ENT 20, p. 119-145 Cremlingen 1991 [ CATENA SUPPI LANDSLIDES THE GANSU LOESS OF CHINA E, Derbyshire, Leicester Wang Jingtai, Jin Zexian, Lanzhou A Billard, Meudon, Y. Egels, Paris Kasser, Paris, D.K.C. Jones, London T. Muxart, Meudon L, Owen, London Summary ‘The European Community, in partner- ship with the Gansu Academy of Sci- ences, set up in 1987 a programme to ‘map, monitor, analyse, and model the landslides of Gansu Province, China ‘The project integrates the work of number of Chinese and European in- stitutions. The Gansu Geological Haz- ards Research Institute is in charge of field and air-photo mapping at scales of 1:100,000, 1:35,000 and 1:10,000, stati graphical logging, climatological data, geotechnical testing, and research into historical literary sourees. The Euro- pean consultants are contributing work on medium and small scale land- slide mapping (by IGN utilising stereo~ scopic SPOT imagery and finescale ter- restrial photogrammetry of individual slides), geomorphological and_yeotech- (University of London), ientology and shallow seis- mic survey (University of Leicester), Issn om2.0723 ISBN 3:923381.29-8, @I991 by CATENA VERLAG, W. 3302 Crembingen-Desedt, Germany '3:923381-29-6)91/S011851/USS 200 + 0.25 clay mineralogy and thin section work (CNRS), groundwater regime and water tracing (CNRS and Leicester), and past and. present land utilisation (CNRS). Mathematical modelling of individual slides near Lanzhou city, as well as the major 1983 slide at Sale Shan (moun- tain) in southern Gansu, will eventually provide a classification of slides based on failure mode as a guide to predic- tion. Key geotechnical properties in the Lanzhou loess do not vary simply as a function of depth, and there is no simple relationship between loess thickness and size and speed of failure. Major variables appear to be the morphology, and the nature and degree of weathering of the underlying bedrock. South of Lanzhou city, for example, first results suggest @ correlation of large slides with relatively thin loess (less than 30 m), and shallow slides, falls and powder flows with thick loess. Both monsoonal- and earthquake- triggered slides appear to approximate to the flowslide and mudslide types. Some first results, including maps, profiles, sedimentology, stratigraphy, geotechnics, meteorology and infiltration rates are presented as a basis for the120 Derbyshire, Wang, Jin, Billa ‘gels, Jones, Kasser, Muxart & Owen Sa a onite ewe rane die Fig. 1 ‘compiled from several sources. characterisation of the Gansu loess land- slides, as well as indications of future work. 1 Introduction The Loess Plateau of north-central China lies in the middle reaches of the Hwang He (Yellow River) and has an ex- tent of approximately 300,000 km”, some three quarters of the total loess-covered terrain of China (440,000 km?, LIU TUNGSHENG et al 1985. Sec fig. 1). ‘These areal values refer to thick loess Map of China showing main loess belt and situation of Gansu Province, which, in the Chinese context, usually implies a thickness of at least 10 m. In fact, the loess exceeds 30 m in thickness over vast areas, the thickest known de- posit (over 300 m) making up Jiuzhoutai ‘Mountain, a dissected Yuan remnant immediately north of Lanzhou city in Gansu Province (DERBYSHIRE 1983), Landslides and associated massive slurrying of liquefied loess are a recurrent hazard in the loess country, particularly in eastern Gansu and in Shaanxi. Prelim- inary work has identified over 2000 land- slides and 1000 loess flow valley systemsLandslides in the Gansu Loess, China {#8 Approximate lndskie dstbton Yi cores oars platorn EBB vowanoes vorook ___. yyute te xi Lanznos) 7 Tansht 400mm sohyet = Prowncial boundary Sow Groat Wal kn 1 Fig, 2: Landslide distribution om the in the loess region of Gansu Province alone (fig. 2) The 1920 earthquake in Ningxia and Gansu which triggered over 1000 land- slides and killed about 200,000 people is well known, but less well known is the fact that catastrophic landslides and associated loess flows continue on an an- nual basis, more than three quarters of them arising from summer monsoonal rains, For example, between 1965 and 1979, more than 1000 landslides occurred in the hill country of central Gansu and neighbouring areas of Shaanxi, killing over 2000 people. In a single large slide at Sale Shan in 1983, over 200 ha be- came a sea of mobile loess, burying four villages and killing 227 people in just 57 seconds. ‘These hazards raise great difficulties for both rural and urban populations and affect a wide range of economic ac- tivity including communication by road Loess Plateau of north-central China. and railway, irrigation, and land utili- sation. In order to facilitate documen- tation and analysis of these hazards, a consortium of research institutes from China, the United Kingdom and France hhas begun detailed studies with the fi- nancial assistance of the Government of Gansu Province and the Council of the European Communities (WANG & DERBYSHIRE 1988). The environmen- tal background, aims, and products of this research are presented below, to- gether with some of the first scientific results. 2 Environmental factors Landslides and loess flows in Gansu Province are triggered by two principal mechanisms, namely earthquake shock and heavy rain. In addition, there are numerous ancillary factors including, for example, the intrinsic properties of loess