dams raises questions about the proper estimation of breaching parameters (breach size, breaching duration, and peak outflow rate) of landslide dams and the feasibility of applying models for estimating the breaching parameters of man-made earthen dams to landslide dams. This paper aims to answer these two questions. In this study, a database of 1,239 landslide dams, including 257 cases formed during the 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, has been compiled. Based on records of 52 landslide dam cases with breaching information in the database, empirical models for estimating the breaching parameters of landslide dams are developed. A comparison study between landslide dams and man-made earth and rockfill dams is conducted, which shows that the models for man-made earth and rockfill dams are not suitable for estimating the breaching parameters of landslide dams. Two case studies are presented to show the application of the set of empirical models developed in this paper.     

Analysis of human risks due to dam break floods—part 2: application to Tangjiashan landslide dam failure

The Tangjiashan landslide dam was formed during the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 and posed high risks to 1.2?million people downstream the dam. A human risk analysis model (HURAM) reported in the companion paper is applied to evaluate the human risk in the Tangjiashan landslide dam failure. The characteristics of this landslide dam are introduced first. The breaching parameters in two cases (i.e., the actual case and a high erodibility case) are predicted with a physically based model, and the flood routing processes in these two cases are simulated using numerical analysis. The population at risk downstream of the landslide dam is then obtained based on the results of the flood routing simulations. Subsequently, the human risks are analyzed with HURAM using Bayesian networks. Fourteen influence parameters and their interrelationships are considered in a systematic structure in the case study. A change in anyone of them may affect the other parameters and leads to loss of life. HURAM allows not only cause-to-result inference, but also result-to-cause inference by updating the Bayesian network with specific information from the study case. The uncertainties of the parameters and their relationships are studied both at the global level using multiple sources of information and at the local level by updating the prior probabilities.     

A new global landslide dam database (RAGLAD) and analysis utilizing auxiliary global fluvial datasets

To address the current data and understanding knowledge gap in landslide dam inventories related to geomorphological parameters, a new global-scale landslide dam dataset named River Augmented Global Landslide Dams (RAGLAD) was created. RAGLAD is a collection of landslide dam records from multiple data sources published in various languages and many of these records we have been able to precisely geolocate. In total, 779 landslide dam records were compiled from 34 countries/regions. The spatial distribution, time trend, triggers, and geomorphological characteristic of the landslides and catchments where landslide dams formed are summarized. The relationships between geomorphological characteristics for landslides that form river dams are discussed and compared with those of landslides more generally. Additionally, a potential threshold for landslide dam formation is proposed, based on the relationship of landslide volume to river width. Our findings from our analysis of the value of the use of additional fluvial datasets to augment the database parameters indicate that they can be applied as a reliable supplemental data source, when the landslide dam records were accurately and precisely geolocated, although location precision in smaller river catchment areas can result in some uncertainty at this scale. This newly collected and supplemented dataset will allow the analysis and development of new relationships between landslides located near rivers and their actual propensity to block those particular rivers based on their geomorphology.