Insights into the Landslides Triggered by the 2022 Lushan Ms 6.1 Earthquake: Spatial Distribution and Controls

On 1 June 2022, a magnitude Ms 6.1 (Mw 5.8) earthquake, named the 2022 Lushan earthquake, struck the southern segment of the Longmenshan fault zone, with an epicenter at 30.395°N, 102.958°E and a focal depth of approximately 12.0 km. To gain insight into the landslides triggered by this event and the characteristics of coseismic landslides in the Longmenshan fault zone, we collected multitemporal satellite images and carried out field investigations. The results reveal that the 2022 Lushan event triggered at least 1288 landslides over an affected area of 1470 km2. The total landslide area is 5.33 km2, and the highest landslide concentration reaches 22.3 landslides/km2. The landslide distribution has a hanging wall effect, and the right bank area of the Qingyi River, featuring deep-cutting gorges, is part of an area with obvious concentrated landslides; this area consists mainly of intrusive rocks, including granite, gabbro and hornblende. The coseismic landslides in the Longmenshan fault zone have hanging wall effects, and the landslides triggered by the 2022 Lushan event are distributed in higher and steeper areas.

[1]  Weile Li,et al.  Evaluation of factors controlling the spatial and size distributions of landslides, 2021 Nippes earthquake, Haiti , 2022, Geomorphology.

[2]  Yun-hui Zhang,et al.  Zircon U−Pb and sericite Ar−Ar geochronology, geochemistry and S−Pb−Hf isotopes of the Zebuxia Pb−Zn deposit, Tibet, southwestern China , 2022, Ore Geology Reviews.

[3]  Bo Zhao Landslides triggered by the 2018 Mw 7.5 Palu supershear earthquake in Indonesia , 2021, Engineering Geology.

[4]  Lijun Su,et al.  Insights into the geohazards triggered by the 2017 Ms 6.9 Nyingchi earthquake in the east Himalayan syntaxis, China , 2021 .

[5]  J. Jones,et al.  30-year record of Himalaya mass-wasting reveals landscape perturbations by extreme events , 2021, Nature Communications.

[6]  Yunhui Zhang,et al.  Hydrochemistry, quality and potential health risk appraisal of nitrate enriched groundwater in the Nanchong area, southwestern China. , 2021, The Science of the total environment.

[7]  S. Ling,et al.  Characterizing the distribution pattern and geologic and geomorphic controls on earthquake-triggered landslide occurrence during the 2017 Ms 7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake, Sichuan, China , 2020, Landslides.

[8]  L. Su,et al.  Directional seismic response to the complex topography: A case study of 2013 Lushan Ms 7.0 earthquake , 2020, Journal of Mountain Science.

[9]  W. Wagner,et al.  SM2RAIN–ASCAT (2007–2018): global daily satellite rainfall data from ASCAT soil moisture observations , 2019, Earth System Science Data.

[10]  Y. Ben‐Zion,et al.  Seismic velocity reduction and accelerated recovery due to earthquakes on the Longmenshan fault , 2019, Nature Geoscience.

[11]  P. Frattini,et al.  Seismic and geological controls on earthquake-induced landslide size , 2019, Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

[12]  Xin Zhang,et al.  Landslides and dam damage resulting from the Jiuzhaigou earthquake (8 August 2017), Sichuan, China , 2018, Royal Society Open Science.

[13]  Weiwei Zhan,et al.  Coseismic landslides triggered by the 8th August 2017 Ms 7.0 Jiuzhaigou earthquake (Sichuan, China): factors controlling their spatial distribution and implications for the seismogenic blind fault identification , 2018, Landslides.

[14]  Dimitrios Zekkos,et al.  The size, distribution, and mobility of landslides caused by the 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal , 2018 .

[15]  R. Schlögel,et al.  A new classification of earthquake-induced landslide event sizes based on seismotectonic, topographic, climatic and geologic factors , 2016, Geoenvironmental Disasters.

[16]  Muhammad Shafique,et al.  A review of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake-induced landslides; from a remote sensing prospective , 2016 .

[17]  M. R. Yoder,et al.  Geomorphic and geologic controls of geohazards induced by Nepal’s 2015 Gorkha earthquake , 2016, Science.

[18]  Chong Xu,et al.  Preparation of earthquake-triggered landslide inventory maps using remote sensing and GIS technologies: Principles and case studies , 2015 .

[19]  Chong Xu,et al.  Database and spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the Lushan, China Mw 6.6 earthquake of 20 April 2013 , 2015 .

[20]  F. Liu,et al.  The effect of the Wenchuan earthquake on the fluvial morphology in the Longmen Shan, eastern Tibetan Plateau: Discussion and speculation , 2015 .

[21]  Wei Wang,et al.  Crustal deformation on the Chinese mainland during 1998–2014 based on GPS data , 2015 .

[22]  Du Peng,et al.  Seismic Activities and Earthquake Potential in the Tibetan Plateau , 2014 .

[23]  J. Zhuang,et al.  Possibility of the Independence between the 2013 Lushan Earthquake and the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake on Longmen Shan Fault, Sichuan, China , 2014 .

[24]  Chong Xu,et al.  Three (nearly) complete inventories of landslides triggered by the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan Mw 7.9 earthquake of China and their spatial distribution statistical analysis , 2014, Landslides.

[25]  Yong Li,et al.  Mass wasting triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake is greater than orogenic growth , 2011 .

[26]  Xu Qiang,et al.  Spatial distribution of large-scale landslides induced by the 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake , 2011 .

[27]  C. Westen,et al.  Distribution pattern of earthquake-induced landslides triggered by the 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake , 2010 .

[28]  D. Montgomery,et al.  Glacier and landslide feedbacks to topographic relief in the Himalayan syntaxes , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[29]  J. Shaw,et al.  Uplift of the Longmen Shan and Tibetan plateau, and the 2008 Wenchuan (M = 7.9) earthquake , 2009, Nature.

[30]  Kyoji Sassa,et al.  Dynamic properties of earthquake-induced large-scale rapid landslides within past landslide masses , 2005 .

[31]  F. Cotton,et al.  Quantification of Hanging-Wall Effects on Ground Motion: Some Insights from the 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake , 2004 .