Mass Wasting

Mass wasting, also known as slope movement or mass movement, is the geomorphic process by which soil, regolith, and rock move down slope under the force of gravity. Types of mass wasting include creep, slides, flows, topples, and falls, each with its own characteristic features, and taking place over timescales from seconds to years. Factors promoting gravity movements  Slope Gradient - steep slopes are more likely to experience mass wasting than gentle ones.  Weathering and Climate - As soon as solid rock is exposed at the Earth's surface, weathering begins to disintegrate and decompose it, thereby reducing its shear strength and increasing its susceptibility to mass wasting.  Water Content - water percolating through a slope's material helps to decrease friction between grains, contributing to a loss of cohesion.  Vegetation - vegetation decreases water saturation of a slope's material and the resultant loss of shear strength that frequently leads to mass wasting.  Overloading - Overloading is almost always the result of human activity and typically results from dumping, filling, or piling up of material.  Geology and Slope Stability  Triggering Mechanism - Volcanic eruptions, explosions, and even loud claps of thunder may also be enough to trigger a landslide if the slope is sufficiently unstable. Classification of mass wasting processes  Falls - Rockfalls are a common type of extremely rapid mass movement in which rocks of any size fall through the air.  Slides - A slide involves movement of material along one or more surfaces of failure.  Flows - Mass movements in which material flows as a viscous fluid or displays plastic movement are termed flows.  Comples Movements - Many mass movements are combinations of different movement types. Causes of catastrophic landslide  Heavy rainfall.  Rapid snowmelt.  A wet winter and spring, particularly if previous years were also wet.  Grading that removes material from the base, loads material at the top, or otherwise alters a slope.  Earthquakes.  Erosion or previous land sliding removing material from the base of a slope.  Addition of water to a slope from agricultural or landscape irrigation, roof downspouts, poor drainage, septic-tank effluent, canal leakage, or broken water or sewer lines.

Areas prone to landslide  Steep natural slopes, particularly in weak geologic materials.  Steep construction-related cut or fill slopes.  Areas in or at the mouths of drainages (such as canyons).  Slopes below leaking canals or ponds.  Developed hillsides where septic-tank soil-absorption systems are used and landscapes are irrigated.  Below cliffs or hills with outcrops of fractured rock.  On existing old landslides  At the base or top of a steep cut slope Areas safe from landslide  On hard, non-jointed bedrock that has not moved in the past  On relatively flat-lying areas away from sudden changes in slope angle  At the top or along the nose of ridges, set back from the tops of slopes Slope stability The field of slope stability encompasses the analysis of static and dynamic stability of slopes of earth and rock-fill dams, slopes of other types of embankments, excavated slopes, and natural slopes in soil and soft rock. Mitigating measures  Identify unstable slopes and local factors that can cause slope instability (groundwater conditions, precipitation, seismic activity, slope angles, and geologic structure).  Minimize the planned amount of land to be disturbed as much as possible. Existing roads and borrow pits and quarries should be used to obtain aggregate materials for surfacing roads and equipment staging areas. Minimize vegetation removal.  Place access roads to follow natural topography, and avoid or minimize side hill cuts. New roads should avoid going straight up grades in excess of 10%. Design roads with eventual reclamation in mind.  Design runoff control features to minimize soil erosion.  Use special construction techniques in areas of steep slopes, erodible soils, and stream crossings.