Sedimentology of the debris-flow-dominated Warm Spring Canyon alluvial fan, Death Valley, California

Sedimentology ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 941-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence C. Blair
2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 4819-4822
Author(s):  
Jin Feng Liu ◽  
Shun Yang ◽  
Guo Qiang Ou

The deposition prediction of debris flow hazardous area is very important for organizing and implementing debris flow disaster prevention and reduction. This paper selected the data base from laboratory experiments and applied the multiple regression statistical method to establish a series of empirical calculation models for delimiting the debris flow hazardous areas on the alluvial fan. The empirical models for predicting the maximum deposition length (Lc), the maximum deposition width (Bmax) and the maximum deposition thichness (Z0) under the condition of different debris flow volumes (V), densities (rm) and slopes of accumulation area (θd) were establised. And the verification results indicated that the established models can predict the debris flow hazards area with the average accuracy of 86%.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 679-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Arattano ◽  
L. Marchi ◽  
M. Cavalli

Abstract. On 24 August 2006, a debris flow took place in the Moscardo Torrent, a basin of the Eastern Italian Alps instrumented for debris-flow monitoring. The debris flow was recorded by two seismic networks located in the lower part of the basin and on the alluvial fan, respectively. The event was also recorded by a pair of ultrasonic sensors installed on the fan, close to the lower seismic network. The comparison between the different recordings outlines particular features of the August 2006 debris flow, different from that of events recorded in previous years. A typical debris-flow wave was observed at the upper seismic network, with a main front abruptly appearing in the torrent, followed by a gradual decrease of flow height. On the contrary, on the alluvial fan the wave displayed an irregular pattern, with low flow depth and the main peak occurring in the central part of the surge both in the seismic recording and in the hydrographs. Recorded data and field evidences indicate that the surge observed on the alluvial fan was not a debris flow, and probably consisted in a water surge laden with fine to medium-sized sediment. The change in shape and characteristics of the wave can be ascribed to the attenuation of the surge caused by the torrent control works implemented in the lower basin during the last years.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 999-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Arattano ◽  
R. Conte ◽  
L. Franzi ◽  
D. Giordan ◽  
A. Lazzari ◽  
...  

Abstract. In the Piedmont Region (North-Western Italy), the regional authorities manage debris flow risk by following the ideal sequence of steps that are generally pursued in land planning and civil protection activities. Complex procedures and methods are elaborated and widely discussed with politicians, economists and the general public. On the contrary, in emergency situations, civil protection agencies generally prefer the adoption of simple and flexible criteria. In this paper, a catastrophic debris flow event, that occurred in 2008 in Villar Pellice, is described in this perspective, after an analysis of the triggering rainfalls and of the effects on human life and properties. The availability of a series of personal accounts coming from people who witnessed the occurrences before, during and after the event has allowed us to analyse, in detail, the dynamics of the event. Thanks to these accounts, it has been possible to propose new guidelines for the planning of the emergency activities in areas that are potentially prone to similar impulsive phenomena.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1247-1257 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lopez Saez ◽  
C. Corona ◽  
M. Stoffel ◽  
A. Gotteland ◽  
F. Berger ◽  
...  

Abstract. Hydrogeomorphic processes are a major threat in many parts of the Alps, where they periodically damage infrastructure, disrupt transportation corridors or even cause loss of life. Nonetheless, past torrential activity and the analysis of areas affected during particular events remain often imprecise. It was therefore the purpose of this study to reconstruct spatio-temporal patterns of past debris-flow activity in abandoned channels on the forested cone of the Manival torrent (Massif de la Chartreuse, French Prealps). A Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) generated Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was used to identify five abandoned channels and related depositional forms (lobes, lateral levees) in the proximal alluvial fan of the torrent. A total of 156 Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris L.) with clear signs of debris flow events was analyzed and growth disturbances (GD) assessed, such as callus tissue, the onset of compression wood or abrupt growth suppression. In total, 375 GD were identified in the tree-ring samples, pointing to 13 debris-flow events for the period 1931–2008. While debris flows appear to be very common at Manival, they have only rarely propagated outside the main channel over the past 80 years. Furthermore, analysis of the spatial distribution of disturbed trees contributed to the identification of four patterns of debris-flow routing and led to the determination of three preferential breakout locations. Finally, the results of this study demonstrate that the temporal distribution of debris flows did not exhibit significant variations since the beginning of the 20th century.


CATENA ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Oguchi ◽  
Chiaki T. Oguchi

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wei ◽  
Kaiheng Hu ◽  
Jin Liu

Debris flows, which cause massive economic losses and tragic losses of life every year, represent serious threats to settlements in mountainous areas. Most deaths caused by debris flows in China occur in buildings, and the death toll is strongly dependent on the time people spend indoors. However, the role of time spent indoors in the quantitative analysis of debris flow risk has been studied only scarcely. We chose Luomo village in Sichuan atop a debris flow alluvial fan to study the influence of the temporal variation in the presence of people inside buildings on the societal risk. Two types of days (holidays vs. workdays) and two diurnal periods (daytime vs. nighttime) were considered in our risk evaluation model. A questionnaire survey was conducted for each family in the village, and the probability of the temporal impact of a debris flow on every household was calculated based on the average amount of time each member spent in the house. The debris flow hazard was simulated with FLO-2D to obtain the debris flow intensity and run-out map with return periods of 2, 10, 50, and 100 years. The risk to buildings and societal risk to residents were calculated quantitatively based on the probabilities of debris flow occurrence, the probability of the spatial impact, and the vulnerabilities of buildings and people. The results indicated that societal risk on holidays is always higher than that on weekdays, and societal risk at night is also much higher than that in the daytime, suggesting that the risk to life on holidays and at night is an important consideration. The proposed method permits us to obtain estimates of the probable economic losses and societal risk to people by debris flows in rural settlements and provides a basis for decision-making in the planning of mitigation countermeasures.


1970 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 9-20
Author(s):  
Naresh Kazi Tamrakar ◽  
Achut Prajapati ◽  
Suman Manandhar

Mountainous and hilly regions are potential for debris flows, one of the major forms of natural disasters, which cause serious damage in downstream areas. The southwestern region of the Kathmandu Valley experienced catastrophic flows in the Champadevi River and its two tributaries (the Aitabare and the Raute Rivers) in July 2002. These rivers were investigated for morphologic, hydraulic and sedimentary characteristics to evaluate potential of debris flow in the area. The Raute and the Aitabare Rivers have tendency of headward erosion due to abrupt drop of gradient down the scarp of the alluvial fan deposit composed of unconsolidated matrix-supported gravel and mud. Because of this tendency, the rivers erode their substrate and banks, and contribute slope movements by sheding a huge amount of clasts and matrix. Therefore, instability condition of rivers and unconsolidated material available in the river courses potentially contribute for debris flow. The tractive shear stresses in the Aitabare, the Raute and the Champadevi Rivers (1.27, 1.60 and 0.48 KPa, respectively) exceeds twice the critical shear stresses required to transport 90th-percentile fraction of the riverbed material (0.14, 0.18 and 0.11 KPa). The stream powers (10.8, 17.2 and 5.1 m-kN/s/m2) of these rivers also greatly exceed the critical stream powers (0.21, 0.35 and 0.18 m-kN/s/m2) required to initiate traction transport. Because the tractive shear stresses and the stream powers that are achieved during bankfull flow are several times larger than the corresponding critical values, even the flow having stream power exceeding the critical stream power may potentially generate debris flow.   doi: 10.3126/bdg.v10i0.1416 Bulletin of the Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, Vol. 10, 2007, pp. 9-20


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