Introduction To The Physics Of Landslides

Landslides represent one of the most destructive natural catastrophes. They can reach extremely long distances and velocities, and are capable of wiping out human communities and settlements. Yet landslides have a creative facet as they contribute to the modification of the landscape. They are the consequence of the gravity pull jointly with the tectonic disturbance of our living planet. Landslides are most often studied within a geotechnical and geomorphological perspective. Engineering calculations are traditionally applied to the stability of terrains. In this book, landslides are viewed as a physical phenomenon. A physical understanding of landslides is a basis for modeling and mitigation and for understanding their flow behavior and dynamics. We still know relatively little about many aspects of landslide physics. It is only recently that the field of landslide dynamics is approaching a more mature stage. This is testified by the release of modelling tools for the simulation of landslides and debris flows. In this book the emphasis is placed on the problems at the frontier of landslide research. Each chapter is self-consistent, with questions and arguments introduced from the beginning.

This book contains peer-reviewed papers from the Second World Landslide Forum, organised by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), that took place in September 2011. The entire material from the conference has been split into seven volumes, this one is the fifth: 1. Landslide Inventory and Susceptibility and Hazard Zoning, 2. Early Warning, Instrumentation and Monitoring, 3. Spatial Analysis and Modelling, 4. Global Environmental Change, 5. Complex Environment, 6. Risk Assessment, Management and Mitigation, 7. Social and Economic Impact and Policies.

A landslide is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments. Although the action of gravity is the primary driving force for a landslide to occur, there are other contributing factors affecting the original slope stability. Typically, pre-conditional factors build up specific sub-surface conditions that make the area/slope prone to failure, whereas the actual landslide often requires a trigger before being released. This book discusses such triggers, as well as their outcomes. Studies of landslides that have occurred in various geographical settings are also among the topics examined in this book, as well as an analysis of the factors that caused them.

This doctoral thesis presents a novel approach to landslide risk assessment that explores the various dimensions of landslide risk in an integrated perspective. The research approach introduced here is tailored for use with landslide databases and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A landslide susceptibility model is at the heart of this new approach, enabling to identify and delineate areas at risk of landslides and to assess infrastructure exposure. Landslide risk is a pressing societal issue that is still poorly understood. Temporal landslide hazard is derived from landslide frequency statistics and a hydrological simulation approach to estimate triggering thresholds. These methods are integrated into a powerful toolset for cost modeling that uses historical data to compile, model, and extrapolate damage costs on different spatial scales over time. The combination of this toolset with techniques to analyze fiscal cost impacts supports integrated risk assessment by quantifying the economic relevance of landslide losses.

This book is related to various applications of laser scanning in landslide assessment. Landslide detection approaches, susceptibility, hazard, vulnerability assessment and various modeling techniques are presented. Optimization of landslide conditioning parameters and use of heuristic, statistical, data mining approaches, their advantages and their relationship with landslide risk assessment are discussed in detail. The book contains scanning data in tropical forests; its indicators, assessment, modeling and implementation. Additionally, debris flow modeling and analysis including source of debris flow identification and rockfall hazard assessment are also presented.

Landslide Hazards, Risks and Disasters Second Edition makes a broad but detailed examination of major aspects of mass movements and their consequences, and provides knowledge to form the basis for more complete and accurate monitoring, prediction, preparedness and reduction of the impacts of landslides on society. The frequency and intensity of landslide hazards and disasters has consistently increased over the past century, and this trend will continue as society increasingly utilises steep landscapes. Landslides and related phenomena can be triggered by other hazard and disaster processes – such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and wildfires – and they can also cause other hazards and disasters, making them a complex multi-disciplinary challenge. This new edition of Landslide Hazards, Risks and Disasters is updated and includes new chapters, covering additional topics including rockfalls, landslide interactions and impacts and geomorphic perspectives. Knowledge, understanding and the ability to model landslide processes are becoming increasingly important challenges for society extends its occupation of increasingly hilly and mountainous terrain, making this book a key resource for educators, researchers and disaster managers in geophysics, geology and environmental science. Provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the geological, seismological, physical, environmental and social impacts of landslides Presents the latest research on causality, impacts and landslide preparedness and mitigation. Includes numerous tables, maps, diagrams, illustrations, photographs and video captures of hazardous processes Discusses steps for planning for and responding to landslide hazards, risks and disasters