Recognition, classification and mechanical description of debris flows

Coussot, Philippe; Meunier, Maurice

doi:10.1016/0012-8252(95)00065-8

Cited by 422 publications

(286 citation statements)

References 97 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

270

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…They occur in laterally extensive sheets (up to several hundred meters across) The poor sorting and massive appearance are evidence for transport and deposition of this lithofacies by and from debris flows (Hampton, 1975;Johnson and Rodine, 1984;Smith and Lowe, 1991;Coussot and Meunier, 1996;Pierson et al, 1996).…”

Section: Tuffaceous Brecciamentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleocurrent direction measurements in a volcanic setting by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility: A case study from the Lower Miocene Tepoztlán Formation (Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Central Mexico)

Lenhardt

Böhnel

Hinderer

et al. 2013

Sedimentary Geology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sources of ancient volcanic rocks are often unknown if they are either eroded and/or covered by younger deposits. This problem, as well as the provenance of reworked volcaniclastic, fluvial and mass-flow deposits, can be partially solved by the application of anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility (AMS). For massive and poorly sorted volcaniclastic rocks in particular this may be the only way of finding reliable transport directions and therefore allowing for paleogeographic reconstructions. Here, we present a data set of 428 AMS measurements and 249 measurements of sedimentary paleocurrent indicators from the Miocene Tepoztlán Formation at the southern edge of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt (Central Mexico). The highest degree of reliability of AMS measurements is gained for data from lava samples and the lowest from mass flows. Sedimentary structures in sandstones and conglomerates such as trough cross-stratification, asymmetric ripple marks, and the shape of scours and channels could be used to calibrate the results from AMS data and to prove their reliability. AMS data on fluvial deposits point to a drainage system with a W-E flow direction, indicating an outflow of the river system into the ancient Gulf of Mexico.Keywords: Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility; paleocurrent direction; volcaniclastic; Transmexican Volcanic Belt; Miocene; Mexico 3 In ancient volcanic settings, one challenge in the investigation of volcanic and volcaniclastic deposits is the determination of source vent locations, since former volcanic centers may be either eroded and/or covered by younger deposits. Furthermore, the determination of the provenance of fluvial and mass-flow deposits, arising from the volcanic ring plain itself (Manville et al., 2009, and references therein) or rivers in distal reaches, can also be problematic. In lava flows, both vesicle and crystal preferred orientations have been used extensively for this purpose (e.g., Waters, 1960;Smith and Rhodes, 1972;Walker, 1989;Cashman and Kauahikaua, 1997;Manga, 1998;Iezzi and Ventura, 2002). However, petrological structures such as foliation and lineation due to the movement of a lava flow are often difficult to observe and measure (Bascou et al., 2005). Massive pyroclastic rocks such as ignimbrites and block-and-ash flow deposits rarely show any measurable alignment or structure that can help determine flow direction. However, the magnetic fabric can be used to determine their paleocurrent direction, and the speed, precision, cheapness and range of applicability make it unique in this regard (Tarling and Hrouda, 1993).All materials, even if they do not acquire remanent magnetization, have a magnetic susceptibility (Liu et al., 2001), which is not always isotropic in the rock (Ising, 1942). This spatial susceptibility variation is defined as the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and reflects the preferred orientation of magnetic minerals in the rock or sediments, i.e. its magnetic fabric (Hrouda, 1982;Tarling and Hrouda, 1993), which yields thr...

show abstract

Section: Tuffaceous Brecciamentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleocurrent direction measurements in a volcanic setting by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility: A case study from the Lower Miocene Tepoztlán Formation (Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Central Mexico)

Lenhardt

Böhnel

Hinderer

et al. 2013

Sedimentary Geology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such flows range from relatively homogeneous particles (e.g., snow avalanches) to extremely heterogeneous particles (terrestrial landslides) and generally can be classified by solid concentration, material type, and mean velocity (Pierson and Costa, 1987;Smith and Lowe, 1991;Coussot and Meunier, 1996;Locat and Lee, 2002). Avalanches (e.g., snow, rock) are typically considered dry granular flows, whereas debris flows are liquid-solid mixtures where the solids are a dominant forcing, which can be contrasted to flood flows where sediment solids play a secondary role (Iverson, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not to imply that such flows are actually non-Newtonian fluids but merely that some of their behaviors can be captured with an appropriately parameterized viscosity model (e.g., Davies, 1986;Pierson and Costa, 1987;Coussot and Meunier, 1996;Pudasaini, 2012). Indeed, Iverson (2003) has referred to the rheological approach to debris flows as a "myth" and argued for its replacement with mixture models using separate solid-fluid components.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing thixotropic and Herschel–Bulkley parameterizations for continuum models of avalanches and subaqueous debris flows

Jeon

Hodges

2018

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Avalanches and subaqueous debris flows are two cases of a wide range of natural hazards that have been previously modeled with non-Newtonian fluid mechanics approximating the interplay of forces associated with gravity flows of granular and solid-liquid mixtures. The complex behaviors of such flows at unsteady flow initiation (i.e., destruction of structural jamming) and flow stalling (restructuralization) imply that the representative viscositystress relationships should include hysteresis: there is no reason to expect the timescale of microstructure destruction is the same as the timescale of restructuralization. The nonNewtonian Herschel-Bulkley relationship that has been previously used in such models implies complete reversibility of the stress-strain relationship and thus cannot correctly represent unsteady phases. In contrast, a thixotropic nonNewtonian model allows representation of initial structural jamming and aging effects that provide hysteresis in the stress-strain relationship. In this study, a thixotropic model and a Herschel-Bulkley model are compared to each other and to prior laboratory experiments that are representative of an avalanche and a subaqueous debris flow. A numerical solver using a multi-material level-set method is applied to track multiple interfaces simultaneously in the simulations. The numerical results are validated with analytical solutions and available experimental data using parameters selected based on the experimental setup and without post hoc calibration. The thixotropic (time-dependent) fluid model shows reasonable agreement with all the experimental data. For most of the experimental conditions, the HerschelBulkley (time-independent) model results were similar to the thixotropic model, a critical exception being conditions with a high yield stress where the Herschel-Bulkley model did not initiate flow. These results indicate that the thixotropic relationship is promising for modeling unsteady phases of debris flows and avalanches, but there is a need for better understanding of the correct material parameters and parameters for the initial structural jamming and characteristic time of aging, which requires more detailed experimental data than presently available.

show abstract

“…Pure empirical judgements can cause huge mistakes. However, Coussot and Meunier [5] demonstrated that the criterion used to distinguish phenomena of debris flows and other subaerial flows available vary and contradict one another, and they are incapable of covering all phenomena. Considering fine muddy debris flows (mudflows) are viscoplastic fluid flows, whose behaviour is dictated by the fine interstitial clay-water mixture, non-dimensional numbers for water flows are modified and extrapolated for muddy debris flows based on the concept of "global similarity" [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of pore fluid effect on the mobility of granular debris flows

Zhou

Sun

2017

EPJ Web Conf.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Granular debris flows in nature are composed of a wide range of solids and viscous pore fluids, moving at high velocities down sloping channels. The pore fluids in a granular debris flow affect the interactions between the solid and fluid phases and thus govern the debris-flow mobility. Study of the pore fluid effect (i.e., excess pore water pressures correlated to solid structures, and the viscous shearing and dragging) is essential for understanding the high flow mobility of granular debris flows. This study critically reviews two dimensionless numbers with clear physical meanings, then demonstrates a new application of field monitoring data for identifying natural debris flows on large scales (i.e., surge and continuous debrisflows, respectively). This study illustrates that, the pore fluid viscous shearing stress dominates solid inertial stress due to solids collision. It is also found that different to continuous debris-flows, the high pore fluid pressures generated in surge debris-flow body dissipate quite slowly and mostly influence particle contact behaviour significantly. A new scientific criterion for identification of continuous and surge debris flow in nature can be given by this study.

show abstract

Recognition, classification and mechanical description of debris flows

Cited by 422 publications

References 97 publications

Paleocurrent direction measurements in a volcanic setting by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility: A case study from the Lower Miocene Tepoztlán Formation (Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Central Mexico)

Paleocurrent direction measurements in a volcanic setting by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility: A case study from the Lower Miocene Tepoztlán Formation (Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Central Mexico)

Comparing thixotropic and Herschel–Bulkley parameterizations for continuum models of avalanches and subaqueous debris flows

Study of pore fluid effect on the mobility of granular debris flows

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About