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The formation and development of debris flows in large watersheds after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake

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Abstract

The Wenchuan earthquake has caused abundance of loose materials supplies for debris flows. Many debris flows have occurred in watersheds in area beyond 20 km2, presenting characteristics differing from those in small watersheds. The debris flows yearly frequency decreases exponentially, and the average debris flow magnitude increases linearly with watershed size. The rainfall thresholds for debris flows in large watersheds were expressed as I = 14.7 D −0.79 (2 h < D < 56 h), which is considerably higher than those in small watersheds as I = 4.4 D −0.70 (2 h < D < 37 h). A case study is conducted in Ergou, 39.4 km2 in area, to illustrate the formation and development processes of debris flows in large watersheds. A debris flow develops in a large watershed only when the rainfall was high enough to trigger the wide-spread failures and erosions on slope and realize the confluence in the watershed. The debris flow was supplied by the widely distributed failures dominated by rill erosions (14 in 22 sources in this case). The intermittent supplying increased the size and duration of debris flow. While the landslide dam failures provided most amounts for debris flows (57 % of the total amount), and amplified the discharge suddenly. During these processes, the debris flow velocity and density increased as well. The similar processes were observed in other large watersheds, indicating this case is representative.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Meteorological Bureau of Sichuan Province, for providing the rainfall data. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (grant no. 41301008), the Key Deployment Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. KZZD-EW-05-01) and the National Key Technologies R&D Program of China (grant no. 2012BAK10B04). We also acknowledge Dr. William B. Mahoney for improving the English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Process and Hazards/Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Xiaojun Guo, Peng Cui, Yong Li, Qiang Zou & Yingde Kong

  2. Asian Network on Debris Flow, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Xiaojun Guo, Peng Cui & Yong Li

  3. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China

    Xiaojun Guo, Qiang Zou & Yingde Kong

Authors
  1. Xiaojun Guo
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  2. Peng Cui
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  3. Yong Li
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  4. Qiang Zou
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  5. Yingde Kong
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Correspondence to Peng Cui.

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Guo, X., Cui, P., Li, Y. et al. The formation and development of debris flows in large watersheds after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. Landslides 13, 25–37 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0541-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0541-6

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