The Zymoetz River landslide, British Columbia, Canada: description and dynamic analysis of a rock slide–debris flow

Landslides ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott McDougall ◽  
Nichole Boultbee ◽  
Oldrich Hungr ◽  
Doug Stead ◽  
James W. Schwab
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Dynamic Analysis ◽  
Rock Slide ◽  
Slide Debris

Two debris flow modes on Mount Cayley, British Columbia

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Y Lu ◽  
D M Cruden
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Laminar Flows ◽  
Rock Slide ◽  
Depletion Zone ◽  
Volcanic Stratigraphy ◽  
Partially Saturated ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Main Track ◽  
Small Tributary

The 1963 landslide on Mount Cayley, British Columbia, began at the head of Dusty Creek, a small tributary of Turbid Creek, a major creek draining Mount Cayley, and terminated at the present confluence of Dusty and Turbid creeks. About 5 × 106 m3 of partially saturated, columnar-jointed dacite and weak pyroclastic rocks moved 2.4 km downstream. The depletion zone contained three separate blocks. The landslide deposits have distinct layers that can be traced back to similar bedrock units in the undisturbed material, which are three times thicker. The accumulation zone is divided by two gullys into three blocks, which preserve, much thinned, different but overlapping portions of the volcanic stratigraphy. The 1984 rock slide on Avalache Creek, 0.8 km away, involved tuff breccia, tuff lapilli, and tuff, all easily broken. Its main track ran over thick snow and ice on the bottom of the creek. Differences in water content and displaced material led to different flow modes: the 1963 fragments formed laminar flows, which supported comparatively undeformed central plugs; the turbulent 1984 flow's deposits have no distinct layers. The two modes, laminar flow and turbulent flow, also formed different types of landslide dams. Key words: landslide, debris flow, volcano, British Columbia, tuff, lava.

scholarly journals The 6 August 2010 Mount Meager rock slide-debris flow, Coast Mountains, British Columbia: characteristics, dynamics, and implications for hazard and risk assessment

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1277-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Guthrie ◽  
P. Friele ◽  
K. Allstadt ◽  
N. Roberts ◽  
S. G. Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Volcanic Complex ◽  
Rock Slide ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. A large rock avalanche occurred at 03:27:30 PDT, 6 August 2010, in the Mount Meager Volcanic Complex southwest British Columbia. The landslide initiated as a rock slide in Pleistocene rhyodacitic volcanic rock with the collapse of the secondary peak of Mount Meager. The detached rock mass impacted the volcano's weathered and saturated flanks, creating a visible seismic signature on nearby seismographs. Undrained loading of the sloping flank caused the immediate and extremely rapid evacuation of the entire flank with a strong horizontal force, as the rock slide transformed into a debris flow. The disintegrating mass travelled down Capricorn Creek at an average velocity of 64 m s−1, exhibiting dramatic super-elevation in bends to the intersection of Meager Creek, 7.8 km from the source. At Meager Creek the debris impacted the south side of Meager valley, causing a runup of 270 m above the valley floor and the deflection of the landslide debris both upstream (for 3.7 km) and downstream into the Lillooet River valley (for 4.9 km), where it blocked the Lillooet River river for a couple of hours, approximately 10 km from the landslide source. Deposition at the Capricorn–Meager confluence also dammed Meager Creek for about 19 h creating a lake 1.5 km long. The overtopping of the dam and the predicted outburst flood was the basis for a night time evacuation of 1500 residents in the town of Pemberton, 65 km downstream. High-resolution GeoEye satellite imagery obtained on 16 October 2010 was used to create a post-event digital elevation model. Comparing pre- and post-event topography we estimate the volume of the initial displaced mass from the flank of Mount Meager to be 48.5 × 106 m3, the height of the path (H) to be 2183 m and the total length of the path (L) to be 12.7 km. This yields H/L = 0.172 and a fahrböschung (travel angle) of 9.75°. The movement was recorded on seismographs in British Columbia and Washington State with the initial impact, the debris flow travelling through bends in Capricorn Creek, and the impact with Meager Creek are all evident on a number of seismograms. The landslide had a seismic trace equivalent to a M = 2.6 earthquake. Velocities and dynamics of the movement were simulated using DAN-W. The 2010 event is the third major landslide in the Capricorn Creek watershed since 1998 and the fifth large-scale mass flow in the Meager Creek watershed since 1930. No lives were lost in the event, but despite its relatively remote location direct costs of the 2010 landslide are estimated to be in the order of $10 M CAD.

An examination of controls on debris flow mobility: Evidence from coastal British Columbia

Geomorphology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.H. Guthrie ◽  
A. Hockin ◽  
L. Colquhoun ◽  
T. Nagy ◽  
S.G. Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Flow Mobility ◽  
Coastal British Columbia

scholarly journals Back-calculation of the 2017 Piz Cengalo-Bondo landslide cascade with r.avaflow

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Mergili ◽  
Michel Jaboyedoff ◽  
José Pullarello ◽  
Shiva P. Pudasaini
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flow ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Rock Fall ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Rock Slide ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Initial Rock

Abstract. In the morning of 23 August 2017, around 3 million m3 of granitoid rock broke off from the east face of Piz Cengalo, SE Switzerland. The initial rock slide-rock fall entrained 0.6 million m3 of a glacier and continued as a rock(-ice) avalanche, before evolving into a channelized debris flow that reached the village of Bondo at a distance of 6.5 km after a couple of minutes. Subsequent debris flow surges followed in the next hours and days. The event resulted in eight fatalities along its path and severely damaged Bondo. The most likely candidates for the water causing the transformation of the rock avalanche into a long-runout debris flow are the entrained glacier ice and water originating from the debris beneath the rock avalanche. In the present work we try to reconstruct conceptually and numerically the cascade from the initial rock slide-rock fall to the first debris flow surge and thereby consider two scenarios in terms of qualitative conceptual process models: (i) entrainment of most of the glacier ice by the frontal part of the initial rock slide-rock fall and/or injection of water from the basal sediments due to sudden rise in pore pressure, leading to a frontal debris flow, with the rear part largely remaining dry and depositing mid-valley; and (ii) most of the entrained glacier ice remaining beneath/behind the frontal rock avalanche, and developing into an avalanching flow of ice and water, part of which overtops and partially entrains the rock avalanche deposit, resulting in a debris flow. Both scenarios can be numerically reproduced with the two-phase mass flow model implemented with the simulation software r.avaflow, based on plausible assumptions of the model parameters. However, these simulation results do not allow to conclude on which of the two scenarios is the more likely one. Future work will be directed towards the application of a three-phase flow model (rock, ice, fluid) including phase transitions, in order to better represent the melting of glacier ice, and a more appropriate consideration of deposition of debris flow material along the channel.

Recent Colonization of a Major Salmon-Producing Lake in British Columbia by Pacific Lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan P. Farlinger ◽  
Richard J. Beamish
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Nursery Area ◽  
Commercial Fishery ◽  
Rock Slide ◽  
Pacific Lamprey ◽  
Natural Lake ◽  
Lampetra Tridentata

Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) were first observed in Babine Lake, the largest natural lake wholly contained in British Columbia, in 1963 and are currently found along approximately 15% of the length of the lake near the outlet. The number of spawning adults in 1982 was estimated to be 7281. Since Babine Lake is a major nursery area for sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), the colonization of this lake by a parasitic lamprey is of concern, particularly if the species can become nonanadromous. The colonization may be beneficial if a commercial fishery can be sustained and if the species does not begin to feed in freshwater. The reason for the recent colonization is unknown but it coincides with increased human manipulation of fishes and habitat, including the removal of a major rock slide, 65 km downstream of the lake.

Dynamic analysis of coupled train–track–bridge system subjected to debris flow impact

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 919-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Zhang ◽  
Zhipeng Wen ◽  
Wensu Chen ◽  
Xiyang Wang ◽  
Yan Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flow ◽  
Dynamic Analysis ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Impact Load ◽  
Dynamic Responses ◽  
Train Track ◽  
Running Safety ◽  
Track Bridge ◽  
Safety Indices ◽  
Bridge System

With the increasing popularity of high-speed railway, more and more bridges are being constructed in Western China where debris flows are very common. A debris flow with moderate intensity may endanger a high-speed train traveling on a bridge, since its direct impact leads to adverse dynamic responses of the bridge and the track structure. In order to address this issue, a dynamic analysis model is established for studying vibrations of coupled train–track–bridge system subjected to debris flow impact, in which a model of debris flow impact load in time domain is proposed and applied on bridge piers as external excitation. In addition, a six-span simply supported box girder bridge is considered as a case study. The dynamic responses of the bridge and the running safety indices such as derailment factor, offload factor, and lateral wheel–rail force of the train are investigated. Some influencing factors are then discussed based on parametric studies. The results show that both bridge responses and running safety indices are greatly amplified due to debris flow impact loads as compared with that without debris flow impact. With respect to the debris flow impact load, the boulder collision has a more negative impact on the dynamic responses of the bridge and train than the dynamic slurry pressure. Both the debris flow impact intensity and train speed determine the running safety indices, and the debris flow occurrence time should be also carefully considered to investigate the worst scenario.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document