Landsliding in seismic areas: the case of the Acquara-Vadoncello landslide (southern Italy)

Gaudio, Vincenzo Del; Trizzino, R.; Calcagnile, G.; Calvaruso, A.; Pierri, Pierpaolo

doi:10.1007/s100640000054

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Tatard et al (2010) state that earthquakes of M4 and lower have little or no influence on landslide triggering. Nevertheless, several studies (e.g., Sassa et al, 2007, Walter andJoswig, 2008) mention that small earthquakes (maximum M 3.6 in southern Italy according to Del Gaudio et al, 2000) and repeated…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The triggering factors of the Móafellshyrna debris slide in northern Iceland: Intense precipitation, earthquake activity and thawing of mountain permafrost

Sæmundsson

Morino

Helgason

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

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On the 20th September 2012, a large debris slide occurred in the Móafellshyrna Mountain in the Tröllaskagi peninsula, central north Iceland. Our work describes and discusses the relative importance of the three factors that may have contributed to the failure of the slope: intense precipitation, earthquake activity and thawing of ground ice. We use data from weather stations, seismometers, witness reports and field observations to examine these factors. The slide initiated after an unusually warm and dry summer followed by a month of heavy precipitation. Furthermore, the slide occurred after three seismic episodes, whose epicentres were located ~60km NNE of Móafellshyrna Mountain. The main source of material for the slide was ice-rich colluvium perched on a topographic bench. Blocks of ice-cemented colluvium slid and then broke off the frontal part of the talus slope, and the landslide also involved a component of debris slide, which mobilized around 312,000-480,000m (as estimated from field data and aerial images of erosional morphologies). From our analysis we infer that intense precipitation and seismic activity prior to the slide are the main preparatory factors for the slide. The presence of ice-cemented blocks in the slide's deposits leads us to infer that deep thawing of ground ice was likely the final triggering factor. Ice-cemented blocks of debris have been observed in the deposits of two other recent landslides in northern Iceland, in the Torfufell Mountain and the Árnesfjall Mountain. This suggests that discontinuous mountain permafrost is degrading in Iceland, consistent with the decadal trend of increasing atmospheric temperature in Iceland. This study highlights a newly identified hazard in Iceland: landslides as a result of ground ice thaw. Knowledge of the detailed distribution of mountain permafrost in colluvium on the island is poorly constrained and should be a priority for future research in order to identify zones at risk from this hazard.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The triggering factors of the Móafellshyrna debris slide in northern Iceland: Intense precipitation, earthquake activity and thawing of mountain permafrost

Sæmundsson

Morino

Helgason

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Results from these studies are often ambiguous, with no definite effect of M < 4 earthquakes on landslide triggering. Del Gaudio et al [2000] studied the influence of a sequence of small M ≤ 3.6 earthquakes on a less than 20 km away landslide in Vadoncello (Southern Italy). They found that it was dubious whether the seismic accelerations generated within the landslide were sufficient to activate mass movements and whether the effect of repeated shocks on hydrogeological conditions could explain the time delay observed between seismic and landslide accelerations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The influence of M < 5 earthquakes on landslide initiation is ambiguous. Del Gaudio et al [2000] found that the low-magnitude (maximum M L = 3.6) earthquake sequence in Southern Italy only had an indirect influence on the 20 km distant Vadoncello landslide. Sassa et al [2007] and Walter and Joswig [2008] argued for a possible triggering of the Leyte landslide (Philippines) and the Heumoes slope (Austria), respectively, by earthquakes with magnitude 2 < M L < 3 located between 10 and 20 km from the landslides.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization and comparison of landslide triggering in different tectonic and climatic settings

Tatard¹,

Grasso²,

Helmstetter³

et al. 2010

J. Geophys. Res.

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International audienceThe spatial and temporal distributions of landslides in six catalogues are analyzed in order to better understand landslide triggering mechanisms. The six landslide catalogs are New Zealand, Yosemite (California), Grenoble (French Alps), Val d'Arly (French Alps), Australia, and Wollongong (New South Wales, Australia). Landslides are clustered in time for all catalogs. For New Zealand, Yosemite, Australia, and Wollongong, the frequency of landslides varies between 1 and 1000 events per day and is well fitted by a power law: there is no characteristic scale for daily rates. When the large rates of daily landslides are known to be rain or earthquake triggered, our results suggest the same triggering may hold for the small daily rates. Earthquakes are found to trigger landslides for the New Zealand, Yosemite, and Australia areas at distances as large as 20 times their fault lengths. There is no evidence of landslides triggered by earthquakes for the three other catalogs. Small M ≤ 4 earthquakes have little influence on landslide triggering, if any, for all catalogs. For New Zealand, Yosemite, Val d'Arly, Australia, and Wollongong, the number of landslides per month is significantly correlated with monthly rainfall. A correlation with temperature is found only for Grenoble and New Zealand. Landslide triggering (strong clustering in time and space) is more important in New Zealand than in Grenoble, probably because the forcing (seismicity and climate) is stronger in New Zealand than in the French Alps but possibly also because of a high sensitivity to landslides in New Zealand. We suggest that intensity of clustering in space and time can be used to assess the importance of landslide triggering and the processes responsible for triggering

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“…It is commonly assumed that earthquakes with magnitude M < 4 are not potential triggers for slope instabilities (Keefer, 1984;Tatard et al, 2010). However, some observations suggest that sequences of small seismic events (M < 3.6), because of repetitive shaking, may contribute to the triggering of a rockslide (Del Gaudio et al, 2000). Although it is difficult to clearly discriminate rain and earthquake effects in some regions (Lin et al, 2008;Tatard et al, 2010), during dry periods of the year, seismicity appears to be the most important triggering factor (Koukouvelas et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Link Between External Forcings and Slope Instabilities in the Piton de la Fournaise Summit Crater, Reunion Island

et al. 2018

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We have analyzed the impact of different forcings, such as rain and seismicity, on slope instabilites on an active volcano. For this, we compiled a catalog of the locations and volumes of rockfalls in the Piton de la Fournaise crater using seismic records. We validated it by comparing the locations and volumes to those deduced from photogrammetric data. We analyzed 10,477 rockfalls, spanning the period 2014 to 2016. This period corresponds to the renewal of volcanic activity after a 41‐month rest. Our analysis reveals that renewed eruptive activity has unsettled the crater edges. External forcings such as rain and seismicity are shown to potentially increase the number and the volume of rockfalls, with a stronger impact on the volume. Preeruptive seismicity seems to be the main triggering factor for the largest volumes, with a delay of one to several days. Rain alone does not seem to trigger especially large rockfalls. We infer that repetitive vibrations from the many seismic events, combined with the action of rain, induce crack (or slip) growth in highly fractured (or granular) materials, leading to the collapse of large volumes. Regarding their spatial distribution before an eruption, the largest rockfalls seem to migrate toward the location of magma extrusion.

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Landsliding in seismic areas: the case of the Acquara-Vadoncello landslide (southern Italy)

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

The triggering factors of the Móafellshyrna debris slide in northern Iceland: Intense precipitation, earthquake activity and thawing of mountain permafrost

The triggering factors of the Móafellshyrna debris slide in northern Iceland: Intense precipitation, earthquake activity and thawing of mountain permafrost

Characterization and comparison of landslide triggering in different tectonic and climatic settings

On the Link Between External Forcings and Slope Instabilities in the Piton de la Fournaise Summit Crater, Reunion Island

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