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Mass Wasting

Causes and processes of mass wasting Mechanics of mass movements Classification of mass movements

Lecture 21

Landslide Hazards
Landslides in the US cause an annual loss of about $1.5 billion, >25 fatalities. The most expensive landslide in U.S. history occurred in Thistle, Utah, in 1983. >$500 million. The Loma Prieta earthquake in October 1989 triggered thousands of landslides. In addition to tens of millions of dollars of damage, landslides blocked transportation routes, greatly hampering rescue and relief efforts.

Examples of Damage by MW

www.fema.gov/fema/landslif.htmlgeohazards.cr.usgs.gov/html_files/nlicsun.html

Geomorphology

Zion Nat. Park

Strong material / Steep slope

Weak material / Low slope

Falls and Slides


scarp

toe

La Conchita, California January 10, 2005

Landslide in Japan

Rock Falls
Rock failure requires steep slopes and bedrock exposures Common in mountain belts and often triggered by earthquakes

Grinnell Glacier, Montana 2006

Talus Deposits

Rock Slides

The rapid movement of large blocks of detached bedrock sliding more or less as a unit.

Rock Avalanches

slump

the mechanics of slides

Loss of vegetation and root systems increases susceptibility of soils to erosion and mass movement

Yellowstone National Park

Earthquake Shaking
Mt Huascaran, Peru (before 1970)

earthquake triggered debris avalanche

Rock Avalanches triggered by Denali earthquake (Nov. 3, 2002) in Alaska

Earthquake vs. Rain Triggered Slides


The landslide to the left was triggered by rapid snow melt and subsequent runoff in Umbria, Italy, in January, 1997. The landslide, on the right is a result of the earthquake of January 13, 2001, Las Colinas, San Salvador.

Landslide models predict rainfall-caused slides will occur at the bottom of slopes (Italy) while earthquake-induced slides occur at the tops of slopes (El Salvador).

Debris Flows

Debris Flow Movie

Alluvial Fan!

Photo by Leslie Hsu

top

bottom

Earth Flow/Landslide

Debris Flow Mechanics

Creep
Creep

Earth Flows
Take unconsolidated soil and sediment on moderate slope Add lots of water - Shake or Stir A fluid movement of relatively fine-grained material, e.g. soils, weathered shale, and clay.

Debris Flows
Take unconsolidated soil and sediment on moderate slope Add lots of water - Shake or Stir A fluid mass movement of rock fragments supported by a muddy matrix. May move a speeds of up to 100 km/hr!

Mud Flows
Take unconsolidated soil and sediment on moderate slope Add lots of water - Shake or Stir A flowing mass of material (mostly finer than sand, along with some rock debris) containing a large amount of water. It may travel large distances and high speeds, and carry particles as large as a house!

Lahar Formation Movies


From Mt. Pinatubo eruption

Coherent Mass Movements: Slides and Slumps


Slumps Slide as a coherent unit on weak basal surface What type of faulting results?

Debris slide Rock material and soil move largely as one or more units along planes of weakness

Classification of Mass Wasting


Rock falls Unconsolidated mass movements, flows Coherent slides and slumps
When describing landslides try to state explicitly:
Type of material involved (rock, mud, soil) State of integrity of slide material (rubly, fluidized, coherent block) Rate of flow or sliding

Landslides present significant hazard in particular during earthquakes and wet years Level of consolidation, pre-existing structure and water content play important role in slope failures Classification of mass movements
Falls, flows, and slides

Examples
Landslides occur at all scales, including some that we have not experienced yet in historic times
Photo by Kerry Sieh, Caltech

Causes of Mass Movement


Major Factors:
Steepness of slopes Nature of slope materials Water content Earthquakes

External causes:
Slope, removal of support, addition of mass, increasing water saturation, shaking

Internal causes:
Inherent material weakness, water, change in cohesion, structural weaknesses (anisotropy)

Anisotropy - Bedding Parallel Slopes

Anisotropy in rock (bedding, foliation, fractures) can enhance slope failure

Earthquake Triggered Slides


Loss of cohesion (liquifaction) in water saturated, unconsolidated substrate Earthquakes, heavy rain falls, removal of vegetation by fire can all contribute to and trigger mass movements Can we tell if landslides were caused by earthquakes or by precipitation? 1989, Mw=6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake 1964, Mw=9.2 Alaska earthquake

Undercutting Slopes
Adding load on top or removing support at bottom (by river or coastal erosion) can cause sliding

Steepened Slope - Saturated Material


How Not to Protect Your Home

Increased Water Saturation


1997 Debris Flows and Slumps

Sourgrass debris flow (Sierra Nevada, N. Fork of Stanislaus River), Jan 1, 1997

Deep-seated slump at Polhemus Rd. in San Mateo County. Began a few days after the 1997 New Years storm (sound familiar?), movement continued at an average rate of ~1 meter per day. Over 250,000 tons of rock and soil moved.

Mechanics of Mass Wasting


Shear strength of basal surface on which sliding might occur Cohesion (a material property describing how well material keeps together) Angle of repose results from internal shear strength

Angle of Repose
The maximum angle at which a pile of unconsolidated particles can rest. The angle of repose increases with increasing grain size

Unconsolidated material supports slopes less than its angle of repose

Cohesion and Surface Tension


Water molecules in the interior are attracted in all directions, whereas surface molecules have a net inward attraction resulting in surface tension.

The cohesion between grains determines the angle of repose Depends on grain size, angularity, water Surface tension from water strengthens unconsolidated material BUT more water weakens unconsolidated material

Cohesion and Surface Tension

Surface tension in damp sand increases cohesion

Dry sand is bound only by friction

Saturated sand flows easily because of interstitial water

What effect would pressure have on these systems?

Strength or Stability of Slopes

shear

=C+(

normal -

Ppore) * tan
Internal friction

Shear resistance

Cohesion

Normal stress - Pore pressure

Look familiar? Expanded version of Amonton-Coulomb Law ( s Cohesion represents inherent strength Normal stress represents the weight of slide mass Pore water pressure counteracts load Material frictional strength (angle of slide surface )

n)

Classification of Mass Wasting


Classification of mass movement is based on:
dominant material fluid content velocity of movement

Classification of Mass Wasting 101 Ways to Waste a Mass


Rock falls Unconsolidated flows Coherent slides and slumps Terminology can be confusing (coherency vs. material vs. speed vs. process

Unconsolidated Mass Movements


Slow Soil Creep Solifluction Fluidized Debris Flows

Creep Earth flow Earth flow


Increased velocity

Debris flow

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