scholarly journals Early Holocene (8.6ka) rock avalanche deposits, Obernberg valley (Eastern Alps): Landform interpretation and kinematics of rapid mass movement

Geomorphology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 171-172 ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Ostermann ◽  
Diethard Sanders ◽  
Susan Ivy-Ochs ◽  
Vasily Alfimov ◽  
Manfred Rockenschaub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Movement ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Rapid Mass

Dynamic simulation of the motion of fragmenting rock avalanches

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 789-798 ◽  
Author(s):  
T R Davies ◽  
M J McSaveney
Keyword(s):  
Field Data ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Earth Pressure ◽  
Long Runout ◽  
Analogue Model ◽  
Pressure Coefficients ◽  
Rock Avalanches ◽  
Internal Pressures ◽  
Rapid Mass

A mass-referenced continuum model for dynamic analysis of rapid mass movement (DAN) is verified by laboratory and field data. Increased earth pressure coefficients are used in this model to represent the dispersive pressures caused by fragmentation within a translating rock avalanche. The numerical model demonstrates that increased runout in large rock avalanches can occur with normal friction coefficients if higher than normal internal pressures, such as those believed to be generated by fragmentation, are present. The extent of the Falling Mountain rock-avalanche deposit in New Zealand is reproduced in the model with normal friction and high earth pressure coefficients to represent by analogy the additional internal pressures due to fragmentation. It appears that if internal friction is changed by fragmentation, it is only by a small amount and may increase rather than decrease. To test this, and to move beyond the present analogue model, requires a better understanding of the rheology of fragmenting rock.Key words: rock avalanches, long runout, fragmentation, simulation model, dispersive stresses, earth pressure coefficients, Falling Mountain.

scholarly journals Slope Failure in a Period of Increased Landslide Activity: Sennwald Rock Avalanche, Switzerland

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 331
Author(s):  
Selçuk Aksay ◽  
Susan Ivy-Ochs ◽  
Kristina Hippe ◽  
Lorenz Grämiger ◽  
Christof Vockenhuber
Keyword(s):  
Slope Failure ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Eastern Alps ◽  
Rock Failure ◽  
Rhine River ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Wet Climate ◽  
Cosmogenic Nuclide Dating ◽  
Additional Support

The Säntis nappe is a complex fold-and-thrust structure in eastern Switzerland, consisting of numerous tectonic discontinuities and a range of hillslopes prone to landsliding and large slope failures that modify the topography irreversibly. A slope failure, namely the Sennwald rock avalanche, occurred in the southeast wall of this fold-and-thrust structure due to the rock failure of Lower Cretaceous Helvetic limestones along the Rhine River valley. In this research, this palaeolandslide is examined in a multidisciplinary approach for the first time with detection and mapping of avalanche deposits, dynamic run-out modelling and cosmogenic nuclide dating. During the rock failure, the avalanche deposits were transported down the hillslope in a spreading-deck fashion, roughly preserving the original stratigraphic sequence. The distribution of landslide deposits and surface exposure age of the rock failure support the hypothesis that the landslide was a single catastrophic event. The 36Cl surface exposure age of avalanche deposits indicates an age of 4.3 ± 0.5 ka. This time coincides with a notably wet climate period, noted as a conditioning factor for landslides across the Alps in the mid-Holocene. The contemporaneity of our event at its location in the Eastern Alps provide additional support for the contention of increased regional seismic activity in mid-Holocene.

Recurrent rock avalanches progressively dismantle mountain ridges in the Longmen Shan, China, most recently in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janusz Wasowski ◽  
Maurice McSaveney ◽  
Luca Pisanu ◽  
Vincenzo Del Gaudio ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wenchuan Earthquake ◽  
Ambient Noise ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Ground Vibration ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
Rock Avalanches ◽  
Beichuan County

<p>Large earthquake-triggered landslides, in particular rock avalanches, can have catastrophic consequences. However, the recognition of slopes prone to such failures remains difficult, because slope-specific seismic response depends on many factors including local topography, landforms, structure and internal geology. We address these issues by exploring the case of a rock avalanche of >3 million m<sup>3</sup> triggered by the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in the Longmen Shan range, China. The failure, denominated Yangjia gully rock avalanche, occurred in Beichuan County (Sichuan Province), one of the areas that suffered the highest shaking intensity and death toll caused by co-seismic landsliding. Even though the Wenchuan earthquake produced tens of large (volume >1 million m<sup>3</sup>) rock avalanches, few studies so far have examined the pre-2008 history of the failed slope or reported on the stratigraphic record of mass-movement deposits exposed along local river courses. The presented case of the Yangjia gully rock avalanche shows the importance of such attempts as they provide information on the recurrence of large slope failures and their associated hazards. Our effort stems from recognition, on 2005 satellite imagery, of topography and morphology indicative of a large, apparently pre-historic slope failure and the associated breached landslide dam, both features closely resembling the forms generated in the catastrophic 2008 earthquake. The follow-up reconstruction recognizes an earlier landslide deposit exhumed from beneath the 2008 Yangjia gully rock avalanche by fluvial erosion since May 2008. We infer a seismic trigger also for the pre-2008 rock avalanche based on the following circumstantial evidence: i) the same source area (valley-facing, terminal portion of a flat-topped, elongated mountain ridge) located within one and a half kilometer of the seismically active Beichuan fault; ii) significant directional amplification of ground vibration, sub-parallel to the failed slope direction, detected via ambient noise measurements on the ridge adjacent to the source area of the 2008 rock avalanche and iii) common depositional and textural features of the two landslide deposits. Then, we show how, through consideration of the broader geomorphic and seismo-tectonic contexts, one can gain insight into the spatial and temporal recurrence of catastrophic slope failures  in Beichuan County and elsewhere in the Longmen Shan. This insight, combined with local-scale geologic and geomorphologic knowledge, may guide selection of suspect slopes for reconnaissance, wide-area ambient noise investigation aimed at discriminating their relative susceptibility to co-seismic catastrophic failures. We indicate the feasibility of such investigations through the example of this study, which uses 3-component velocimeters designed to register low amplitude ground vibration.</p>

scholarly journals Modelación de Crecidas Aluvionales en la Cuenca del Río Copiapó, Chile

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Valdés-Pineda ◽  
Juan B. Valdés ◽  
Pablo García-Chevesich
Keyword(s):  
Mass Movement ◽  
Satellite Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Analysis ◽  
Del Rio ◽  
Movement Simulation ◽  
Rapid Mass

<p class="Resumen">Los eventos extremos de precipitación intensa que se produjeron entre el 24 y 26 de marzo de 2015 en la región del Desierto de Atacama (26-29°S), en el Norte de Chile, dejaron alrededor de 30 000 damnificados, siendo uno de los eventos de mayores magnitudes de los últimos 50 años, y que tuvo un costo de reconstrucción de alrededor de $1.5 billones de dólares. Los flujos de detritos que se incrementaron durante la crecida inundaron gran parte de las ciudades de Copiapó y Tierra Amarilla. Este manuscrito tiene por objetivo modelar la crecida aluvional de marzo de 2015 en la cuenca del Río Copiapó, específicamente en las localidades de Copiapó y Tierra Amarilla. La modelación se lleva a cabo utilizando el modelo Rapid Mass Movement Simulation (RAMMS) que permite modelar la dinámica de la crecida aluvional en dos dimensiones, utilizando las características topográficas de los dominios de modelación. La calibración del modelo fue llevada a cabo satisfactoriamente utilizando datos de alturas capturados en terreno después de la crecida del año 2015. Un análisis detallado del evento hidrometeorológico es llevado a cabo utilizando imágenes satelitales obtenidas desde Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), así como datos pluviométricos e hidrográficos disponibles en la cuenca del Río Copiapó. La simulación de la crecida es reproducida con mapas de alturas de inundación asociados a dos escenarios de modelación. Las alturas máximas de inundación son finalmente utilizadas para el desarrollo de mapas de riesgos en ambas localidades. De acuerdo a nuestros resultados, el modelo RAMMS es una herramienta apropiada para modelar crecidas aluvionales y elaborar mapas de riesgos de inundación para mejorar la gestión de riesgos hidrológicos en cuencas áridas y semiáridas de Chile.</p>

The 1513 Monte Crenone Rock Avalanche. Numerical model and geomorphological analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro De Pedrini ◽  
Christian Ambrosi ◽  
Cristian Scapozza
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Deposition Zone ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Landslide Body ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Movement Simulation

&lt;p&gt;The Monte Crenone rock avalanche of 30 September 1513 is one of the most catastrophic natural events in Switzerland and throughout the Alps. The enormous mass of rock that broke away from the western slope of Pizzo Magn or Monte Crenone, estimated at 50-90 million cubic metres, caused the complete damming of the course of the Brenno river, leading to the formation of a basin that extended from Biasca to the Castello di Serravalle in Semione (De Antoni et al. 2016). On 20 May 1515 the basin formed behind the dam overflowed, giving rise to a wave of more than 10 meters high that led to devastation in the territories downstream to reach Lake Maggiore (Scapozza et al. 2015).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this project, we analyze the dynamics of the 1513 rock avalanche, trying to reconstruct the event through a numerical model, calculated with the software RAMMS::Debrisflow (RApid Mass Movement Simulation) provided by the Federal Institute for the Study of Snow and Avalanches (SLF/WSL).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The realization of the numerical model was preceded by the reconstruction of the topography before the landslide. This first phase of work, included a geological survey of the landslide body, the analysis of digital data (orthophotos, digital topographic maps, shaded model derived from swissALTI3D) and the collection of previous historical data.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The observation of the stratigraphic data obtained from the 701.27, 701.30 and 701.31 boreholes (part of the geotechnical studies for the Chiasso-San Gottardo highway) of the GESPOS database (GEstione Sondaggi, POzzi e Sorgenti) of the Institute of Earth Sciences SUPSI was essential to understand the landslide body thickness and volume in the deposition zone.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From the first phase of data collection and interpretation, we then moved on to the actual reconstruction of the digital model of the terrain before the landslide. This operation was carried out using ESRI's ArcGIS software, which made it possible recreating multiple models of the pre-event topography and thus finding the most realistic solution applicable to the subsequent RAMMS model.&lt;/p&gt;

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