Surface features and kinematics of the Slumgullion landslide, near Lake City, Colorado

Guzzi, Raffaela; Parise, Mario

doi:10.3133/ofr92252

Cited by 17 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In the head scarp of the landslide, the rocks mainly consist of Tertiary volcanic tuff, rhyolite, and latite flows (Fleming et al, ). However, most of the rocks have been transformed to clay minerals due to the action of hydrothermal fluids (Diehl & Schuster, ; Guzzi & Parise, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinematic Parameter Inversion of the Slumgullion Landslide Using the Time Series Offset Tracking Method With UAVSAR Data

Wang

Cai

et al. 2018

JGR Solid Earth

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The Slumgullion landslide in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado is a translational debris slide whose active part has been moving for at least 300 years. To further study the kinematic characteristics of the spatiotemporal domain of landslides, we establish a kinematic model based on the behavior of the Slumgullion landslide. The kinematic parameters are inverted with 45 sets of surface displacement fields measured by the time series offset tracking method using uninhabited aerial vehicle synthetic aperture radar (UAVSAR) data obtained for the period from August 2011 to November 2013. The inversion results indicate that the Slumgullion landslide moves with an average velocity of up to 1.2 cm/day and presents obvious seasonal changes in velocity. According to the change of sliding velocity, the head and tail of the Slumgullion landslide tend to be stable, whereas the neck of the landslide is accelerating. The topography has an important influence on the kinematic parameters. Based on the kinematic parameters, we identify the main geological structures of the Slumgullion landslide, including tension cracks, strike‐slip faults, and thrust faults. The geological structures inferred by the kinematic parameters are consistent with a geological interpretive map. We derive more detailed kinematic characteristics for these structures using the obtained the kinematic parameters and infer two previously unmapped thrust faults. Additionally, we also analyze the relationship between the meteorology and the seasonal velocity of the Slumgullion landslide. The consistency between the periodic changes in meteorology (mainly including precipitation and snowmelt) and the seasonal velocity further verifies the rationality of using the kinematic model.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinematic Parameter Inversion of the Slumgullion Landslide Using the Time Series Offset Tracking Method With UAVSAR Data

Wang

Cai

et al. 2018

JGR Solid Earth

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“…1 Observations dealing with the kinematics of the movement at Slumgullion site have shown that most of the movement of the active part of the Slumgullion earthflow takes place along the shear surfaces that also define the flanks of the landslide Varnes, 1960, 1961;Guzzi and Parise, 1992;Baum and Fleming, 1996;Fleming et al, 1999). Therefore, it is more correct to refer to it as an earth slide or landslide (IAEG Commission on Landslides, 1990;Cruden and Varnes, 1996).…”

Section: General Setting Of the Slumgullion Landslidementioning

confidence: 99%

Observation of surface features on an active landslide, and implications for understanding its history of movement

Parise

2003

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Surface features are produced as a result of internal deformation of active landslides, and are continuously created and destroyed by the movement. Observation of their presence and distribution, and surveying of their evolution may provide insights for the zonation of the mass movement in sectors characterized by different behaviour. The present study analyses and describes some example of surface features observed on an active mass movement, the Slumgullion earthflow, in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. The Slumgullion earthflow is one of the most famous and spectacular landslides in the world; it consists of a younger, active part which moves on and over an older, much larger, inactive part. Total length of the earthflow is 6.8 km, with an estimated volume of 170 × 10 6 m 3 . Its nearly constant rate of movement (ranging from about 2 m per year at the head, to a maximum of 6-7 m per year at its narrow and central part, to values between 1.3 and 2 m per year at the active toe), and the geological properties of moving material, are well suited for the observation of the development and evolution of surface features.In the last 11 years, repeated surveying at the Slumgullion site has been performed through recognition of surface features, measurements of their main characteristics, and detailed mapping. In this study, two sectors of the Slumgullion earthflow are analysed through comparison of the features observed in this time span, and evaluation of the changes occurred: they are the active toe and an area located at the left flank of the landslide. Choice of the sectors was dictated in the first case, by particular activity of movement and the nearby presence of elements at risk (highway located only 250 m downhill from the toe); and in the second case, by the presence of many surface features, mostly consisting of several generations of flank ridges.The active toe of the landslide is characterized by continuous movement which determines frequent variations in the presence and distribution of surface features, as evidenced by the multi-year observations there performed. In addiCorrespondence to: M. Parise (cerimp06@area.ba.cnr.it) tion, monitoring of the inactive material just ahead of the active toe showed that this sector is experiencing deformation caused by the advancing toe. Mapping and interpretation of the different generations of flank ridges at the narrowest and central part of the active Slumgullion landslide evidenced, on the other hand, the gradual narrowing of the mass movement, which was accompanied by a reduction in the thickness of the material involved in landsliding.Multi-time observation of the surface features at the Slumgullion earthflow allowed to reconstruct the evolution of specific sectors of the mass movement. This low-cost approach, whose only requirements are the availability of a detailed topographic map, and repeated surveying, is therefore particularly useful to better understand the kinematics of active mass movements, also in order to design the more a...

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“…The West Lost Creek landslide (Rogers et al, 1999;Rogers and Beckman, 2003) and Slumgullion landslide (e.g. Guzzi and Parise, 1992;Gomberg et al, 1995;Coe et al, 2003) are located to the west in similar volcanic bedrock and have similar morphologies to the landslides we studied. The West Lost Creek landslide occurred in 1991 and has characteristics of sturzstroms, rock flows, and rotational block movements (Rogers and Beckman, 2003).…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…The West Lost Creek landslide (Rogers et al, ; Rogers and Beckman, ) and Slumgullion landslide (e.g. Guzzi and Parise, ; Gomberg et al, ; Coe et al . , ) are located to the west in similar volcanic bedrock and have similar morphologies to the landslides we studied.…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A chronology of post‐glacial landslides suggests that slight increases in precipitation could trigger a disproportionate geomorphic response

Johnson

Smith

Diemer

2017

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Large, deep‐seated landslides are common throughout the south‐eastern San Juan Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico, but their timing and initiation are not well understood. Determining when the landslides occurred would aid in clarifying the mechanisms for initiating landslides in the region and would help us to understand post‐glacial landscape evolution. We studied seven pre‐historic landslides located within the Tertiary volcanic rocks of the San Juan Volcanic Field. The landslides range in area from ~0.8 km2 to ~11.3 km2 and most are located in areas that were previously mapped as having been ice‐covered during the last glaciation. Landslide deposits were dated using a variety of methods including surface exposure dating (chlorine‐36, 36Cl), radiocarbon dating of basal bog sediments and organic material buried in soils, and relative soil development. The resulting limiting ages range from approximately 14 ka to 2 ka and show that deep‐seated landsliding has occurred throughout the post‐glacial period. This broad range in ages is inconsistent with our initial hypothesis, which proposed that landslides were likely the result of debuttressing of glacial walls during glacial retreat. Furthermore, the timing of landslides does not seem to correlate with documented post‐glacial climatic shifts. Therefore, we conclude that landsliding in the region was the result of wetter than normal periods lasting months to years acting on weak bedrock preconditioned to failure and prepared by glacial debuttressing. Our findings suggest that the study area is likely still susceptible to deep‐seated landsliding and may become even more prone to large‐scale slope failure if future climate change increases precipitation in the San Juan Mountains. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Surface features and kinematics of the Slumgullion landslide, near Lake City, Colorado

Cited by 17 publications

References 12 publications

Kinematic Parameter Inversion of the Slumgullion Landslide Using the Time Series Offset Tracking Method With UAVSAR Data

Kinematic Parameter Inversion of the Slumgullion Landslide Using the Time Series Offset Tracking Method With UAVSAR Data

Observation of surface features on an active landslide, and implications for understanding its history of movement

A chronology of post‐glacial landslides suggests that slight increases in precipitation could trigger a disproportionate geomorphic response

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