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skanky

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Climate Change and Landslides
« on: June 20, 2016, 04:08:12 PM »
Obviously  there are a number of ways that climate change can affect landslide instance and magnitude - precipitaiton changes being the most obvious.

To kick this thread off though, here's an article about a paper studying rockfalls in the Alps through permafrost melt:

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It is clear that there has been a remarkable increase in the description of rockfall danger over the period, and that most of this has occurred in the last three decades.  Whilst an aspect of this could be a increased sensitivity to risk. Temme (2015) is clear that the major factor is increased rockfall activity.  In the analysis he also looked at the correlation of this increased rockfall risk with various physical factors, and found that there was a strong relationship with slope aspect.  This is consistent with increased rockfall activity occurring on slopes with an eastern or western aspect, where the freeze-thaw effect is known to be strongest.

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2016/06/18/climbing-guides-1/

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2016, 05:42:16 PM »
As a 'student of geology' I regularly read Dave Petley's The Landslide Blog.  Some previous posts of his that reference climate change are:
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

skanky

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2016, 11:18:11 AM »
Another one form the same site, on a paper about fatal landslides in Europe:

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The trend is clearly upwards over time, sharply so in terms of the number of landslides from about 2009 onwards, with a significant increase in losses as well.  This was not clear in my global data, and we did not see this trend in Latin America either, so this is a very interesting result.  Haque et al. (2016) suggest that the increase is primarily the result of large numbers of fatal landslides in Italy and Turkey (see the red triangles on the map above) and in the Balkan countries.  The cause of this change is not clear, but the authors note that most of these landslides occurred in mountain regions with a humid temperate climate.  This hints at a possible role of climate change.

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2016/06/17/fatal-landslides-in-europe/

skanky

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2016, 01:48:59 PM »
I'm sure there are other sources on this topic  ;D

Landslides caused by retreating glacier:

http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2016/06/29/devdoraki-gorge-3/

skanky

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2016, 10:46:38 AM »
Cross-posting from Alaskan glaciers.
Alaskan landslides' connection with glacial melt. Usual source. :)

http://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,467.msg96613.html#msg96613

skanky

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2017, 10:13:30 AM »

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #7 on: August 21, 2019, 12:14:54 AM »
The Bondo Landslide and the Future of Climate Disasters
Two years ago, a massive river of mud and granite swept over thousands of feet of alpine terrain, killing eight hikers before swamping the alpine village of Bondo, Switzerland. This type of disaster is often fueled by climate change, and it will happen again.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2400947/bondo-switzerland-landslide-climate-change

bluesky

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2019, 09:27:01 PM »
A motorway bridge collapsed in Liguria due to a large landslide following the very intense rainfall event that happened during the week end in French Cote d'Azur and Italian neighbouring area Liguria (there was a Meteo France red alert on the French side, see my posts in flood topic including the very striking jet stream loop steering the low pressure in North West Mediterranean area)

Several scientific research papers point to potential large increase in the frequency of landslide events in the Mediterranean area based on IPCC increased intensity/frequency rainfall for the region (although I think there could be very long and very intense dry spell in between as for example at Beziers in French Languedoc  that experienced 250mm or rain between October 22 and 23 2019 versus 134mm between January 1 and October 21 2019... increase frequency of the extreme)

Public body , infrastructure planning, town planning, disaster planning management will have to review their zone at risk, while insurance or government cost may rise significantly, additionally there will be further need for planning disaster response, just one side of the multi facetted impact of climate change that very few think about when planning ahead today, whether policy maker, construction company, infrastructure and city urban planner and or maintenance management, I am not even talking about the financial world which is still in an isolated world with very low education/ skills/ knowledge about impact of climate change...

https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2019/1124/1094873-bridge-collapse-italy/

below picture from the above rte website  pics from Vigili del Fuoco:



Tor Bejnar

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #9 on: November 25, 2019, 10:23:11 PM »
More on this landslide-caused bridge outage at Dave Petley's Landslide Blog.
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

bluesky

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #10 on: November 25, 2019, 11:02:18 PM »
More on this landslide-caused bridge outage at Dave Petley's Landslide Blog.

Thank you, forgot to check the AGU blogs, noticing the conclusion "In essence this event will be down to inappropriate design of the channel below the road.  It highlights the difficulty of designing structures that are able to handle the very short lived, high discharge events that occur when chanellised debris flows evolve from slope failures."

vox_mundi

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #11 on: May 17, 2020, 05:25:12 AM »
Looming Landslide in Alaska Could Trigger Enormous Tsunami at Any Moment, Scientists Warn
https://earther.gizmodo.com/looming-landslide-in-alaska-could-trigger-enormous-tsun-1843479019

The collapse of an unstable mountain slope in Alaska could trigger a catastrophic tsunami in Harriman Fjord. A retreating glacier is producing this precarious situation, highlighting yet another type of hazard caused by climate change.



“The effects would be especially severe near where the landslide enters the water at the head of Barry Arm. Additionally, areas of shallow water, or low-lying land near the shore, would be in danger even further from the source. A minor failure may not produce significant impacts beyond the inner parts of the fiord, while a complete failure could be destructive throughout Barry Arm, Harriman Fiord, and parts of Port Wells. Our initial results show complex impacts further from the landslide than Barry Arm, with over 30 foot waves [9 meters] in some distant bays, including Whittier. Field measurements and further analysis could allow us to make these estimates more accurate and specific.”



... Alaska is no stranger to landslide-induced tsunamis. Only July 9, 1958, an earthquake triggered a landslide in Lituya Bay, releasing an estimated 40 million cubic yards (30 million cubic meters) of material. The ensuing splash reached more than 1,700 feet (530 meters) in height. A gigantic wave then rolled through the fjord, knocking over trees and killing five people.

More recently, a 2015 landslide near Alaska’s Taan Glacier produced a 633 feet (193 meter) wave in Taan Fjord that smashed into the opposite wall of the glacial valley. And in 2017, a landslide in Greenland produced a tsunami that roared into a small, isolated community.

The looming tsunami in Harriman Fjord, however, would dwarf these previous examples. The scientists estimate a potential volume of collapsing material could be as high as 500 million cubic meters, and with a potential energy roughly 10 times greater than any of the previous events in Alaska. As the New York Times reported, this amount of material is “several hundred times the volume of Hoover Dam.”
There are 3 classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus

etienne

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Re: Climate Change and Landslides
« Reply #12 on: May 17, 2020, 07:47:53 AM »
Train accident in France because of a landslide.
https://www.lci.fr/police/un-tgv-strasbourg-paris-deraille-pres-de-saverne-la-photo-du-glissement-de-terrain-prise-apres-l-accident-2147166.html

I wonder if a mix of drought and heavy rains doesn't make the ground less stable than engineers are used to.