Rainfall thresholds for shallow landsliding derived from pressure‐head monitoring: cases with permeable and impermeable bedrocks in Boso Peninsula,Japan

Rainfall thresholds for shallow landslide initiation were determined for hillslopes with two types of bedrock, permeable sandstone and impermeable mudstone, in the Boso Peninsula, Japan. The pressure‐head response to rainfall was monitored above a slip scarp due to earlier landslides. Multiple regression analysis estimated the rainfall thresholds for landsliding from the relation between the magnitude of the rainfall event and slope instability caused by the increased pressure heads. The thresholds were expressed as critical combinations of rainfall intensity and duration, incorporating the geotechnical properties of the hillslope materials and also the slope hydrological processes. The permeable sandstone hillslope has a greater critical rainfall and hence a longer recurrence interval than the impermeable mudstone hillslope. This implies a lower potential for landsliding in sandstone hillslopes, corresponding to lower landslide activity. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of basin‐wide landslides in the formation of extensive alluvial gemstone deposits in Sri Lanka

The tectonically stable central highlands of Sri Lanka and its alluvial valleys are the source areas and sinks, respectively, for one of the most prolific Quaternary gemstone provinces in the world. However, the known ¹⁰Be/²⁶Al cosmogenic‐nuclide‐determined low natural (preanthropogenic) denudation rates of 2–11 mm kyr^?1, and resulting sediment fluxes, are grossly inadequate to deliver the vast throughputs of overburden required to concentrate the known gemstone deposits. Basin‐wide, unstable, slow‐moving channelized landslides and debris flows, aided by biotic factors, are the dominant mechanisms of mass‐wasting on hill‐slopes and bulk delivery of sediment to the alluvial valleys and fluvial networks. Channelization ensures modulated sediment transfer and run‐out during an erosional–depositional continuum. In a selected inventory of landslides, mobilized sediment volumes ranged from less than 1000 cubic metres to a maximum of ～800 000 cubic metres per event. Monsoonal rainfall (both cumulative seasonal and total daily thresholds) is the primary external factor, which interacts with colluvium thickness and steep slopes in triggering landslides. There are three to five ‘threshold’ rainfall events per year in the highlands that can be expected to generate landslides. They can occur under conditions of decreasing daily rainfall as the seasonal total rainfall increases. GIS databases show a very significant spatial overlap and direct causal linkage between several hundred landslide occurrences and the innumerable gem pits and mines in the catchments of the best known mining region of Sri Lanka. Landslide‐associated mass movements, besides providing significant numbers of gemstones to the alluvial valleys over time, are also a fundamental factor in the geomorphic evolution of the rugged central highland landscape. Rainfall‐driven landslide activity may be a natural geological response affecting erosional equilibrium in high‐relief tectonically stable terrains. Climatically forced base level changes will, over time, control sediment storage, removal or reworking in the valleys. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on Rainfall Triggering of Landslides near Lisbon

The majority of landsliding episodes in the area north of Lisbon are associated with rainfall events of short (less than 5 days) medium (5–20 days) or long duration (more than 20 days). The precipitation regime in Portugal is highly irregular, with large differences between wet and dry years. We have assessed the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on both the winter precipitation and the timing and magnitude of associated landslide events. Results show that the large inter-annual variability of winter precipitation is largely modulated by the NAO mode. The precipitation composite corresponding to high NAO index presents a considerable lower median value (47 mm/month) than the corresponding low NAO index class (134 mm/month). The entire precipitation distribution associated with the low NAO index composite encompasses a wider range of values than the corresponding high NAO index composite. This non-linear behavior is reflected in the probability of occurrence of a very wet month (precipitation above the 90% percentile) that is just 1% for the positive NAO class and 23% for low NAO index months. Results for the low NAO class are crucial because these months are more likely associated with long-lasting rainfall episodes responsible for large landslide events. This is confirmed by the application of a 3-month moving average to both NAO index and precipitation time series. This procedure allowed the identification of many months with landslide activity as being characterized by negative average values of the NAO index and high values of average precipitation (above 100 mm/month). Finally, using daily data we have computed the return periods associated with the entire set of landslide episodes and, based on these results, obtained a strong linear relationship between critical cumulative rainfall and the corresponding critical rainfall event duration.     

云南省滑坡泥石流灾害评估方法研究

通过对云南省滑坡泥石流灾害资料的收集和调研,提出了滑坡泥石灾害分类与等级划分标准,根据滑坡泥石流灾害评估的综合性、客观性、科学性和实用性原则,建立了人员伤亡、房屋破坏、基础设施破坏和农业损失的评价指标体系。提出了调查、统计、评估和核灾等滑坡泥石流灾害结合评估办法,以期实现抗灾救灾管理工作的规范化和制度化。     

The landslide hazard and human vulnerability in La Paz City, Bolivia

Landslides in the city of La Paz, Bolivia are complex in space and time. Their distribution within the city is differentiated by geographical variations in slope gradient, the nature of overlying surface deposits, and drainage density patterns. When mapped, the distribution of the most landslide-prone locations in the city coincides with the most mobile surface deposits on the higher and steeper slopes of the city. The timing of landslides is triggered when slope materials become saturated with moisture by rainfall, stream water, water seepage from high surrounding water tables, and from domestic sources. Landslide frequencies over the last 40 years show the role of inter-annual variations in summer rainfalls, especially the late summer period (Jan–Mar), and rising water tables connected to Lake Titicaca. Associations with ENSO events, both warm (El Nino) and cold (La Nina), prove negative, pointing to the importance of moisture sources from the north, south and east (Amazon) but not from the west (Pacific). The most vulnerable group exposed to the landslide hazard comprise the inhabitants of the self-built informal housing areas who occupy the more elevated steeper slopes of the northern part of the city. But societal vulnerability to earth movement in the city is widespread and interconnected. Higher income groups in the southern part of the city are affected by slower, if less dramatic, forms of land failure, and rich housing in downstream areas of the city are impacted by flash flooding encouraged by deforestation on the northern hill slopes where the poor live. Two case studies highlight the vulnerability and plight of the inhabitants of the self-built settlements in the aftermath of a major landslide, and a brief discussion of hazard mitigation and the importance of building hazard resilient communities concludes the paper.     

Mapping landslide susceptibility in Travis County, Texas, USA

A geographic information system (GIS) was used to construct a landslide hazard map for Travis County, Texas. The County is experiencing rapid growth, and development has encroached into unstable terrain that is vulnerable to landslides. Four layers of data were superimposed to create the landslide hazard map. Slope was given the most emphasis, followed by geology, vegetation, and proximity to faults. The final map shows areas of low, medium, and high landslide susceptibility. Areas of high susceptibility occupy stream and reservoir banks, rock escarpments, and agricultural land. The landslide hazard map can be a useful geologic criterion for land use planning. Planners can use the map to allocate appropriate land uses to unstable terrain, and to identify existing structures at risk from landslide activity. The methods presented in this paper can be adapted to other counties in the U.S. and elsewhere. Results of this study suggest that geographic information systems can effectively compile and overlay several data layers relevant to landslide hazards.     

滑带土强度特性研究现状

滑带土强度特性对滑坡稳定性研究和滑坡防治工程设计具有重要意义。通过回顾国内外一些代表性工作,总结了其主要研究内容、研究方法和成果。研究内容包括5种特征强度：峰值抗剪强度、残余抗剪强度、完全软化强度、滑坡启动强度、长期抗剪强度以及相应的微观结构特征;研究方法以现场与室内试验为主,理论分析和反演分析为辅;研究成果主要反映在各种特征强度及其相互关系、剪切引起的微观结构变化特征方面。重点介绍了残余强度研究成果,包括其影响因素和数值估算。最后指出了研究工作中应该加强的几个方面,如特殊滑带土的研究（如砾质滑带土）、新的测试技术和研究方法的发展以及反分析法的正确运用等。     

Using earthquakes to assess lichen growth rates

Botanists make yearly measurements of lichen sizes that describe highly variable radial expansion of young, and old, Rhizocarpon subgenus Rhizocarpon that is a function of thallus size and age. Such non‐uniform growth would negate use of lichens to date geomorphic events, such as landslides and moraines, of the past 1000 years. Fortunately, many crustose lichens tend toward circular shapes, which can be achieved only when overall uniform radial growth prevails. Largest lichen measurements on rockfall blocks that accumulate incrementally as hillslope talus in earthquake‐prone California plot as distinct peaks in frequency distributions. Rockfall surface‐exposure times are known to the day for historical earthquakes and to the year where mass movements damage trees. Lichenometry consistently dates regionally synchronous rockfall events with an accuracy and precision of ±5 years. Only historical records and tree‐ring dating of earthquakes are better. The four crustose lichens used here have constant long‐term growth rates, ranging from 9.5 to 23.1 mm per century. Growth rates do not vary with altitude or climate in a 900 km long mountainous study region in California, USA. Linear growth regressions, when projected to the present, constrain estimates of colonization time and possible styles of initial lichen growth.     

Mapping areas of potential slope failures in cohesive soils using a shadow-casting algorithm – A case study from SW Sweden

When performing landslide susceptibility mapping of rotational slides in fine grained soils, slope algorithms found in common GIS software have two major shortcomings. Firstly, these types of terrain algorithms only consider the slope angle at the surface. Secondly, the algorithm is local by its design i.e. it only considers neighbouring pixels. Due to the behaviour of a retrogressive rotational landslide, it would be more preferable to consider slope information as a predetermined cross-section angle from the base of the slope. This paper presents a new method using shadow casting algorithms for preliminary landslide susceptibility mapping in cohesive soils. A case study from western Sweden is also presented.     

黄土滑坡形成机理分析——以宁夏彭阳县为例

彭阳县是黄土地区滑坡灾害最为发育的县（市）之一,严重威胁当地群众生命财产安全,阻碍社会、经济发展。本文基于彭阳县地质灾害详细调查资料。首先,对黄土滑坡从规模、形成时代、滑体厚度等方面进行分类统计,结合遥感解译结果和实地调查资料,总结其分布规律;其次,从地形地貌、地层岩性、大气降水、地下水、地表水、人类工程活动的影响等方面分析黄土滑坡的形成条件;最后,采用GEO-SLOPE软件对黄土滑坡与各主要影响因素的关系进行了数值模拟。在此基础上,探讨了彭阳县黄土滑坡的形成机理。