Geostructures, dynamics and risk mitigation of high-altitude and long- runout rockslides

Long-runout rockslides at high altitude could cause disaster chain in river basins and destroy towns and major infrasturctures.This paper firstly explores the initiation mechanism of high-altitude and long-runout rockslides.Two types of sliding-prone geostructure models,i.e.the fault control type in orogenic belt and the fold control type in platform area,are proposed.Then,large-scale experimental apparatus and associated numerical simulations are conducted to understanding the chain-style dynamics of rockslide-debris avalanche-debris flow.The results reveal the fragmentation effects,the rheological behaviors and the boundary layer effect of long-runout avalanche-debris flow.The dynamic character-istics of quasi-static-transition-inertia state and solid-liquid coupling in rapid movement of rockslide-debris avalanche-debris flow are investigated.Finally,the risk mitigation strategy of the non-structure and structure for resilient energy dissipation are illustrated for initiation,transition and deposition zones.The structural prevention and mitigation methods have been successfully applied to the high-altitude and long-runout rockslides in Zhouqu and Maoxian of the Wenchuan earthquake zone,as well as the other major geohazards in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent areas.

Reservoir-induced landslides and risk control in Three Gorges Project on Yangtze River,China

The Three Gorges region in China was basically a geohazard-prone area prior to construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir （TGR）. After construction of the TGR, the water level was raised from 70 m to 175 m above sea level （ASL）, and annual reservoir regulation has caused a 30-m water level difference after impoundment of the TGR since September 2008. This paper first presents the spatiotemporal distribution of landslides in six periods of 175 m ASL trial impoundments from 2008 to 2014. The results show that the number of landslides sharply decreased from 273 at the initial stage to less than ten at the second stage of impoundment. Based on this, the reservoir-induced landslides in the TGR region can be roughly classified into five failure patterns, i.e. accumulation landslide, dip-slope landslide, reversed bedding landslide, rockfall, and karst breccia landslide. The accumulation landslides and dip-slope landslides account for more than 90%. Taking the Shuping accumulation landslide （a sliding mass volume of 20.7 × 106 m^3） in Zigui County and the Outang dip-slope landslide （a sliding mass volume of about 90 × 106 m^3） in Fengjie County as two typical cases, the mechanisms of reactivation of the two landslides are analyzed. The monitoring data and factor of safety （FOS） calculation show that the accumulation landslide is dominated by water level variation in the reservoir as most part of the mass body is under 175 m ASL, and the dip-slope landslide is controlled by the coupling effect of reservoir water level variation and precipitation as an extensive recharge area of rainfall from the rear and the front mass is below 175 m ASL. The characteristics of landslide-induced impulsive wave hazards after and before reservoir impoundment are studied, and the probability of occurrence of a landslide-induced impulsive wave hazard has increased in the reservoir region. Simulation results of the Ganjingzi landslide in Wushan County indicate the strong relationship between landslide-induced surge and water variation with high potential risk to shipping and residential areas. Regarding reservoir regulation in TGR when using a single index, i.e. 1-d water level variation, water resources are not well utilized, and there is also potential risk of disasters since 2008. In addition, various indices such as 1-d, 5-d, and 10-d water level variations are proposed for reservoir regulation. Finally, taking reservoir-induced landslides in June 2015 for example, the feasibility of the optimizing indices of water level variations is verified.

Mechanism of the December 2015 Catastrophic Landslide at the Shenzhen Landfill and Controlling Geotechnical Risks of Urbanization

This paper presents findings from an investigation of the large-scale construction solid waste （CSW） landslide that occurred at a landfill at Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, on December 20, 2015, and which killed 77 people and destroyed 33 houses. The landslide involved 2.73 - 106 m3 of CSW and affected an area about 1100 m in length and 630 m in maximum width, making it the largest landfill landslide in the world. The investigation of this disaster used a combination of unmanned aerial vehicle surveillance and multistage remote-sensing images to reveal the increasing volume of waste in the landfill and the shifting shape of the landfill slope for nearly two years before the landslide took place, beginning with the creation of the CSW landfill in March, 2014, that resulted in the uncertain conditions of the landfill＇s boundaries and the unstable state of the hydrologic performance. As a result, applying conventional stability analysis methods used for natural landslides to this case would be difficult. In order to analyze this disaster, we took a multistage modeling technique to analyze the varied characteristics of the land- fill slope＇s structure at various stages of CSW dumping and used the non-steady flow theory to explain the groundwater seepage problem. The investigation showed that the landfill could be divided into two units based on the moisture in the land： （1） a front uint, consisted of the landfill slope, which had low water content; and （2） a rear unit, consisted of fresh waste, which had a high water content. This struc- ture caused two effects-surface-water infiltration and consolidation seepage that triggered the landslide in the landfill. Surface-water infiltration induced a gradual increase in pore water pressure head, or piezometric head, in the front slope because the infiltrating position rose as the volume of waste placement increased. Consolidation seepage led to higher excess pore water pressures as the loading of waste increased. We also investigated the post-failure soil dynamics parameters of the landslide deposit using cone penetration, triaxial, and ring-shear tests in order to simulate the characteristics of a flowing slide with a long run-out due to the liquefaction effect. Finally, we conclude the paper with lessons from the tens of catastrophic landslides of municipal solid waste around the world and discuss how to better manage the geotechnical risks of urbanization.