The Landslide Handbook - A Guide To Understanding L
The Landslide Handbook - A Guide To Understanding L
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The Landslide Handbook— A Guide to Understanding Landslides
Article · January 2008
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United States Geological Survey - Retired Independent Consultant
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The Landslide
Handbook—
A Guide to
Understanding
Landslides
By Lynn M. Highland, United States Geological
Survey, and Peter Bobrowsky, Geological
Survey of Canada
"colamento veloce, o rapido", o "frane per saturazione e fuidificazione dei terreni detritici
superficiali" (soil slips). Si attivano in genere durante eventi piovosi intensi, con altezze di
precipitazione (es.) oltre i 100 mm/ora.
Debris-flow damage to the city of Caraballeda, located at the base of the Cordillera de la Costan, on the north coast of Venezuela. In
DecemberMaggio
1999, this area was hit by Venezuela’s worst natural
2009 disaster of the 20th century; several days of torrential rain 3triggered
R.Santacroce
flows of mud, boulders, water, and trees that killed as many as 30,000 people. (Photograph by L.M. Smith, Waterways Experiment
Station, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)
Velocità e distanza percorsa
La velocità di una frana dipende dal comportamento del materiale,
dalla ripidità del versante e dal meccanismo che la innesca.
numero di Reynolds Re
Per fluidi newtoniani U = velocita' media del flusso, D = diametro del condotto'
ρ = densita' del fluido e η e' la sua viscosita'.
Re = UDρ
ρ/η
η
Schema
Maggio 2009 illustrante i meccanismi deposizionali e di supporto del carico sedimentario operanti
R.Santacroce 7
nei diversi tipi di flusso definibili in base al rapporto tra acqua e sedimento.
Colate di detrito (debris flows)
Meccanismi di innesco
Water is the primary triggering mechanism, and it can
originate from crater lakes, condensation of erupted
steam on volcano particles, or the melting of snow and
ice at the top of high volcanoes. Some of the largest and
most deadly lahars have originated from eruptions or
volcanic venting which suddenly melts surrounding snow
and ice and causes rapid liquefaction and flow down
Maggio 2009 steep R.Santacroce
volcanic slopes at catastrophic speeds. 9
Photograph of a lahar caused by the 1982 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington, USA. (USGS)
Effetti
Debris flows can be lethal because of their rapid onset, high speed of movement, and the
fact that they can incorporate large boulders and other pieces of debris. They can move
objects as large as houses in their downslope flow or can fill structures with a rapid
accumulation of sediment and organic matter. They can affect the quality of water by
depositing large amounts of silt and debris.
Interventi di mitigazione
Flows usually cannot be prevented; thus, homes should not be built in steep-walled gullies
that have a history of debris flows or are otherwise susceptible due to wildfires, soil type, or
other related factors. New flows can be directed away from structures by means of
deflection, debris-flow basins can be built to contain flow, and warning systems can be put in
place in areas where it is known at what rainfall thresholds debris flows are triggered.
Evacuation, avoidance, and (or) relocation are the best methods to prevent injury and life
loss.
Prevedibilità
Maps of potential debris-flow hazards exist for some areas. Debris flows can be frequent in
any area of steep slopes and heavy rainfall, either seasonally or intermittently, and especially
in areas that have been recently burned or the vegetation removed by other means. Figures
13 and 14 show a schematic and an image of a debris flow.
Meccanismi di innesco
In general, the two types of debris avalanches are those that are “cold” and those that
are “hot.” A cold debris avalanche usually results from a slope becoming unstable,
such as during collapse of weathered slopes in steep terrain or through the
disintegration of bedrock during a slide-type landslide as it moves downslope at high
velocity. At that point, the mass can then transform into a debris avalanche. A hot
debris avalanche is one that results from volcanic activity including volcanic
earthquakes or the injection of magma, which causes slope instability.
Maggio 2009 R.Santacroce 11
A debris avalanche that buried the village of Guinsaugon, Southern Leyte, Philippines, in February 2006.
Effetti
Debris avalanches may travel several kilometers before stopping, or they may transform into
more water-rich lahars or debris flows that travel many tens of kilometers farther downstream.
They move very fast and thus may prove deadly because there is little chance for warning
and response.
Interventi di mitigazione
Avoidance of construction in valleys on volcanoes or steep mountain slopes and real-time
warning systems may lessen damages. However, warning systems may prove difficult due to
the speed at which debris avalanches occur—there may not be enough time after the
initiation of the event for people to evacuate. Debris avalanches cannot be stopped or
prevented by engineering means because the associated triggering mechanisms are not
preventable.
Prevedibilità
If evidence of prior debris avalanches exists in an area, and if such evidence can be dated, a
probabilistic recurrence period might be established. During volcanic eruptions, chances are
greater for a debris avalanche to occur, so appropriate cautionary actions could be adopted.
Figures 17 and 18 show a schematic and an image of a debris avalanche.
The activeMaggio
volcano,2009
Mount Shasta in California, USA. Note the landforms in the foreground, caused by a debris avalanche
R.Santacroce 12that
occurred about 300,000 years ago. The debris avalanche traveled great distances from the volcano and produced lasting landform
effects that can still be seen toda
Dove si verificano
Colate di terra
su pendii poco accentuati in terreni a grana fine (argille o
silt). Si muovono come flussi viscosi con forti
deformazioni interne. Catastrophic rapid earthflows are
common in the susceptible marine clays
Dimensioni
Flows can range from small events of 100 square meters
in size to large events encompassing several square
kilometers in area. Earthflows in susceptible marine clays
may runout for several kilometers. Depth of the failure
ranges from shallow to many tens of meters.
Velocità del movimento
Da molto lenti (creep) a rapidi e catastrofici
Meccanismi di innesco
Triggers include saturation of soil due to prolonged or
intense rainfall or snowmelt, sudden lowering of adjacent
water surfaces causing rapid drawdown of the ground-
water table, stream erosion at the bottom of a slope,
excavation and construction activities, excessive loading
on a slope, earthquakes, or human-induced vibration.
Prevedibilità
Evidence of past earthflows is the best indication of vulnerability. Distribution of clay likely to
liquefy can in some cases be mapped and has been mapped in many parts of eastern North
America. Cracks opening near the top of the slope may indicate potential failure. Figures 19
and 20 show a schematic and an image of an earthflow.
Dimensioni
Creep can be very regional in nature (tens of square kilometers) or simply confined to small
areas. It is difficult to discern the boundaries of creep since the event itself is so slow and
surface features representing perceptible deformation may be lacking.
Velocità del movimento
Very slow to extremely slow. Usually less than 1 meter (0.3 foot) per decade.
Meccanismi di innesco
For seasonal creep, rainfall and snowmelt are typical triggers, whereas for other types of
creep there could be numerous causes, such as chemical or physical weathering, leaking
pipes, poor drainage, destabilizing types of construction, and so on.
effects of creep, in an area near East Sussex, United Kingdom, called the Chalk Grasslands. Steep slopes of thin soil over marine
chalk deposits, develop
Maggio 2009a ribbed pattern of grass-covered horizontal steps that are 0.3 to 0.6 meter (1 to 2 feet) high. Although
R.Santacroce 16
subsequently made more distinct by cattle and sheep walking along them, these terraces (commonly known as sheep tracks) were
formed by the gradual, creeping movement of soil downhill.
Effetti
Because it is hard to detect in some places because of the slowness of movement, creep is
sometimes not recognized when assessing the suitability of a building site. Creep can slowly
pull apart pipelines, buildings,highways, fences, and so forth, and can lead to more drastic
ground failures that are more destructive and faster moving.
Interventi di mitigazione
The most common mitigation for creep is to ensure proper drainage of water, especially for the
seasonal type of creep. Slope modification such as flattening or removing all or part of the
landslide mass, can be attempted, as well as the construction of retaining walls.
Prevedibilità
Indicated by curved tree trunks, bent fences and (or) retaining walls, tilted poles or fences, and
small soil ripples or ridges on the surface. Rates of creep can be measured by inclinometers
installed in boreholes or by detailed surface measurements. Figures 21 and 22 show a
schematic and an image of creep.
Substrato:
sabbia e ghiaia sopra argille marine,
nella parte inferiore costituite da argille
sensibili.
lo scuotimento indusse la
liquefazione dello strato
argilloso sensibile: tutto il
quartiere scivolo’ rapidamente
a valle con una dislocazione di
2-300 metri realizzata in non
piu’ di 5 minuti.
Maggio 2009 R.Santacroce 23
Turnagain Heights Alaska, 1964
spinta deformativa
fusione di ghiacciai
invasione di bacini lacustri
esplosioni
Nel settembre 1881 la cava era penetrata per 60 metri entro la collina e la fessura si era aperta sino
ad arrivare a oltre 30 metri. Vi era ormai un continuo cadere di massi e il rumore era continuo. Era
ormai evidente a tutti che lo scalzamento effettuato alla base aveva reso instabile il versante. I
minatori smisero di cavare l’ardesia nell’attesa del crollo. Questo avvenne l’11 Settembre, ma i 10
milioni di metri cubi di materiale piombati sul piazzale di cava non si fermarono li’. La valanga fu
quindi capace di scendere per oltre 2 chilometri, a velocita’ calcolata di 180 km/ora, e seppellire
anche il villaggio di Elm.
In totale 115 persone persero la vita.
Maggio 2009 R.Santacroce 35
Cambiamenti delle caratteristiche idrologiche
Forti piogge possono saturare la copertura detritica dei
versanti riducendo i contatti granulo-granulo e riducendo di
conseguenza l’angolo di riposo del materiale fino alla
liquefazione.