Mass Movement

GGY 168

Barend vd Merwe
6 October 2023

1 Link to previous work

1. Some sedimentary rocks form due to the action of cementing agents.

2. Both rocks and soil contain pore spaces.

3. As the amount of water within the soil increases, the behaviour changes from solid, to plastic, to liquid
(i.e. the Atterberg limits).

2 Introduction
1. Mass movement is the downslope movement of slope material under the influence of gravity and without
the assistance of flowing water, wind, or moving ice (Summerfield, 1991).
2. Slope stability refers to the relationship between the stresses attempting to move the slope material (i.e.
the driving forces) and the forces resisting that movement (Summerfield, 1991).

(a) Movement will occur when the driving forces are lrger than the resisting forces (Summerfield, 1991).
(b) The safety factor (F ) can be described as the ratio between the shear strength (s) of the slope
(resisting force) and the shear stress (τ ) acting on a slope (driving force) (Summerfield, 1991).
s
F =
τ
3. Slopes can exist in on of three states:
(a) Stable:
i. Safety factor > 1.3 (Summerfield, 1991).
ii. Shear strength is greater than shear stress (Summerfield, 1991).
(b) Actively Unstable:
i. Safety factor < 1 (Summerfield, 1991).
ii. Shear stress greater than shear strength (Summerfield, 1991).
(c) Conditionaly Stable:
i. 1 < Safety factor < 1.3 (Summerfield, 1991).
ii. Shear stress can occasionally increase to overcome the shear strength of the slope. (see Tab.1 )
iii. Shear strengh varies due to environmental conditions and can, occasionally, be low enough to
cause failure (Summerfield, 1991). (see Tab. 2)
iv. Preparatory factors: Makes the slope susceptible to movement without actually causing move-
ment (Summerfield, 1991).
v. Triggering factors: Transforms the slope from conditionally stable to actively unstable (Sum-
merfield, 1991).
4. There are six types of mass movement (Summerfield, 1991): (see Tab. 3)

1
 Table 1: Forces that can increase shear stress (τ ) of a slope (adapted from Summerfield (1991)).

Increasing Shear Stress Examples

Removal of lateral support through undercutting. Erosion by rivers, glaciers, waves etc.
Loading of slope. Weight of water, vegetation, or dsebris.
Lateral pressure. Swelling of clays in cracks, freezing water in cracks.
Transient stresses. Earthquakes, movement of trees in wind.

Table 2: Forces that can decrease shear strength (s) of a slope (adapted from Summerfield (1991)).

Decreasing Shear Strength Examples

Weathering. Hydration of clays, dissolution of cementing minerals.
Changes in pore water pressure. Saturation of ground water.
Organic effects. Actions of burrowing animals, decay of tree roots.

3 Slides
1. Results due to a temporary increase in shear stress that is enough to overcome the shear strength of the
slope (Summerfield, 1991).
2. A mass movement that occurs along a well-defined shear plane (Summerfield, 1991).
3. It is called a shear plane because it appears as if the soil was sheared along it (Finlayson and Statham,
1980).
4. The material moves more or less as a coherent mass with little internal disturbance (Finlayson and
Statham, 1980).
5. The driving force is gravity which, when combined with the weight of the material, acts in parallel to the
slope in a downslope direction (Finlayson and Statham, 1980). (see Fig.1)
(a) The downslope force acts parallel to the slope and can be calculated using (Finlayson and Statham,
1980): (see Fig. 1)
Fd = W sin α
(b) The force that acts downward normal to the slope is calculated using (Finlayson and Statham, 1980):
(see Fig. 1)
Fn = W cos α
(c) For example: Calculate the normal and downslope forces of a secion of slope material that hass a
mass of 1000 tonnes and rests on a slope of 36◦ :
i. Convert the mass to weight by multiplying it by the gravitational acceleration of Earth:

W = 1000000kg ∗ 9.8m.s−1 = 9800000 N

ii. Downslope force:

Fd = W sin α = 9800000 × sin(36) = 5760295.5 N
iii. Normal force:
Fn = W cos α = 9800000 × cos(36) = 7928366.5 N
6. The presence of water in the pores reducing the shear strength making the sliding of the material easier
(Finlayson and Statham, 1980).
7. Resistance to movement falls rapidly once the movement is initiated (Summerfield, 1991).
(a) The movement continuous until there is sufficient resistance to halt the movement (Summerfield,
1991).
8. Can be subdivided into:
9. Translational slides:
(a) Predominantly have a planar shear surface (Summerfield, 1991).
10. Rotational slides:

2
 Table 3: Different types of mass movement and the associated water content (adapted from Huggett (2003))

Type Very Low Low Moderate High Very High Extremely High
Creep Continuous Creep
Flow Dry Flow Slow Earthflow Solifluction Rapid Earthflow Mudflow

3
Slide (Translational) Earth slide Earth Slide
Slide (Rotational) Rock Slump Earth Slump
Heave Soil Creep
Fall Rockfall
Subsidence Cavity Collpase
 (a) The shear plane is concave upwards (Summerfield, 1991).
(b) The upper part of the slide is tilted backwards towards the failure surface (Summerfield, 1991).
(c) Movement at the base is often transformed into an earth flow (Summerfield, 1991).

Sh
ear

Sli
de
pl

Ma
an

ss
e

Figure 1: A simplified representation of the forces involved in a translational slide (adapted from Finlayson
and Statham (1980)). W is the weight of the overlying material from its center of mass (O) while α is the slope
angle.

References
Finlayson, B. and Statham, I. (1980). Sources and methods in geography: Hillslope analysis, Butterworths,
London, UK.
Huggett, R. J. (2003). Fundamentals of Geomorphology, Routledge, London, UK.
Summerfield, M. A. (1991). Global Geomorphology: An Introduction to the Study of Landforms, Pearson Prentice
Hall, Harlow, UK.