Home Contact Us

Working Party Matters Landslide & Slope Instability Geohazards: Classification Schemes - Dikau et al
Membership | Terms of Reference |
Task Allocation | Intranet | Geohazard Dikau, R., Brunsden, D., Schrott, L. & M.-L. Ibsen (Eds.) 1996. Landslide Recognition. Identification,
Communication | Links | Movement and Causes. Wiley & Sons, Chichester.

Landslides & Slope Instability A classification of landslide mechanisms, compatible with Hutchinson (1988) and EPOCH (1993).

Engineering Geologists | Planners &

Developers | Finance & Insurance |
Member of the Public
Form of
Subsidence & Collapse Type Initial Failure Subsequent Deformation
Hazard Surface
Engineering Geologists | Planners &
Fall (rock or stiff soil)
Developers | Finance & Insurance | a) Planar
Member of the Public surface
Seismic Hazard b) Wedge (two
or more
Engineering Geologists | Planners & Detachment from: Free fall, may break up, bounce, slide or flow down slopes.
intersecting
Developers | Finance & Insurance | May involve fluidisation, liquefaction, cohesionless grain flow,
Member of the Public pre-existing discontinuities joints)
heat generation or other secondary effects on disintegration
or tension failure surfaces when failed rock hits the ground surface.
c) Stepped
Flood Hazard
surface
Engineering Geologists | Planners &
Developers | Finance & Insurance | d) Vertical
Member of the Public surface
Topple (rock or stiff soil)
Tsunami Hazard
Detachment from:
a) Single
Engineering Geologists | Planners &
As above
pre-existing discontinuities
Save web pages as PDF manually or automatically with PDFmyURL

Developers | Finance & Insurance |
Member of the Public
Volcanic Hazard
Engineering Geologists | Planners &
Developers | Finance & Insurance |
Member of the Public
Gas Hazard
Engineering Geologists | Planners &
Developers | Finance & Insurance |
Member of the Public
Fault Reactivation Hazard
Engineering Geologists | Planners &
Developers | Finance & Insurance |
Member of the Public
Save web pages as PDF manually or automatically with PDFmyURL
As above
pre-existing discontinuities
b) Multiple
or tension failure surfaces
Slide
a) Single
Rotational movement Toe area may deform in a complex way. The ground may
(failure surfaces essentially b) Multiple bulge, the slide may creep or even flow, possibly over existing
circular; occurs in soils) failures. Failure might be retrogressive or progressive.
c) Successive
Non-rotational compound a) Single
movement (non-circular
Graben often develops at the head of the landslide. It may
failure surface; may be listric b) Progressive
include a toe failure of a different type.
or bi-planar; found in soils
and rocks) c) Multi-stored
a) Planar
Translational movement
b) Stepped
(Often associated with
May develop complex run-out forms after disintegrating (see
discontinuity controlled
c) Wedge falls and flows).
failures in bedded or foliated
rocks) d) Non-
rotational
Spread (soils and weak
rock)
a) Soft layer
beneath a hard
rock Can develop sudden spreading failures in quick clays when
the slope opens up in blocks and fissures followed by
Lateral spreading of ductile b) Weak
liquefaction. Might be a slow movement associated with
or soft material that deforms interstratified
denudational unloading. Can be represented by cambering
layer
and valley bulging.
c) Collapsing
structure
Flow (usually associated
with soils but rock flows
do occur)
Flow involves complex run-out mechanisms. it may be
a) Unconfined catastrophic in effect and it may move in sheets or lobes.

Debris movement by flow
Creep movement
a) Unconfined catastrophic in effect and it may move in sheets or lobes.
b) Channelized The form of movement is a function of the rheological
properties of the material.
Failure surface Creep may be superficial gravity movement, seasonal
rarely clearly movements or it might represent pre-failure and progressive
defined movements prior to a larger scale failure.
a) Single-sided

b) Double-
sided
Rock flow (sometimes
referred to as sagging or May be slow gravity creep or the early stages of larger scale
c) Stepped
Sackung). Usually movements that only show as bulging in the topography
associated with mountain (Failure surface without a clearly defined toe deformation. Where controlled by
terrain or areas of rapid and may be discontinuities it may involve toppling.
deep incision. rotational,
compound,
listric, biplanar
or intermittent)
Complex
a) Movements involving two
Dependant on
or more of the above
the form of
mechanisms (referred to as
failure As described for the various categories above.
compound when two types
described
of movement occur
above
currently)
Often initiated
as fall/slide of Complex long run-out mechanisms, including fluidisation and
b) Rock or debris avalanche
rock and/or cohesionless grain flow.
debris

Engineering Group Working Party on Geological Hazards

Save web pages as PDF manually or automatically with PDFmyURL