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Environ Geol (2009) 56:1417–1426

DOI 10.1007/s00254-008-1236-x

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Slope instability mechanisms in dipping conglomerates


over weathered marls: Bol landslide, Croatia
P. Miščević Æ D. Števanić Æ N. Štambuk-Cvitanović

Received: 12 September 2007 / Accepted: 3 February 2008 / Published online: 19 February 2008
Ó Springer-Verlag 2008

Abstract In February 2005, a landslide of significant Introduction


dimensions occurred at Bol on the Island of Brač, in Croatia.
The location of the landslide was in a geological structure of According to written and non-written records of local
weakly bounded conglomerates lying above a flysch, in an inhabitants, a section of the area above the coastal belt in
area where numerous slides have been previously reported. Bol (Fig. 1) on the Island of Brač in Croatia, is well known
In the paper the results of a geological engineering investi- for numerous landslides of varying size. The zone along the
gation of the Bol landslide are presented. The investigation coast has been inhabited for centuries, while the area above
results show that the landslide was triggered by a combina- it, at the bottom of the mountain, has been used only for
tion of improperly started earthworks, an increase in air agriculture. As a consequence of a series of landslides
temperature in days preceding landslide that caused snow during the exploitation of the location as an agricultural
melt, and abundant rainfall, but the primary cause of the area, the local inhabitants have named it Blato (the Cro-
landslide was weathering of the flysch. In other words, atian term for mud). This expression is a good description
despite the fact that contact between the flysch and the of the local inhabitant’s experience of the site. In exploi-
conglomerates slopes is in approximate correspondence with tation of the site for agriculture, and in order to reclaim the
the slope of the hillside, the landslide surface was not in site after the occurrence of each slide, the slope has been
contact between the conglomerates and marl, but deeper in terraced with dry stonewalls.
the flysch, provoked by the penetration of the weathering As time has passed, as a result of the tourist develop-
front into the flysch. Numerical modelling results were able ment of Bol, the construction of residential buildings has
to reproduce this mechanism by incorporating strength reached the boundaries of this location. At the end of 2004,
degradation into the weathered zone, determined by field the earthworks were started at the bottom of the hillside.
investigation. The results of the research can be used to The volume of the earthworks was not particularly size-
predict potential slides not only in the area under study. able, but combined with rainfall and air temperature
changes during the period preceded, triggered a landslide in
Keywords Rockslide mechanisms  Weathering  the area immediately above the construction site. At the
Marls  Strength degradation time when the investigation was performed, the length of
the slide from the head of the scarp to the toe was
approximately 150 m, with a width in centre of approxi-
mately 80 m. A map of the Bol slide area is presented in
P. Miščević (&)  D. Števanić
Fig. 2, while Fig. 3 presents a photograph of the slide.
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
University of Split, Matice hrvatske 15, According to local witnesses, the landslide was not
21000 Split, Croatia instantaneous. The mass moved with a velocity of
e-mail: predrag.miscevic@gradst.hr approximately 1.0 m/h over the course of 1 day. At the
bottom of the landslide area, the deposited material threa-
N. Štambuk-Cvitanović
Civil Engineering Institute of Croatia, Business Centre Split, tened to block the local road. In addition, propagation of
Matice hrvatske 15, 21000 Split, Croatia the slide could have resulted in the destruction of the

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Fig. 1 Location of the Bol


slide, Island of Brač, Croatia

nearby residential area. However, by quick intervention layers of firm matter, but also the risk of a deeper landslide
with machinery from the construction site, the material was surface because marls, as well as shales or mudstones, are
removed from the road, and temporary reclamation mea- liable to a significant loss of shear strength due to
sures were undertaken with the gabion walls. In all, the weathering.
landslide caused more than €10,000,000 of direct damages
to surrounding structures, but fortunately without loss of
human life. Geological overview
A geological engineering investigation of the ‘‘Bol’’
landslide was performed immediately after its occurrence. The rock mass in the Bol area mainly consists of flysch
This paper presents the results of that study, which include layers of the middle and upper Eocene. The upper zone of
mapping, field investigations and an analysis of the main this mass is covered by Quaternary alluvial layers in the
processes and mechanisms that contributed to the forma- form of weathered flysch. In the zone of the analysed
tion of the landslide. The aim of the paper is to analyse landslide, the surface is covered with deposits of silt with a
slope instability mechanism occurred not in the superficial heterogeneous content of gravel and blocks of limestone,
material but in the weathered parent material. which have the form of weakly bounded conglomerates
Slides in this area occur in a zone of a flysch formation (Šestanović 1998).
covered with weakly bounded conglomerates on the sur- Figure 4 shows a geomorphological cross-section
face. The slope of contact between conglomerates and the through the central zone of the landslide with the disposi-
flysch approximately corresponds to the hillside slope. tion of layers determined from field investigations after the
However, in fact, landslides appear only in the upper zone landslide. The position of the cross-section is designated on
of weathered flysch lying beneath conglomerates, meaning the map in Fig. 2. Reconstruction of the previous terrain
that landslides do not appear only over the contact between according to previous surveying records is also presented.
conglomerates and flysch, or only in zone of weakly The Eocene flysch is constituted of layers of brown-grey
bounded conglomerates. marl, with interlayers of disintegrated clayey marl, and
Similar problems of landslide in mudstone, marl and/or with some thin layers of sandstone. In addition, a folded
shale have been reported in other areas (Hutchinson et al. flysch zone has been found in the landslide area. These
1973; Christaras 1997; Bogaard et al. 2000; Gibo et al. folded zones were discovered mainly in the landslide zone,
2002; Maquaire et al. 2003; Mugnozza et al. 2003; Eber- and in close vicinity, while outside the landslide zone the
hardt et al. 2005; Cevik and Ulusay 2005). Many of them flysch have a more regular thinly layered structure.
are characterized by slope-layering and/or weathering, In the folded flysch the interlayer joints within the marl
which are key factors in causing landslides in this type of are mainly closed, or occasionally they have an aperture of
materials. These types of landslides do not imply only the 1–5 mm, filled with clay marls. The layers dip irregularly,
risk caused by weakly structured material found above suggesting that similar landslides, as it is described in the

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Environ Geol (2009) 56:1417–1426 1419

Fig. 2 Map of Bol slide area

introduction section for whole area, might have already stream beds, with gradients corresponding almost exactly to
occurred even at the location under consideration. hill slopes, meaning that the runoff water flows along the
In the zone of thin-layered flysch of a regular structure, shortest path towards the sea. These torrent flows are peri-
interlayer joints are mainly closed and are slightly rough. odical flows. After rainfall their outflow increases for a short
The flysch layers dip approximately 40° northward, time, while during other periods they are dry. Due to the
whereas the hill’s slope dips southward. steep slope of the torrent beds and the abundant outflow after
rainfall, water energy is sufficient to transport material down
the slopes. Two consequences of this process are the gravel
Site hydrogeology deposits along the seashore, and the pebble beaches along
the seacoast.
The area of Dalmatia, which includes island Brač where Bol In the landslide area, the upper layer is formed of
is located, is characterized by rainfalls of short duration and weakly bounded conglomerates with a relatively high
high intensity. On the island there are no permanent surface permeability (coefficient of hydraulic conductivity is
streams, but on the Bol area can be found some torrent about k = 10-2 cm/s measured on a laboratory sample).

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annual rainfall) in the cold period of the year. Because of


the vicinity of the sea, warm wet masses and orography,
intensive convective precipitation of short duration occurs
during the entire year. Precipitation with an intensity of
10 mm/h occurs twice a year, on average.
In the zone under consideration the summers are very
hot with air temperature as high as 35°C, whilst the winters
are cold with temperatures as low as -10°C (Bonacci
1999). However, land surface temperatures (LST) on rock
mass facing south, without plants or any other vegetation
cover on its surface, during hot summers can be up to 20°C
higher than the air temperature measured 2 m above the
surface (Mildrexler et al. 2006). This leads to temperature
changes between day and night, on the rock surface, of up
to almost 50°C.
Fig. 3 Photograph of the Bol slide. The terraced surface of the terrain Desiccation in dry periods and quick infiltration after
can be easily observed
rainfall leads to significant changes of marl moisture at the
contact with the upper weakly bounded conglomerate, from
almost dry to a saturated state.
Consequently, rainfall water relatively quickly infiltrates The difference in the permeability between the surface
down to the zone of contact with the flysch, which is layer of weakly bounded conglomerates and the flysch, also
practically impermeable (coefficient of hydraulic conduc- results in the formation of occasional springs along the
tivity of marl as a mean part of the flysch formation, slope. Water that has reached the contact zone between
measured on a laboratory sample, is about k = 10-8 cm/s). conglomerates and marls by infiltration, flows down the
On the other side climate of Bol region is characterized slope along that contact, and springs appear at outcrops of
with a long dry periods without the rainfalls. In the area of the contact zone. Some springs appear on the slope after
concern (the coastal zone in Croatia) the precipitation landslide occurrences, almost immediately after the next
regime is changeable, primarily owing to the influence of rain. Their discharge is in accordance with the intensity of
orography. For example, the annual average rainfall mea- a rainfall. The positions of these springs observed after
sured in Dubrovnik (Croatia) is 1,220 mm (Bonacci 1995). landslide are displayed in Fig. 2. Their locations are usu-
The rainfall regime during the year is typically Mediter- ally on the bottom of a stonewall (terrace) where the
ranean, with abundant rainfall (about 70% of the total thickness of a conglomerate is the least.

Fig. 4 Geomorphological cross-section through the central zone of bounded conglomerate (M1), above the upper weathered zone of
the landslide with the disposition of layers determined from field flysch (M2). The major layer is unweathered flysch (M3)
investigations after the landslide. The upper layer is a weakly

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Environ Geol (2009) 56:1417–1426 1421

History of earlier slide events

The analysed area has been used for agricultural cultivation


for the last few centuries. For this reason no significant
traces of former landslides can be observed along the slope.
The slope of the hill has been restructured after every
landslide by the construction of dry stone retaining walls.
However, the irregular positioning of walls on the location
around and on a landslide, and the experience of the older
inhabitants and their ancestors confirm the occurrence of
landslides, causing damage to vineyards and olive trees, in
recent centuries. Some positions of irregularly placed walls
on the landslide location are depicted in the map in Fig. 2.
The existence of gravel beaches formed along the coast
is also evidence of the movement of material along the
slope. Material has been transported partly by torrent
streams, and partly also with landslides. Without the con-
tinuous transportation of new material from fragmented
conglomerate layers on the surface of the hill slope, the Fig. 5 Sample from a folded zone of flysch. The sheared joint is
gravel beaches would have disappeared to sea erosion. outlined
Urbanization, for example intensive construction of new
buildings in Bol, has made the problem more acute. During
the last 30 years a considerable number of residential the cross-section. The SPT value (number of blows per foot
buildings and roads have been built along the coastal area. penetration) in this zone is less than 50% of SPT value in
All these constructions intersect the routes of torrent flows the dipper parts of flysch. The determined thickness of the
and also stabilize potential landslides. The interruption of upper degraded zone of the flysch is between 0.5 and
material transported from the slopes has jeopardized the 1.5 m. This degraded layer is shown on the geomorpho-
existence of the pebble beaches. logical cross-section in Fig. 4, as well as on the numerical
The sheared and folded structure of flysch layers on model of the slide in Fig. 7.
location, found in the upper zone of flysch (material M2 in Besides the field investigation, the fact that the slide
Fig. 4), can also confirm the occurrence of previous land- debris has contained a large amount of marl mixed with
slides. Figure 5 presents a sample from a core drilled through conglomerates, also indicated that the upper degraded zone
the upper zone of flysch at the landslide area. A partial view of marl or a part of this zone, is the zone along which the
of sheared joint can be seen in the sample (the sheared joint is slide surface was formed.
outlined). The sample was easily separated at this joint, The triggering events for slide activation probably were
meaning that material is already sheared across it. the improperly performed start of earthworks at the bottom
of the slope, combined with the quantity of rainfall and the
significant increase of the temperature after cold weather in
Analyse of the slide the period preceding the slide.
As it is stated in the introduction section, slide has
The slip surface of this landslide has been defined by occurred after the start of earthworks at the bottom of the
investigations, field observations and analysis of the slope slope. With the earthwork, part of the bottom of a slope
following the slide. Field exploration consisted of drilling was removed without consideration of the slope stability.
12 investigation holes, with sampling and execution of a But even in this condition the slope was stable roughly
standard penetration test (SPT) in them. Boreholes were 2 months, until significant change of the climate condition
positioned on and around the area of landslide. Positions of occurred. In the period before the slide, any deformations
the boreholes are shown on the Fig. 2. Analysis of the of the slope were not observed. Data of the precipitation
samples and the results of the SPT were used to determine and air temperatures of the period for the month before the
the sliding zone. The zone of sliding is determined in the slide are presented in Fig. 6.
upper zone of the flysch. In that zone the structure of Beside temperature changes, as can be see in Fig. 6,
samples was disturbed, and there was a considerable after a long dry period, several days of rainfall (with snow)
decrease in the SPT results. Figure 4 shows changes of the preceded the slide. At the same time during that period, the
SPT value with depth in investigation boreholes located on ground surface temperatures were lower than 0°C during

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Fig. 6 Daily temperature (a)


and precipitation records (b) for
the Bol region. Note that the
slide occurred third February,
following a period of
temperature increase

the night, so the snow cower has survived. The diagram in includes degradation of the material strength during wet-
Fig. 6 also shows an increase in the temperature for the ting–drying cycles, freezing–thawing cycles, swelling, etc.
days preceding the day of the slide. An increase in tem- Swelling is a consequence of swelling of clay minerals in
perature resulted in a thawing of snow on the slope surface. the marl, as well as the chemical processes resulting for
The water from rainfall and thawed snow infiltrated in the example in the creation of gypsum inside the joints and
conglomerate layer and increased the pore pressure in the fissures in the marl (see Miščević 1998). The most com-
upper degraded zone of marls. monly found clay minerals in analysed Eocene flysch are
illite, chlorite and smectite.
The effect of the drying–wetting process is particularly
Upper weathered zone of flysch emphasised at the upper part of flysch layer. As it is
described in the ‘‘Site hydrogeology’’ section as a conse-
The flysch weathering includes both physical and chemical quence of the layers characteristics and characteristics of
degradation. This process is investigated in many resear- the climate, thought the time there is significant change in
ches (Maekawa et al. 1991; Chandler 1969; Hoek et al. moisture of upper part of flysch. Wetting and drying cycles
2005; Miščević 1997, 1998). The physical degradation are the main cause of weathering in marly deposits (in this

Fig. 7 Model geometry and


modelled material zones with a
finite element mesh. The upper
layer is a weakly bounded
conglomerate (M1), above the
upper weathered zone of flysch
(M2). The major layer is
unweathered flysch (M3)

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case layers of the marl are the main part of flysch). As a Table 1 Material properties for the numerical model used for back
consequence of the alternation of dry and wet conditions, analysis with a focus on failure mechanisms involving degradation of
flysch due to weathering
the marl is slowly but continuously weathered in the upper
section of the flysch. Parameter Conglomerate Flysch
The influence of freezing on an island in the Mediter-
Density (kg/m3) 2,350 2,300
ranean is generally limited to only a shallow depth under
Young’s modulus (MPa) 40 75
the surface. In the analysed case flysch is relatively deep
Poisson’s ratio 0.25 0.30
undersurface (about 2.5–9 m), so frost action may be
Cohesion (kPa) 4 51a
excluded as the cause of marl weathering in this particular
Internal friction (°) 35 40a
case.
a
Chemical weathering can be considered together with Samples of undegraded flysch of naturally occurring moisture levels
swelling, since calcium–sulphate compounds in reaction
with water form gypsum (analysed with chemical tests, see 2005). Other values presented in Table 1 are based on
Miščević 1998). Gypsum has about 95% larger volume representative properties for similar materials taken from
than its input components. Therefore joints and fissures are academic literature (Gerecek 2007; Palmstrom and Singh
expanded and extended with the creation of gypsum, 2001; Hoek et al. 1998; Marinos and Hoek 2001). The
resulting in mechanical breakdown. The result of described reason why these values were taken from a literature is
process in a form of a white powder, is observed on all problem with the sample preparation. Marl cannot be
samples taken from the upper degraded zone of the flysch. drilled without use of water. In contact with water sample
At the same time the dissolution of calcium compounds of marl deteriorate and so in many cases sample cannot be
from marls increases pore volume, which also leads to prepared for a testing.
deeper water infiltration (Eberhardt et al. 2005). In order to confirm that the slide surface occurred along
The result of the overall process is acceleration of marl an upper weathered zone of flysch, and not only through
disintegration. Due to weathering marl degrade, and result conglomerate or on contact between the conglomerate and
is a significant loss of shear strength (Miščević 1997, 1998; underlying flysch, analysis with the focus on failure
Eberhardt et al. 2005). mechanisms involving degradation of flysch due to
weathering was performed.
The first step in the modelling was an analysis made
Back analysis assuming sliding along the upper without including the degraded surface zone of the flysch.
degraded zone of flysch Since we do not have the groundwater level data monitored
for a long time period, the analysis was performed by
Back analysis of the Bol landslide was performed with the considering several alternatives: dry conditions on the
commercial programme Z_SOIL 2001 (ZACE Services slope, the groundwater level at 1.0 m below the ground
Ltd, Switzerland), using the two-dimensional finite element surface and the water level at the surface. A coupled
method for computation. analysis of the deformations and the groundwater’s
Figure 7 presents the geometry applied in the numerical hydraulic flow was performed. Parameter analysis of the
model of the distribution of layers. The upper layer is a weakly bounded conglomerate’s shear strength demon-
weakly bounded conglomerate (M1) above an upper strated that the shape of the failure surface recorded after
weathered zone of flysch (M2). The major layer is the landslide could not be obtained. Even with the lowest
unweathered flysch (M3). values of friction angle, when the slip surface is in fact
The properties of the materials used in the model for the in contact with conglomerate and flysch, the shape of the
back analysis are presented in Table 1. Materials were
modelled with the Mohr–Coulomb failure criteria. Density
is determined according to laboratory tests of samples from
boreholes. Cohesion and internal friction of undegraded
flysch are measured on two samples from boreholes.
Samples with four specimens each were tested with por-
table shear apparatus (with procedure from ISRM
Suggested methods for determining shear strength). The
results of the test for one sample are presented in Fig. 8.
The friction angle of the weakly bounded conglomerate is
determined with correlations from the SPT results, where
material was treated as well graded gravel (Varghese Fig. 8 Shear test results for one sample of undegraded flysch

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failure does not correspond to observations. Therefore the 2005). His test results show that a range of friction angles
possibility of the landslide occurring only through the between 23° and 29° can be accepted, and values less than
conglomerate layer was excluded. 25° require high degrees of weathering.
In the analysed flysch, the weathering process develops
along this engineering time scale (Chandler 1969; Maek-
Modelling of strength degradation of flysch promoting awa et al. 1991; Miščević 1997, 1998; Hoek et al. 2005),
observed shape of failure meaning over periods of approximately 10–50 years. When
the shear strength of upper zone of flysch in a particular
The next step in the modelling was a back analysis of the area is decreased due to weathering, landslides are acti-
slope failure with a parametric analysis of the shear vated. The weathering degree controls the development of
strength in the upper degraded zone of flysch. The reduc- the slide surface along the sections of the landslide profile.
tion of the flysch strength as a result of weathering was The rate of weathering over time depends on the alternation
modelled by gradually decreasing the shear strength from and intensity of dry and wet periods, as well as on pre-
the initial values of undegraded flysch (Table 1). For every cipitation levels.
decreasing step, calculations were performed, with the Figure 9 presents model results, showing the evolution
thickness of the weathered zone set at 1.0 and 2.0 m. These of flysch damage (shear yielding) as a function of strength
values were selected on the basis of field results. Also, a degradation of the upper flysch zone. Yielding points in the
coupled analysis of the deformations and groundwater model are denoted with stars. With the decrease of shear
hydraulic flow was performed using the same approach as parameters in the weathered zone, the yield zone expands.
is described for the model without a degraded zone (con- The advantage of this model is that it does not state that the
sidering the slide as taking place along the contact zone). failure mechanism is determined by the contact surface
For the upper layer of weakly bounded conglomerates zone between the flysch and conglomerate, that is to say it
the tensile strength was modelled as zero. This introduced shows that the failure surface passes through the weathered
the assumption that previous events had destroyed the flysch zone. This agrees with in situ observations, which
tensile strength of that layer. As is described in the pre- indicated that the degradation and yielding of flysch were
ceding text, previous landslides have been recorded on the causes of the failure mechanism.
slope. The model assumes that weathering occurs uniformly
The applied modelling included the following phases: with depth, while weathering near the surface of the flysch
(1) the model was brought to the initial equilibrium state, would occur much more quickly than at depth. Such an
(2) cohesion was decreased, as well as internal friction, and assumption leads to the prediction of the failure surface at a
the model was brought again to an approximate equilib- somewhat greater depth than the actual one, specifically in
rium state, (3) the steps were repeated until failure the upper sections of the landslide.
occurred. Practically, then, this practise involved searching Analysis of the model results presented in Fig. 9 shows
for those parameters of shear strength of the degraded layer that development of failure begins in the upper part of the
where the safety factor for landslide is FS = 1. A landslide landslide. This could be expected, since the configuration
surface which corresponded to the shape of the slide sur- of the surface of flysch formation is at its steepest in that
face recorded by investigations was obtained with a friction area.
angle of 23°, cohesion of 3 kPa, the thickness of the
weathered zone at 2.0 m and for the groundwater level at
1.0 m below the ground surface. Discussion and conclusion
If the results of shear strength parameters obtained by
back analysis are compared with the values obtained by The results of field investigations and back analysis show
laboratory tests reported in academic literature, then the that the instability of the slope in Bol is a consequence of
degree of weathering of the flysch upper zone should several causes. These are: structure of rock mass, the ori-
correspond to the completely weathered marl. The results entation of layers and weathering. But, the main cause of
of back analysis and the laboratory tests of Eocene marls the mass movement was the degradation of the upper zone
from the Dalmatia region in Croatia (Miščević 1997; Roje of the flysch caused by weathering and saturation during
Bonacci 1998) demonstrate, for completely weathered periods of precipitation.
marl, a friction angle range between 18° and 25°, with a Numerical models were used to better understand pro-
cohesion value range between 0.3 and 3 kPa. Depending on cess of failure by means of the finite element method.
the degree of weathering, Chandler (1969) found labora- Models focusing on a failure mechanism restricted to
tory friction angles between 25° and 42°. Similar results plane failure along the contact between the conglomerate
were obtained by Reißmüller (taken from Eberhardt et al. layer and flysch, due to increased pore pressures, failed to

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Environ Geol (2009) 56:1417–1426 1425

results derive from the research project, Development of the


Weathering Model for the Design Purpose of Geotechnical Con-
structions in Flysch, implemented due to the support of the Ministry
of Science, Education and Sports, Republic of Croatia.

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