one process that moves

regolith, sediment and

soils about the Earths
surface is

Mass
Wasting

Mass Wasting
downslope movement of rock,
regolith, and soil under direct
influence of gravity
movement when force or gravity
exceeds resisting force (slope
stability)

Mass Wasting
earth materials
behave as solids or viscous masses
may be:
consolidated (compacted and
cemented)
unconsolidated (loose and
uncemented)

Mass Wasting
slope stability determined by:
1) strength and cohesiveness of slope
material(s)
2) internal friction between grains
3) any external support of slope

Factors Involved in Mass Wasting

1) gravity, vertical force split into vectors
parallel to (tangential) and perpendicular
to surface (normal)

Mass Wasting

2) friction on
surface or
between
grains
3) shear strength
- material
strength and
cohesion;
force
necessary to
disrupt
material

Factors Involved in Mass Wasting

instability
depends on:
angle

of repose
of material:

steepest angle
that slope
maintains
without
failing
" typically 25-40
for
unconsolidated
materials
"

Mass Wasting

slope can be
oversteepened by:

natural causes - stream

and wave erosion
human activity (e.g.,
roadcuts, hillside
construction)

What Causes Mass Wasting

1) slope gradient
most important
factor
movement
wherever slope
steeper than
natural angle of
repose

Mass Wasting

What Causes Mass Wasting

2) weathering and climate
weathering disaggregates and
disintegrates bedrock
climate controls type and rate of
weathering

Mass Wasting

What Causes Mass Wasting

3) water content
increased water decreases slope
stability because it:

adds weight
reduces cohesion displacing air and
destroying surface tension
reduces cohesion as pore pressure
pushes grains apart
enhances movement by lubricating
surfaces

Mass Wasting

What Causes Mass Wasting

4) defoliation
removal of vegetation destabilizes
slopes because:
plants adsorb water decreasing water
saturation limit of slope material
plants bind together soil particles
plants hold soil to bedrock with roots

Mass Wasting

What Causes Mass Wasting

5) Overloading
involves increase in weight which
may:
increase tangential force on plane
increase water pressure and decrease
friction causing failure

almost always result of human

activity - weight of buildings,
dumping, filling, or piling up material

Mass Wasting

What Causes Mass Wasting

6) bedrock geology
a) bedding

planes
and fractures -

zones of weakness
for weathering and
movement
b) rocks inclined
(dipping) in same
direction as slope
more prone to mass
wasting

Mass Wasting

What Causes Mass Wasting

7) triggering
mechanisms
some event:

excessive
rain
earthquakes
and volcanic
eruptions
vibrations
and noise

Mass Wasting

Types of Mass Wasting

several types of mass wasting
recognized and involve:
one type of movement
or

combination of movement
types
Mass Wasting

Types of Mass Wasting

mass movements classified
by dominant behavior:
1. type of motion (e.g., falling, sliding,
flowing)
2. rate of motion (velocity)
3. type of material involved (elastic
solid, a plastic substance, or as a
liquid)

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Falls

free
descent of
material no contact
with any
surface
except to
bounce

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Falls

failure along:
joints (subparallel
fractures
throughout rock)
bedding planes in
solid rock

talus accumulations of
loose rock at base
of steep slopes
slopes rarely
exceed 40

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Slides

movement of
coherent blocks
of material along
one or more
well-defined
surface of failure
slow or rapid
described as:
Slump
Glide

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Slumps

downward
movement
along curved
failure surface
rotation of block
above
scarp (small
cliff) up slope
initiated by
slope
oversteepening
aided by water
infiltration

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Slumps

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Slumps

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Glide

movement
(sliding)
along nearly
planar
surface
(usually
bedding
plane)
millions of
tons
transported
downslope

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Glide

factors contributing to sudden
movement include:
1. clay-rich units underlying more
resistant rocks,
2. steeply dipping rock strata
3. fractures
4. undercutting
5. heavy rains
6. earthquakes

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Glide

speeds can
exceed 100
km/hr
increased by
momentum
transfer
(momentum
of material at
back
transferred
forward
through
collisions)

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Glide

29 April 1903
Frank, Alberta

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Glide

29 April 1903
Frank, Alberta

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Flows

movement as
viscous fluid or
plastic
extremely slow
to extremely
rapid
principal types:
mudflows
debris flows
earthflows

Mass Wasting

most common in arid or

semi-arid areas following
rare heavy rains

Mass Movement - Mudflows

well-mixed
mass of
water (up to
30%) and
earth (at
least 50%
clay- and
silt-sized
particles)
moves as
fluid

Mass Wasting

Mass Wasting - Mudflows

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Debris Flows

typically in
semi-arid
mountainou
s areas
after heavy
rainfalls
coarser
than
mudflows
contain less
water

Mass Wasting

Mass Wasting - Earthflows

tongue-shaped mass with

hummocky surface and lobed ends

Mass Wasting

Mass Wasting - Earthflows

commonly
associated
with grasscovered
slopes in
humid
areas

Mass Wasting

Mass Wasting - Earthflows

solifluction slow downward
movement of
water-saturated
sediment
cold climates
with freezethaw of
permafrost

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Quick Clay

special case
earthflow

silt/clay-sized

particles
produced by
glacial grinding
and deposited in
a marine
environment
stable in salt
water, but
unstable and
liquefy exposed
to fresh water

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Quick Clay

Anchorage, 1964 Alaska earthquake

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Creep

slow downward
movement of
surface material
caused by:
wetting/drying
increased
burrowing by
animals
decaying roots
loading

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Creep

Mass Wasting

Mass Movement - Creep

most
widespread
type of flow
most common
in humid
regions
typified by:
tilted
telephone
poles
fence posts
bent tree
trunks

Mass Wasting

Complex Mass Movement

combination of styles with none dominant

Mass Wasting

Complex Mass Movement - Debris Avalanche

slump followed by slide or

flow down mountainside

Mass Wasting

Complex Mass Movement - Debris Slides

more viscous
and slower
than
mudflows
can carry
large objects
hummocky
surface and
lobed ends
grade into
debris flows
with water
saturation

Mass Wasting

.... how do we
deal with the
effects of mass
wasting?

Minimizing Disaster
Identification of High Risk Areas

areas prone to mass wasting often

readily identified
site hazard assessment studies involve:
1. identification of former landslide
areas
2. geologic assessment of rock/soil
material and structure
3. preparation of slope stability maps
various engineering methods used to
minimize danger and damage

Mass Wasting

Minimizing Disaster
slope dewatering:

surface and subsurface

drains installed to remove
excess water
reduces weight and
increases shear strength of
slope material

Mass Wasting

Minimizing Disaster

slope reduction:

a) Cut-and-fill - material removed from upper

part and used to fill bottom
b) Benching - steps cut into slope (commonly
with drains)

Mass Wasting

Minimizing Disaster
stabilizing structures:

a) retaining walls support base of slope

Mass Wasting

Minimizing Disaster

b) Rock bolts - fasten potentially unstable

rock masses to stable bedrock (used with

drains and chain-link fencing)

Mass Wasting