Module 4 notes Rock avalanche- a type of landslide involving sudden failure of a large amss of rock that rapidly fragments

ts and travels as a streaming mass at high speeds. Factors responsible for landslides. o Causes and triggers A cause is an internal or external factor that, over time, reduces the astability of the slope and brings it to the point of failure. A trigger is an event that sets off the landslide (final straw). o Factors of frank slide Geology- mountain was deeply eroded anticline of Paleozoic limestone thurtst over weaker Mesozoic coal bnearing shales, water infilitrates, dissolves carbonates, decreasing stabnilty of slope. Glaciation- During the pleistocence glaciations, valley glaciers eroded shales on the lower slope of the mountain. Glacial erosion steepended the overall slope of the mountain, reducing its strength. Mining- coal mining at base may have reduced stability of limitones higherup, open mountain mines, stops excavated deep within the mountain. Weather- heavy snowfalls in march 1903, follow by warm temperatures, water from melted snow entered fissures at top of mountain and forze, exerting pressure on the unstable rock mass. o Lessons learned Large landslides cannot be prevented.\ Difficult or impossible to predict. With high tech equipment, might be able to detect slow creeping movement before a catastrophioc failure, but not economically feasible for every slope. Most slowly moving slopes may never fail catastrophically. Geology is important Type of rock or sediment, dip direction and amount, presence of faults, the degree of fracturing of rock all important in localizing landslides. Climate, seismicity, and topography also play a role. Human activity can trigger landslides. Increase stress on slope or reduce material strength Undercutting of toes on slopes, laoding of upper parts of slopes, and introduction of water into slopes, for irrigation or landscaping. Hope slide o Largest historical landslide in Canada. M<ass wasting and landslide describe downslope movements of rock or seident as the result of gravitation. o Broadest sense of materials, soil, rock, debris flow, slowly moving bodies of coherent rock. Types of landslides

Four important variables underpin most landslide classifications Mechanism of movement Fall, topple, slide, flow, or complex movement Type of material Rock, consolidated sediment, or soil. Amount of water present Rate of movement. Movement is rapid if discernable with naked eye, otherwise it is slow. Movement rates range from a few mm per year in slow creep to many doens of metres pers second for some rockslides and rock avalances. o Fall- bounding of rock or blocks of seidiment from the face of a cliff. o Slide- downslope movement of a coherent block of rock or sediment along a discrete failure plane. o Slump- particular type of slidew in which the failure plane is curved upwards. o Flow- slow rapid downsliope movement of sediment in which particles move semiindependently of one another, commonly with the aid of water. o Debris flows- mixtures of mud, debris and water. Range in constistency from thick mud to wet concrete, can flow either rapidly or slowly depending on conditions. o Creep- very slow flow of rock or sediment, at rates ranging from mm to dozens of cms per year. Sackung- special kind of creep involves movements of large masses of rock, along ill-defined, deep failure places (massive). o Topple- slow creep like movement in which a rock mass pivots about a point. Common in rocks with joints or bedding planes that dip steeply into the slope. o Rock avalances- high velocity flows of fragmented rock (300 km/hr, travel long distances, override large obstacles in their paths. ) o Subaequeous landslides- compl;ex events A slump or slide on submerged slope of delata or edge of continental shelf changes into a debris flow or a turbidity current that travels great distacnes from the point of failure. o Slump blocks- formed by complex landslides from water saturated sediments flow from the lower aprt of a slope and undermind the upper part. Estimating the velocity of landslides from their run-up and superelevation o Superelevation- refers to the tendency of some flows to rise higher on the outside of a bend in their paths than on the inside o Measuring supereelvation (running up valley wall like bobsled) velocity potential energy equation v^2= 2gh, where h is maximumvertical run up and g is gravitational acceleration. Forces acting on slopes

Weigh of landslide W asserts a normal stress, perpendicular to incline, and a shear stress, parallel to the plane. Normal stress acts to hold block inplace, whereas sherar stress acts to move theblock down the incluined plane. Movement of block is restrained by frictional resistance along contact zone between rock mass and incline palne. Critical stress required to overcome the frictional resistance and casue failure is equal to (normal force- pore water pressure along the contact zon) x (angle of slope X coefficient of friction) + cohesion across the contact zone. So shear stress necessary to overcome resistance to sliding decreases with Decreasing normal stress Increasing pore pressure (rising groundwater table) Decreasing cohesion. (removal of tree roots). Forces on slopes o Slope stability can be determined by determining the relation betwe4en driving forces that move rock or sediment down a slope and resisting force that oppose such movement. Driving forces Largest one is weioght of slope material and the water it contains. Resisting force= shear strength of slope material Its resistance to failure by sliding or flow along potential slip planes. o Potential slope placens are weaknesses such as bedding planes in sedimentary rocks, foliation in metamorphic rocks, and fractures in all types of rock. o Slope stability evalutated by reference to factor of safety (FS) Ratio of resiting forces to that of driving forces. If less than or equal to 1, resisting force exceed driving force If more than 1 slope failure can be expected. o Determined by the following variables: Type of material Slope and topography Climate Vegetation Water Time The role of material type o Important changes in material characteristics include.. Mineral composition Degree of cementation or consolidation Presence of planes of weakness. May be sedimentary bedding planes, metamorphic foliation, secondary joints, slip surfaces or faults.

Can be especially hazardous if included more than 15 degrees and intersect or are parallel to thes loppe of a hill or mountain. Two main patterns of slides. o Rotational- curved slip surfaces Tends to produce small topographic benches that tilt upslode. (slump blocks) Slumps are most common in unconsolidated sediment and in mudstone, shale or other weak rock types. o translational planar slip surfaces inclined slip plans include freactures in all rock types, bedding planes in sedimentary rocks, weak clay latersm and foliation planes in meta rocks. The material that moves along these planes can be alrge blocks of bedrock or sediment. Common type is debris avalanche. A very shallow slide of sediment or soil over bedrock. Failure plane at the base of the organic soil or in colluvium, a mixture of weathered rock and other debris below the soil. The role of slope and topography o Steeper the slope the greater the driving forces that oprmoote failure. o Topographic relief refers to the heigh of a hill or mountain below the land below. High relief= hilly or mountainous, thousands of meters of relief. North America- western part mountains, appalchian mountains, river valley wals, and coastial bluffs. The role of climate o Climate is the characteristic weather typical of a place or region over years or decades. o Termperature, precipitation, type of precipitation, seasonal patterns Influences the amount oand timing of water than infilitrates or erods a hillslope and the type and abundance of vegetation. Free-face and talus slopes are common in arid areas because no vegetation and commonly have rock falls, debris flows and shallow soil slopes. Most movemnts in subhumid and humid climates are due to landslides, soil creep, rockslides, slumps and debris flows. The role of vegetation o Type of vegetation is function of climate, soikl type, topography, fire historiy. o Three reasons Vegetation proides protectibve cover that reduces the impact of falling rain, allowing rainwater to infiltrate into the slope while retarding surface erosion. Plant roots add strength and cohesion to slope materials, act like rebar reinforcements increase the resistance of aslope to landsliding Vegetation adds weight to a slope, which can increase the likelihood that the slope will fail. The role of water

Water is nearly always involved in landslides; affects slope stability in 3 ways Many landslides, sucha s ashallow soil slips and debris flows, happen during rainstorms when slope materials become saturated. Other landslides, such as slumps, develop months or even years following deep infiltration of water into a slope. Erosion of the toe of a slope by a stream reduces the mass of resisting material and thus decrease the slopes stability. Water also contributes to liquefaction of fine granular sediments, when disturebed lsoe strength,results in earthquiake triggered landslides. Leda clay spontaneous liquifactions occur in river valley y slopes when initially solid material transofrms to liquid mud. Stems from structure of substance, when sediement is distrubted, mineral binding forces drop to zero and collapse occurs. Freezing water increases 9 percent in volume exerts large force along fractures in rock. Slides in BC most common during fluctuations above and below freezing point. Thaw flow slides- in areas of permafrost occur during warm spells in summer when the active layer (seasonal melted layer) is thickets. skin of water saturated sediment slides away from the frozen ground below and flows downhill. The role of time. o Forces change with time Driving and resisting forces change seasonably as the water table flucutuates, weatherinof rocks reduces cohesion and strength caused by checmical action of water in contact with soil and rock near surface. Soil water is acidic because it reacts with carbon dioxide in theatmosphere and soil to produce weak carbonic acid. Geographic regions at risk from landslides o Most common western cordil\erra of BC yukion alberta, and Appalachian provinces of quebec and new Brunswick. St lawrene valley with lots of leda clay o Materials particularly prone to landslide- lacustrine and marine silts and clays, cretaceous shales, and quaternary volcanic rocks. o Three factors increase incidence of landslides in this century: Urbanization and development will expand into landslide prone areas Tree cutting will continue in landslide prone areas Changing global climate patterns will result in increases in precipitation in some regions. Effects of landslides and linkages with other natural hazards o 30 people in north America killed by landslides per year. o Exceeds 1 billion in costs, sometimes 3 billion dollars. o Direct effects-

Being struck or buried in debris o Indirect Floods upstream if dams created, Downstream floods fcaused by rapid breaching of landslide dams Blockages of salmon migration routes, Fraser river havent recovered from pre1914 levels of fish o Solutions to landslides Stabilize the slope Engineered structure, consisting of benchs and large retraining walls, Convert land into a park, but not feasible considering most government levels wouldnt take that step Install an effective warning system Linkages between landslides and other natural hazards. o Can trigger tsunamis if fallen into water. o Submarine landslides can also trigger tsunamis. o Earthquakes, volcanoes, storms, and fires, tsunamis. Human activities and landslides o Study in Oregon suggests that clear cutting and road construction did not considerably impact landslides in geologically stable areas. o In geologically unstableareas, road constructuion interrupts surface draining, alkters subsurface movement of water, and can adversely change the distribution of materials on aslope bny cut and fill or grading operations. To overcome this Harvest smaller cut blocks Selectiove logging of cut blocks Helicopter logging to minimize access roads Controlled surface drainage along roads. o Urbanization In rio The granite peaks that frame the city have steep slopes of fractured rock that are covered with thin soil The area is periodically inundated by torrential rains Cut and fill construction has seriously destabilized many slopes Vegetation has been progressively removed from the slopes. In LA Modern engineering and grading proceses Destabilize formerly stable slopes by o Removing rock or sedimetns o Watering lawns and gardens o Installing septic sstems o Adding fill and buildings

Basically, steepening or saturation of slope, increasing its height or placing extra weight on it may cause landslides.

Minimizing landscape hazard and risk o Need to identify areas in which they are likely to occur, employ enigineered structures to prveven, warn people of failures and control active slides. o Idetinfication Crescent-shaped cracks or terraces on a hillside A scalloped or recessed crest of a valley wall A tongue shaped area of bare soil or rock on a hillside. Large boulders or pioles of talus at the base of a cliff An area of tilted or jack strawed trees Trees that are convex at their base but straight higher up Exposed bedrock with layering that is parallel to the slope Tongue shaped masses of sediment at the base of a slope or at the mouth of a valley. A hummocky, or irregular and undulated land surface at the base of a slope. o Prevention is hard but Loading top of slopes, cutting into sensitive slopes, or increasing the flow of water on slopes should be avoided or done with caution. Techniques include surface and subsurface drainage Removal of unstable slope materials Construction of retaining walls or other supporting structures. o Drainage control Infiltration may also be controlled by covering the slope with an impermeable laer such as soil-cement, asphalt, or plastic, o Grading Cut and fill operation- material from the upper part of a slope is removed and palced near the base, reducing gradient of the slope, placement of material at toe of slope increases the resisting force. o Slope supports Retaining walls o Benefits from prevention techniques ratio estimated at 1 to 10 to 1 to 2000 dollars. o Warning syustems Electrical systems, tilt meters, geophones pick up vibrations from moving rocks,. Rock fences for trains Shallow wells can be drilled into slopes and monitored for when slopes become too satureated, sometimes using rain guage network. Satellite GPS to detect slow creep Perception of and adjustment to landslide hazards

Safetly siting important facilities like hospitals, schools, electrical generating facilities and police stations is crucial, cant be in landslide prone areas. o Remedial correct measures- ionstall effective draining system increase the resisting force of the slope material thereby stabilizing the slope. What you can do to minimize landslide risk o Seek an evaluation of property by professional geologist or enginnering geologist o Avoid homes at mouth of valley or canyon, path for debris to flow. o Consult local agencies about history o Look for little landslides, they get larger with time. o Cracks in walls, retaining wall leaning or crack, foundation cracks o Leaks in swimng pool or septic tanks, trees or fences titled downslope or utility wires that are taut or sagging. o Avoid slopes with small springs, suspect ground that is wet or has unusally luish vegetation o Look for linear or curved cracks o Surface features that geologist use to identify potential landslides. o