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6 Hillslopescomprimido
6 Hillslopescomprimido
Processes
Hillslope: the
elevated land between
valley bottoms.
Hillslope Processes:
movement of rock and
soil by mass wasting,
rain splash, and
overland flow
2 fundamental kinds of hillslope:
Bedrock
soil production < erosion
little to no soil cover with bedrock at surface
sediment transport is weathering limited
slope form controlled by rock properties
Soil-mantled
soil production ≥ erosion
surfical layer of soil covers bedrock
sediment transport is transport limited
slope form controlled by soil properties,
production, and transport rates
Hillslope Evolution
Weathering-Limited (bedrock)
steep slopes
thin to absent soil mantle
common in arid climates
gentle slopes
thick soil mantle
common in warm,
humid climates
soil creep and slides
convex profiles
Soil-Mantled Hillslopes
Soil-mantled slopes typical of humid and tropical
regions due to high pace of soil production
Soil-mantled hillslopes, Bolivia
Strength of Materials
(C) cohesion
the inherent strength of a material in the absence of
any load
shear strength
the ability to resist deformation and fracture without
significant failure is a function of both and C.
Strength of Materials
s = C + ' tan
Soil Strength:
typical values for sand and clay
Rock Strength:
intact versus field strength
FS = shear strength
shear stress
at failure FS = 1.0
slope stable if FS ≥ 1
slope unstable if FS ≤ 1
Shallow (soil) Landslides
Shallow Landsliding
mobilization of shallow material - primarily regolith
major geomorphological agent in mountain
landcapes
Deep-Seated Landsliding
mobilization of deeper material - including bedrock
major geomorphological agent in mountain
landcapes
Flow
Slide
Heave
Fall
Flow
Slide
Resistance to movement
falls after failure; movement
continues until encountering
sufficient resistance, often
due to decreased slope.
Mass Movement
Heave
Downslope movement
arises from cyclic expansion
and contration biased by
gravity.
Fall
• Rainsplash
• Soil “Creep”
• Overland Flow
• Mass Wasting
Rainsplash The transportation of sediment through the
sudden impact of a water droplets on unconsolidated
sediment.
Overland Flow
~400 Meters
from Divide
~800 Meters
from Divide
1200 Meters
from Divide
Soil Creep
Soil creep
Figure 13.27
Pistol Butt trees, Nevada (soil creep)
“Terracettes”
terracettes
Rock Creep
Rock Creep
Slow gravity-driven
deformation of
mechanically
oversteepened
slopes can lead to
rock creep
Debris flows
Bouldery debris
flow runout,
eastern Sierra
Nevada south of
Reno, Nevada
Debris flow runout
Toe
Slumps
Slumps exhibit:
Headscarp
Toe
Internal rotation of
blocks
Highly variable internal
deformation
Earth Flows
El Salvador
following a
magnitude 7.7
earthquake, 2001
Landslide Damage
La Conchita Landslide,2005
(10 fatalities, 13 homes destroyed)
La Conchita Landslide,1995
(destroyed 9 homes)
La Conchita Slump
La Conchita Slump
Rotational slump in
Alaska
Note older
landslide scarp
along
escarpment
The biggest landslide events are
termed “Rock Avalanches”
Deposit
Debris Avalanche
1970 Earthquake
Failed near summit
Falls
3200 m across
Landscapes consist
of ridge and valley
topography at all
scales, but only finest
scale reveals the
actual valley network
and defines the
transition between
hillslopes and valley.
channel head
unchanneled
S. California Summary
unchanneled
= hillslope
transition
Observed
channel in the
field
Montgomery and Dietrich, 1992, Science
On to rivers…