Estimation of dynamic friction and movement history of large landslides

We performed seismic waveform inversions and numerical landslide simulations of deep-seated landslides in Japan to understand the dynamic evolution of friction of the landslides. By comparing the forces obtained from a numerical simulation to those resolved from seismic waveform inversion, the coefficient of friction during sliding was well-constrained between 0.3 and 0.4 for landslides with volumes of 2–8 ×10⁶ m³. We obtained similar coefficients of friction for landslides with similar scale and geology, and they are consistent with the empirical relationship between the volume and dynamic coefficient of friction obtained from the past studies. This hybrid method of the numerical simulation and seismic waveform inversion shows the possibility of reproducing or predicting the movement of a large-scale landslide. Our numerical simulation allows us to estimate the velocity distribution for each time step. The maximum velocity at the center of mass is 12–36 m/s and is proportional to the square root of the elevation change at the center of mass of the landslide body, which suggests that they can be estimated from the initial DEMs. About 20% of the total potential energy is transferred to the kinetic energy in our volume range. The combination of the seismic waveform inversion and the numerical simulation helps to obtain the well-constrained dynamic coefficients of friction and velocity distribution during sliding, which will be used in numerical models to estimate the hazard of potential landslides.     

Lessons Learned from the Landslides in Shengli East Open-Pit Mine and North Open-Pit Mine in Xilinhot City,Inner Mongolia Province,China

The locations of the 2013 eastern ShengLi open pit mine landslide and the 2010 northern ShengLi open pit mine landslide were both in the XilinHot city of Inner Mongolia province, in areas with similar geographical, regional geological, geomorphic conditions and excavation depth. There are so many similar characteristics, such as landslides triggered by the rain storms, landslides occurred many times, landslides with long time deformation, but there are also some differences between the two landslides, such as the scale and failure mode. Field investigations showed that the two landslides were both occurred several days after the rain storms, the eastern ShengLi open pit mine landslide body with the volume of 85 million m³ has been in persistent deformation with an observed maximum horizontal displacement of 58 m in August 2013, Furthermore the implemented check dams at east open pit mine had not formed an efficacious blocking system to resist the flow because of incorrect judgment regarding the landslide style. The northern ShengLi open pit mine landslide body with 0.5–1 million m³ occurred several times after each rain storm. In the whole, the time of persistent deformation about the eastern ShengLi open pit mine was much longer than that of the northern ShengLi open pit mine because of the difference of the filling material of fault and space combination between the faults and the slope. Field investigation, physical model experiments, real-time displacement monitoring and numerical simulation were implemented to investigate the characteristics, mechanism, and retaining measures of the two landslides. The insights gleaned herein may be valuable for the understanding of the mechanisms of landslides and improving preventative measures against these types of events in north China in the future.     

Activity and kinematic behaviour of deep-seated landslides from PS-InSAR displacement rate measurements

Large landslides and deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD) represent an important geo-hazard in relation to the deformation of large structures and infrastructures and to the associated secondary landslides. DSGSD movements, although slow (from a few millimetres to several centimetres per year), can continue for very long periods, producing large cumulative displacements and undergoing partial or complete reactivation. Therefore, it is important to map the activity of such phenomena at a regional scale. Ground surface displacements at DSGSD typically range close to the detection limit of monitoring equipment but are suitable for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry. In this paper, permanent scatterers (PSInSAR?) and SqueeSAR? techniques are used to analyse the activity of 133 DSGSD, in the Central Italian Alps. Statistical indicators for assigning a degree of activity to slope movements from displacement rates are discussed together with methods for analysing the movement and activity distribution within each landslide. In order to assess if a landslide is active or not, with a certain degree of reliability, three indicators are considered as optimal: the mean displacement rate, the activity index (ratio of active PS, displacement rate larger than standard deviation, overall PS) and the nearest neighbor ratio, which allows to describe the degree of clustering of the PS data. According to these criteria, 66% of the phenomena are classified as active in the monitored period 1992–2009. Finally, a new methodology for the use of SAR interferometry data to attain a classification of landslide kinematic behaviour is presented. This methodology is based on the interpretation of longitudinal ground surface displacement rate profiles in the light of numerical simulations of simplified failure geometries. The most common kinematic behaviour is rotational, amounting to 41 DSGSDs, corresponding to the 62.1% of the active phenomena.     

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.     

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.     

Mapping of slow landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula using the California landslide inventory and persistent scatterer interferometry

Extremely slow landslides, those with a displacement rate <16 mm/year, may be imperceptible without proper instrumentation. These landslides can cause infrastructure damage on a long-term timescale. The objective is to identify these landslides through the combination of information from the California landslide inventory (CLI) and ground displacement rates using results from persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI), an interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) stacking technique, across the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California. A total of 34 ENVISAT radar images (acquired between 2005 and 2010) and 40 COSMO-SkyMed radar images (acquired between 2012 and 2014) were processed. An InSAR landslide inventory (ILI) is created using four criteria: minimum PS count, average measured ground velocity, slope angle, and slope aspect. The ILI is divided into four categories: long-term slides (LTSs), potentially active slides (PASs), relatively stable slopes (RSSs), and unmapped extremely slow slides (UESSs). These categories are based on whether landslides were previously mapped on that slope (in the CLI), if persistent scatterers (PSs) are present, and whether PSs are unstable or stable. The final inventory includes 263 mapped landslides across the peninsula, of them 67 landslides were identified as UESS. Although UESS exhibit low velocity and are relatively small (average area of 8865 m² per slide), their presence in a highly populated area such as the Palos Verdes Peninsula could lead to destruction of infrastructure and property over the long term.     

Characteristics and numerical runout modeling of the heavy rainfall-induced catastrophic landslide–debris flow at Sanxicun,Dujiangyan, China,following the Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake

The 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake triggered a large number of extensive landslides. It also affected geologic properties of the mountains such that large-scale landslides followed the earthquake, resulting in the formation of a disaster chain. On 10 July 2013, a catastrophic landslide–debris flow suddenly occurred in the Dujiangyan area of Sichuan Province in southeast China. This caused the deaths of 166 people and the burying or damage of 11 buildings along the runout path. The landslide involved the failure of ≈1.47 million m³, and the displaced material from the source area was ≈0.3 million m³. This landslide displayed shear failure at a high level under the effects of a rainstorm, which impacted and scraped an accumulated layer underneath and a heavily weathered rock layer during the release of potential and kinetic energies. The landslide body entrained a large volume of surface residual diluvial soil, and then moved downstream along a gully to produce a debris flow disaster. This was determined to be a typical landslide–debris flow disaster type. The runout of displaced material had a horizontal extent of 1200 m and a vertical extent of 400 m. This was equivalent to the angle of reach (fahrböschung angle) of 19° and covered an area of 0.2 km². The background and motion of the landslide are described in this study. On the basis of the above analysis, dynamic simulation software (DAN3D) and rheological models were used to simulate the runout behavior of the displaced landslide materials in order to provide information for the hazard zonation of similar types of potential landslide–debris flows in southeast China following the Wenchuan earthquake. The simulation results of the Sanxicun landslide revealed that the frictional model had the best performance for the source area, while the Voellmy model was most suitable for the scraping and accumulation areas. The simulations estimated that the motion could last for ≈70 s, with a maximum speed of 47.7 m/s.     

Precursory slope distress prior to the 2010 Mount Meager landslide,British Columbia

In 2010, the south flank of Mount Meager failed catastrophically, generating the largest (53 ± 3.8 × 10⁶ m³) landslide in Canadian history. We document the slow deformation of the edifice prior to failure using archival historic aerial photographs spanning the period 1948–2006. All photos were processed using Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. We used the SfM products to produce pre-and post-failure geomorphic maps that document changes in the volcanic edifice and Capricorn Glacier at its base. The photographic dataset shows that the Capricorn Glacier re-advanced from a retracted position in the 1980s then rapidly retreated in the lead-up to the 2010 failure. The dataset also documents 60 years of progressive development of faults, toe bulging, and precursory failures in 1998 and 2009. The 2010 collapse was conditioned by glacial retreat and triggered by hot summer weather that caused ice and snow to melt. Meltwater increased pore water pressures in colluvium and fractured rocks at the base of the slope, causing those materials to mobilize, which in turn triggered several secondary failures structurally controlled by lithology and faults. The landslide retrogressed from the base of the slope to near the peak of Mount Meager involving basement rock and the overlying volcanic sequence. Elsewhere on the flanks of Mount Meager, large fractures have developed in recently deglaciated areas, conditioning these slopes for future collapse. Potential failures in these areas have larger volumes than the 2010 landslide. Anticipated atmospheric warming over the next several decades will cause further loss of snow and glacier ice, likely producing additional slope instability. Satellite- and ground-based monitoring of these slopes can provide advanced warning of future landslides to help reduce risk in populated regions downstream.     

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.     

New data and interpretations of the shallow and deep deformation of Huangtupo No. 1 riverside sliding mass during seasonal rainfall and water level fluctuation

The original Badong County, Hubei, China, was mainly below the highest water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir, which is 175 m above sea level. The new downtown of Badong was rebuilt in the Huangtupo area between 1982 and 1991. After detailed geological investigation in the Huangtupo area, four independent landslides were identified, making it one of the largest and most harmful landslide group in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. Since 2003, abundant data have been obtained from the Huangtupo No. 1 sliding mass about rainfall, water level, earth surface deformation and deep deformation. The monitoring data indicate that the earth surface and deep deformation of this landslide is closely related to the seasonal rainfall and water level fluctuation of the reservoir. During increases in the water level, the earth surface deformation velocity decreases, and then increases obviously in the subsequent water level decreasing stage. Because the water level drawdown period overlaps with the rainy season in this area, the earth surface deformation is affected by both rainfall and water level. The deformation velocity of the earth surface caused by rainfall is about 5 mm/month, while that caused by water level decrease is 5–7 mm/month. On the contrary, the deformation velocity of the deep sliding mass accelerates 2 to 3 times faster than average during water level increase. The distinction of surface and deep deformation regulations indicates that the effects of seasonal rainfall and water level fluctuation on the stability of reservoir wading landslides are different. Based on all monitoring data, we also found that the Huangtupo No. 1 riverside sliding mass is creeping seasonally during the seasonal rainfall and periodic reservoir water level fluctuation. The deformation velocities of the east regions of the sliding body indicate acceleration, making these regions even more dangerous.     

Topographical features of rainfall-triggered landslides in Mon State,Myanmar, August 2019: spatial distribution heterogeneity and uncommon large relative heights

Continuous 5-day (August 4–9, 2019) torrential rainfall in the monsoon season triggered more than 90 landslides on northwest-southeast extended mountain range of Mon State, Myanmar. In this study, remote sensing images, DEM, and limited fieldworks were used to create the landslide inventory. The topography features of these landslides are analyzed via ArcGIS. The largest one occurred on 9 August 2019 and caused 75 deaths and 27 buildings were damaged. This landslide occurred on gentle topography (slope angle, 23°) with long run-out, in which the angle of reach was relatively low (10°). The volume was 111,878 m³ was mainly composed of weathered granite and red soil and the sliding depth was approximately 7.5 m. Topographic characteristics including the relative slope height, angle of reach, and slope angle of source area of 35 landslides with areas?>?4000 m² were analyzed. The spatial distribution characteristics and topographic features of the 35 landslides below are distinguished: (1) the concentration of most of landslides on southwest-facing slopes showing the heterogeneous spatial distribution of landslide; (2) an uncommon landslide distribution in which more than half of landslide originates from upper slope; (3) the range of the angle of the source area (17°–38°) compatible with the internal friction angle of soils in tropical regions (17°–33°); and (4) the tangent of the angle of reach is generally smaller than 0.5 (angle of reach?<?27°) shows a relative high mobility and the relation between landslide mobility and the slope angle of the landslide source area is similar to the one of earthquake-triggered landslides, even though the triggering mechanism, landslide type, and landslide volume are dramatically different.

     

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.     

Deformation and mechanism of landslide influenced by the effects of reservoir water and rainfall, Three Gorges, China

Since the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir in June 2003, numerous preexisting landslides have been reactivated. This paper seeks to find the factors influencing landslide deformation and the relationship between displacement and fluctuation of the reservoir water level, while the displacement and the intensity of rainfall based on monitoring data; 6 years of monitoring were carried out on the Shiliushubao landslide, a old landslide, consisting of a deep-seated main block and two shallow blocks, with a volume of 1,180 × 10⁴ m³ and located on the left bank of the Yangtze River, 66 km upstream of the Three Gorges dam. This landslide was reactivated by the impoundment and since then the landslide body has been experiencing persistent deformation with an observed maximum cumulative displacement of 8,598.5 mm up to December 2009. Based on the monitoring data, we analyzed the relationship between the fluctuation of the reservoir water level and displacement, rainfall and displacement, and found that the rainfall is the major factor influencing deformation for two shallow blocks and the displacement has a positive correlation with the variation of rainfall intensity. The fluctuation of the reservoir water level is the primary factor for main block, and the deformation rate has a negative correlation with the variation of reservoir water level, declined with the rise of the water level and increased with the drawdown of the water level.     

Relationships between natural terrain landslide magnitudes and triggering rainfall based on a large landslide inventory in Hong Kong

Rain-induced landslides are recognized as one of the most catastrophic hazards on hilly terrains. To develop strategies for landslide risk assessment and management, it is necessary to estimate not only the rainfall threshold for the initiation of landslides, but also the likely magnitudes of landslides triggered by a storm of a given intensity. In this study, the frequency distributions of both open hillside landslides and channelized debris flows in Hong Kong are established on the basis of the Enhanced Natural Terrain Landslide Inventory (ENTLI) with 19,763 records in Hong Kong up to 2013. The landslide magnitudes are measured in terms of the number, scar area, volume, or density of landslides. The mean values of the scar areas and volumes are 55.2 m² and 102.0 m³, respectively, for the open hillside landslides and 91.3 m² and 166.5 m³, respectively, for the channelized debris flows. Empirical correlations between the numbers, scar areas, and volumes of hillside landslides or channelized debris flows and the maximum rolling rainfall intensities of different periods have been derived. The maximum rolling 4- to 24-h rainfall amounts provide better predictions compared with those with the maximum rolling 1-h rainfall. Maximum rolling rainfall intensity-duration thresholds identifying the likely rainfall conditions that yield natural terrain landslides or debris flows of different magnitudes are also proposed. The initiation rainfall thresholds are identified as 75, 90, 100, 120, 150, 180, and 200 mm for the maximum rolling 1-, 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, and 24-h rainfall, respectively.     

Investigating slow-moving landslides in the Zhouqu region of China using InSAR time series

In the Zhouqu region (Gansu, China), landslide distribution and activity exploits geological weaknesses in the fault-controlled belt of low-grade metamorphic rocks of the Bailong valley and severely impacts lives and livelihoods in this region. Landslides reactivated by the Wenchuan 2008 earthquake and debris flows triggered by rainfall, such as the 2010 Zhouqu debris flow, have caused more than 1700 casualties and estimated economic losses of some US$0.4 billion. Earthflows presently cover some 79% of the total landslide area and have exerted a strong influence on landscape dynamics and evolution in this region. In this study, we use multi-temporal Advanced Land Observing Satellite and Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR) data and time series interferometric synthetic aperture radar to investigate slow-moving landslides in a mountainous region with steep topography for the period December 2007–August 2010 using the Small Baseline Subsets (SBAS) technique. This enabled the identification of 11 active earthflows, 19 active landslides with deformation rates exceeding 100 mm/year and 20 new instabilities added into the pre-existing landslide inventory map. The activity of these earthflows and landslides exhibits seasonal variations and accelerated deformation following the Wenchuan earthquake. Time series analysis of the Suoertou earthflow reveals that seasonal velocity changes are characterized by comparatively rapid acceleration and gradual deceleration with distinct kinematic zones with different mean velocities, although velocity changes appear to occur synchronously along the landslide body over seasonal timescales. The observations suggest that the post-seismic effects (acceleration period) on landslide deformation last some 6–7 months.     

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.”     

Morphological analysis of deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (DSGSD) in the western part of the Argentera massif. A morpho-tectonic control?

The western part of the Argentera–Mercantour massif (French Alps) hosts very large currently active landslides responsible of many disorders and risks to the highly touristic valleys of the Mercantour National Park and skiing resorts. A regional scale mapping of gravitational deformations has been compared to the main geo-structures of the massif. A relative chronology of the events has been established and locally compared to absolute ¹⁰Be dating obtained from previous studies. Two types of large slope destabilisations were identified as follows: deep-seated landslides (DSL) that correspond to rock volumes bounded by a failure surface, and deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD) defined as large sagging zones including gravitation landforms such as trenches and scarps or counterscarps. Gravitational landforms are mainly collinear to major N140°E and N020°E tectonic faults, and the most developed DSGSD are located in areas where the slope direction is comparable to the orientation of faults. DSL are mostly included within DSGSD zones and located at the slopes foot. Most of DSL followed a similar failure evolution process according to postglacial over steepened topographies and resulting from a progressive failure growing from the foot to the top of the DSGSD that lasts over a 10 ky time period. This massif-scale approach shows that large-scale DSGSD had a peak of activity from the end of the last deglaciation, to approximately 7000 years bp. Both morphologic and tectonic controls can be invoked to explain the gravitational behaviour of the massif slopes.     

Susceptibility assessments of the Wenchuan earthquake-triggered landslides in Longnan using logistic regression

In this study a Wenchuan earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility assessment was carried out in the Longnan area in northwestern China using a GIS-based logistic regression model. This region has frequently been affected by landslides in the past, and was intensively affected by the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake which received considerable international attention. The data used for this study consist of the landslides triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake and a landslide pre-disposing factor database. Information regarding the landslide causative factors came from additional data sources, such as a digital elevation model (DEM) with a 30 × 30 m² resolution, orthophotos, geological and land-use maps, precipitation records, and information on peak ground acceleration data from the 2008 earthquake. The statistical analysis of the relationship between the Wenchuan earthquake-triggered landslides and pre-disposing factors showed the great influence of lithological and topographical conditions on slope failures. The quality of susceptibility mapping was validated by splitting the study area into training and validation sections. The prediction capability analysis demonstrated that the landslide susceptibility map could be used for land planning as well as emergency planning by local authorities.     

Long-traveling landslides in deep snow conditions induced by the 2011 Nagano Prefecture earthquake,Japan

Earthquakes in mountainous areas may produce many landslides that involve abundant snow, but few observations have been made of these hazardous phenomena. The 12 March 2011 north Nagano Prefecture earthquake (M_JMA 6.7) occurred in a mountainous part of Japan that typically has an annual snow cover of more than 2 m, and it induced many snowy landslides. Some of these traveled relatively long distances. We examined the snowy Tatsunokuchi landslide to reconstruct the landsliding processes over deep snow. We infer that the Tatsunokuchi landslide occurred by collapse of a rock debris mass of 5?×?10⁴ m³ that plunged into the abundant snow, forming a mixture of snow and rock debris, which then traveled on top of the snow. Later, the displaced mass included a large amount of snow which was pushed forward at the front and to the sides. The velocity of the landslide was estimated to be approximately 14 m/s. It appears that the displaced mass, having only a small proportion of rock debris, had a low enough density to travel easily on top of the snow. Our observations suggest that there was much liquid water at the base of the displaced mass shortly after the event. Our results suggest that landslides may damage wider areas than expected if they travel over deep snow.     

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.