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The landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China and the effects of water storage and rain on their stability

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

According to the statistics, there were about 1,736 landslides with the total volume of 1.339 × 1011 m3 in the 100 km2 area of upper reaches of the Yangtze River, in which about 94% of landslides are triggered by rain and water storage. Thus, based investigation of the results of the landslides in this region, this paper completed a systematic study on the effects of rainfall and water storage on the landslides in the region and found that the distribution of landslides over time and space are well correlated with the precipitation distribution in this region; landslides are also strictly controlled by the stratum, geological structure, river valley form, shore type, etc. Meanwhile, the pattern of water table variation of the three gorges reservoir will do have very serious impacts on the stability of the slopes in this region. All research results show that water storage and rainfall are the two important inducing factors that can cause a lot of large-scale landslides. Therefore, some effective control measures for water storage and rainfall should be taken so as to minimize the impacts of water on the stability of the slopes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region of Yangtze River, China.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40672182) and the Key Laboratory of Geological Hazards on Three Gorges Reservoir Area (China Three Gorges University), the Ministry of Education. Great thanks to Professor Luo Xianqi, China Three Gorges University and Professor Du Rulin, Economic University of Shijiazhuang, China, for supplying the authors with the practical monitoring data of landslides. Postgraduates Wang Ronglu, Wang Qisheng, Liu Jianwei and Feng Lipo have performed much significant work in the investigation and data-analysis for this paper; the authors are indebted to them for this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Qingdao Technological University, Qingdao, Shandong, 266033, P. R. China

    He Keqiang & Guo Dong

  2. Yantai University, Yantai, Shandong, P. R. China

    Li Xiangran

  3. China Three Gorges University, Yichang, Hubei, P. R. China

    Yan Xueqing

Authors
  1. He Keqiang
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  2. Li Xiangran
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  3. Yan Xueqing
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  4. Guo Dong
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Correspondence to He Keqiang.

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Keqiang, H., Xiangran, L., Xueqing, Y. et al. The landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China and the effects of water storage and rain on their stability. Environ Geol 55, 55–63 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0964-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0964-7

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