Introduction to landslides

Part 4: Use of GIS for landslide

mapping
Cees van Westen
International Institute
for Aerospace Survey and Earth
Sciences
(ITC), Enschede, The Netherlands.
E-mail: westen@itc.nl
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Landslide types and causes

Landslide types and causes

First define the objective of the study.

Danger exists that the data that will be collected will not be in
accordance with the scale of analysis, or the method of analysis.
This might lead to a waste of time and money if too detailed
data is collected, or an oversimplification if too general data is
collected.
The following things should be considered:
The objective of the study
The scale of the study
The type of analysis that will be followed
The types of input data that will be collected.

Landslide types and causes

Defining objective
Landslide hazard studies can be made for any different
purposes. Some of these might be:

For an environmental impact study for engineering works;

For the disaster management of a town or city;
For the modelling of sediment yield in a catchment ;
For a watershed management project;
For a community participation project in disaster management;
For a the generation of awareness among decision makers;
For scientific purposes.

Each of these objectives will lead to specific requirements with

respect to the scale of work, the method of analysis and the type
and detail of input data to be collected.

Landslide types and causes

Scales of analysis
National scale
Smaller than 1:1.000.000,
covering an entire country,
mainly intended to
generate awareness
among decision makers
and the general public.
Maps on this scale are
often intended to be
included in national
atlases.

Landslide types and causes

Scales of analysis

Landslide types and causes

Regional scale
Between 1:100.000 and
1:1.000.000, covering a
large catchment area, or
a political entity of the
country.
The maps at this scale
are mostly intended for
reconnaissance phases
for planning projects for
the construction of
infrastructural works, or
agricultural development
projects.

Scales of analysis

Medium scale
Between 1:25.000 and
1:100.000, covering a
municipality or smaller
catchment area.
Intended for the detailed
planning phases of
projects for the
construction of
infrastructural works,
environmental impact
assessment and municipal
planning.

Landslide types and causes

Scales of analysis

Landslide types and causes

Large scale
Between 1:2.000 and
1:25.000, covering a town
or (part of) a city.
They are used for disaster
prevention and generation
of risk maps, as well as for
the design phase of
engineering works.

Scales of analysis

Landslide types and causes

Site investigation scale

Between 1:200 to
1:2.000, covering the
area where engineering
works will be carried out,
or covering a single
landslide. They are used
for the detailed design of
engineering works, such
as roads, bridges,
tunnels, dams, and for
the construction of slope
stabilisation works.

Data layers for slope

instability hazard zonation

Scale of analysis
Regional

1. Terrain Mapping Units

PHOLOGY

2. Geomorphological (sub)units

3. Landslides (recent)

4. Landslides (older period)

5. Digital Terrain Model

6. Slope map

7. Slope direction map

8. Slope length

9. Concavities/convexities

ENGINEERING

10. Lithologies

GEOLOGY

11. Material sequences

12. Structural geological map

13. Seismic accelerations

14. Infrastructure (recent)

15. Infrastructure (older)

16. Landuse map (recent)

17. Landuse map (older)

18. Drainage

19. Catchment areas

20. Rainfall

21. Temperature

22. Evapotranspiration

23. Watertable maps

LANDUSE

HYDROLOGY

Landslide types and causes

Large

GEOMOR

TOPOGRAPHY

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Medium

General trends in landslide hazard

assessment
Type of
analysis

Inventory

Heuristic
analysis

Statistical
analysis

Deterministic
analysis
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Landslide types and causes

Techniques

Required data
from table 1
Regional
1:100,000

Mediu
m
25.000

Large
10.000

Landslide
distribution analysis

Yes,
but... (*)

Yes

Yes

Landslide activity
analysis

4,5,14,15,16,17

No

Yes

Yes

Landslide density
analysis

1,2,3

Yes,
but... (*)

No

No

Geomorphological
analysis

2,3,4

Yes

Yes,
but...
(**)

Yes,
but...
(**)

Qualitative map
combination

2,3,5,6,7,8,9,1012,
14,16,18

Yes,
but...
(***)

Yes,
but...
(**)

No

Bivariate statistical
analysis

2,3,5,6,7,8,9,1012,
14,16,18

No

Yes

No

Multivariate
statistical analysis

2,3,5,6,7,8,9,1012,
14,16,18

No

Yes

No

Safety factor
analysis

6,11,12,13,16,
20,21,22,23

NO

No

Yes,
but...
(****)

Landslide distribution analysis

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Landslide types and causes

Activity analysis

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Landslide types and causes

Density analysis

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Landslide types and causes

Geomorphological hazard analysis

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Landslide types and causes

Qualitative

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Landslide types and causes

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Landslide types and causes

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Landslide types and causes

Hazard zonation
Slope instability hazard zonation is defined as:
The mapping of areas with an equal probability of
occurrence of landslides within a specified period of time
(Varnes, 1984).
A landslide hazard zonation consists of two different
aspects:

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the assessment of the susceptibility of the terrain for a slope

failure, in which the susceptibility of the terrain for a hazardous
process expresses the likelihood that such a phenomenon occurs
under the given terrain conditions or parameters.
the determination of the probability that a triggering event occurs.

Landslide types and causes

Hazard zonation
Often slope instability hazard assessment uses the
assumption:
conditions which led in the past to slope failures, will also result
in potential unstable conditions in the present
or
The past is the key to the present

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Landslide types and causes

Direct / Indirect hazard mapping

Division of hazard mapping methods:
(1) Direct hazard mapping
experience driven applied geomorphological approach,
where the earth scientist evaluates the direct relationship
between the landslides and the geomorphological and
geological setting during the survey at the site of the failure.
(2) Indirect hazard mapping
the mapping of a large amount of parameters and the
(statistical or deterministic) analysis of all these possible
contributing factors in relation to the occurrence of slope
instability phenomena, determining in this way the relation
between the terrain conditions and the occurrence of
landslides. Based on the results of this analysis statements
are made regarding the conditions under which slope
failures occur.
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Landslide types and causes

Relative / absolute hazard

Another useful division in techniques for assessment of
slope instability hazard is given by Hartlen and Viberg
(1988) :
(1) relative hazard
The relative hazard assessment techniques differentiate the
likelihood of occurrence of mass movements for different
areas on the map, without giving exact values.
(2) Absolute hazard
Absolute hazard maps display an absolute value for the
hazard, such as a factor of safety or a probability of
occurrence.
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Landslide types and causes

Landslide hazard analysis methods

Another division (Carrara, 1983; Hartlen and Viberg, 1988):
(1) White box models,
based on physical models (slope stability and hydrological models), also
referred to as deterministic models;
(2) Black box models,
not based on physical models but on statistical analysis;
(3) Grey box models,
based partly on physical models and partly on statistics.

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Landslide types and causes