A model of hydrological and mechanical feedbacks of preferential fissure flow in a slow-moving landslide

The importance of hydrological processes for landslide activity is generally accepted. However, the relationship between precipitation, hydrological responses and movement is not straightforward. Groundwater recharge is mostly controlled by the hydrological material properties and the structure (e.g., layering, preferential flow paths such as fissures) of the unsaturated zone. In slow-moving landslides, differential displacements caused by the bedrock structure complicate the hydrological regime due to continuous opening and closing of the fissures, creating temporary preferential flow paths systems for infiltration and groundwater drainage. The consecutive opening and closing of fissure aperture control the formation of a critical pore water pressure by creating dynamic preferential flow paths for infiltration and groundwater drainage. This interaction may explain the seasonal nature of the slow-moving landslide activity, including the often observed shifts and delays in hydrological responses when compared to timing, intensity and duration of precipitation. The main objective of this study is to model the influence of fissures on the hydrological dynamics of slow-moving landslide and the dynamic feedbacks between fissures, hydrology and slope stability. For this we adapt the spatially distributed hydrological and slope stability model (STARWARS) to account for geotechnical and hydrological feedbacks, linking between hydrological response of the landside and the dynamics of the fissure network and applied the model to the hydrologically controlled Super-Sauze landslide (South French Alps).

[1]  Olivier Maquaire,et al.  Soil surface characteristics influence on infiltration in black marls: application to the Super‐Sauze earthflow (southern Alps, France) , 2003 .

[2]  L.P.H. van Beek,et al.  Assessment of the influence of changes in land use and climate on landslide activity in a Mediterranean environment , 2002 .

[3]  Thom Bogaard,et al.  Problems in predicting the mobility of slow-moving landslides , 2007 .

[4]  Sprinkling Tests to Understand Hydrological Behaviour of Mudslide , 2013 .

[5]  Younes Alila,et al.  A model of rapid preferential hillslope runoff contributions to peak flow generation in a temperate rain forest watershed , 2004 .

[6]  D. V. Griffiths,et al.  Limits on the validity of infinite length assumptions for modelling shallow landslides , 2012 .

[7]  J. Quirk,et al.  Permeability of Porous Media , 1959, Nature.

[8]  N. Jarvis.  A review of non‐equilibrium water flow and solute transport in soil macropores: principles, controlling factors and consequences for water quality , 2007 .

[9]  M. V. Genuchten,et al.  Review and comparison of models for describing non-equilibrium and preferential flow and transport in the vadose zone , 2003 .

[10]  L. V. Beek,et al.  Regional Assessment of the Effects of Land-Use Change on Landslide Hazard By Means of Physically Based Modelling , 2004 .

[11]  T. Bogaard.  Analysis of hydrological processes in unstable clayey slopes , 2001 .

[12]  The role of overland flow and subsurface flow on the spatial distribution of soil moisture in the topsoil , 2001 .

[13]  W. E. Larson,et al.  Modeling the pore structure of porous media , 1972 .

[14]  Shoji Noguchi,et al.  Flow and solute transport through the soil matrix and macropores of a hillslope segment , 1994 .

[15]  Shoji Noguchi,et al.  Morphological Characteristics of Macropores and the Distribution of Preferential Flow Pathways in a Forested Slope Segment , 1999 .

[16]  J. Travelletti,et al.  UAV-based remote sensing of the Super-Sauze landslide : evaluation and results. , 2012 .

[17]  Hubert H. G. Savenije,et al.  Modelling subsurface storm flow with the Representative Elementary Watershed (REW) approach: application to the Alzette River Basin , 2006 .

[18]  L. S. Pereira,et al.  Evaluating field measured soil hydraulic properties in water transport simulations using the RZWQM , 2000 .

[19]  G. Senay,et al.  A multi-source satellite data approach for modelling Lake Turkana water level: calibration and validation using satellite altimetry data , 2012 .

[20]  P. Jardine,et al.  A multiple-pore-region concept to modeling mass transfer in subsurface media , 1995 .

[21]  D. Jongmans,et al.  Application of geophysical measurements for assessing the role of fissures in water infiltration within a clay landslide (Trièves area, French Alps) , 2012 .

[22]  A combined conceptual model for the effects of fissure-induced infiltration on slope stability , 1999 .

[23]  J. McDonnell,et al.  The influence of macropores on debris flow initiation , 1990, Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology.

[24]  Takahisa Mizuyama,et al.  Numerical calculation of soil pipe flow and its effect on water dynamics in a slope , 2004 .

[25]  J. M.R,et al.  UAV-based remote sensing of the Super-Sauze landslide : Evaluation and results , 2014 .

[26]  Horst H. Gerke,et al.  Preferential flow descriptions for structured soils , 2006 .

[27]  J. Malet,et al.  Image-based mapping of surface fissures for the investigation of landslide dynamics , 2013 .

[28]  Markus Weiler,et al.  Conceptualizing lateral preferential flow and flow networks and simulating the effects on gauged and ungauged hillslopes , 2007 .

[29]  Julien Travelletti.  Imagerie multi-paramètres et multi-résolutions pour l'observation et la caractérisation des mécanismes de glissements-coulées , 2011 .

[30]  Manfred Joswig,et al.  Seismic monitoring of rockfalls, slide quakes, and fissure development at the Super-Sauze mudslide, French Alps , 2012 .

[31]  Takahisa Mizuyama,et al.  Effects of pipeflow on hydrological process and its relation to landslide: a review of pipeflow studies in forested headwater catchments , 2001 .

[32]  N. V. Schaik,et al.  The role of macropore flow from plot to catchment scale, a study in a semi-arid area , 2003 .

[33]  L. Wilding,et al.  PATHWAYS OF DYE TRACER MOVEMENT THROUGH STRUCTURED SOILS ON A MACROSCOPIC SCALE , 2004 .

[34]  J. Malet,et al.  Characterization of the 3D geometry of flow-like landslides: A methodology based on the integration of heterogeneous multi-source data , 2012 .

[35]  K. Beven,et al.  Macropores and water flow in soils , 1982 .

[36]  A. Skempton.  Long-Term Stability of Clay Slopes , 1964 .

[37]  Yutaka Ichikawa,et al.  A physically based distributed subsurface–surface flow dynamics model for forested mountainous catchments , 2005 .

[38]  Paul Duval,et al.  Creep and Fracture of Ice: Acknowledgements , 2009 .

[39]  Jean-Philippe Malet,et al.  Les ‘glissements de type écoulement' dans les marnes noires des Alpes du Sud. Morphologie, fonctionnement et modélisation hydro-mécanique , 2003 .

[40]  Rudi Hessel,et al.  Hydrological triggering conditions of landslides in varved clays in the French Alps , 1996 .

[41]  Erwin Zehe,et al.  Predictability of hydrologic response at the plot and catchment scales: Role of initial conditions , 2004 .

[42]  Christophe Delacourt,et al.  Correlation of multi-temporal ground-based optical images for landslide monitoring: Application, potential and limitations , 2012 .

[43]  R. Fannin,et al.  Hydrologic response of soils to precipitation at Carnation Creek, British Columbia, Canada , 2000 .

[44]  Olivier Maquaire,et al.  The use of Global Positioning System techniques for the continuous monitoring of landslides: application to the Super-Sauze earthflow (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France) , 2002 .

[45]  R. Greco.  Preferential flow in macroporous swelling soil with internal catchment: model development and applications , 2002 .

[46]  Olivier Maquaire,et al.  Forecasting the behaviour of complex landslides with a spatially distributed hydrological model , 2003 .

[47]  Shoji Noguchi,et al.  Stormflow generation in steep forested headwaters: a linked hydrogeomorphic paradigm , 2000 .

[48]  Thom Bogaard,et al.  A conceptual model of the hydrological influence of fissures on landslide activity , 2011 .