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Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations triggered by extreme rainfall and agricultural practices (eastern Michoacan, Mexico)

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Abstract

The study of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD) in Mexico is scarce; therefore, their localization and causes are highly overlooked. The present paper examines the characterization of the DSGSD of Jungapeo and Las Pilas in eastern Michoacan state, currently active and endangering their inhabitants. An integrated study, including detailed lithology, morpho-structural inventories, analysis of land use, and pluviometric regime, was performed and complemented with differential global positioning system monitoring networks. Both landslides developed over highly weathered volcano-sedimentary rocks. On the one hand, the Jungapeo landslide has an estimated volume of 990,455 m3 with steady decreasing velocity rates from 41 to 15 cm/month in the first monitoring period to 13–3 cm/month in the last one. On the other hand, the Las Pilas landslide estimated volume is about 1,082,467 m3 with a stable velocity rate of 1.3 to 0.1 cm/month. Despite the multi-storeyed style of activity, two behaviors of instability were distinguished: slow deformation and secondary landslide stages. The conditioning factors for slow deformation in both DSGSD are the combination of weathered lithology with clay- and sand-rich content, and the shift toward intensive monoculture. The triggering factor is related to excess water produced by an inefficient flood-irrigation system that also generates an atypical acceleration behavior in both landslides during the dry season. The DSGSD activity thus predisposes the generation of tension cracks and secondary scarps from which the collateral landslides are triggered by atypical rainfall, such as that of 2010.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Comisión Nacional del Agua for providing the data of the meteorological stations. The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their accurate comments that highly improved the quality of the manuscript.

Funding

This work is part of PhD project at Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, Mexico, financed through scholarship number 259284 by CONACYT. This research was partially funded by CONACYT project CB-2009-01 and project CIC-UMSNH 2015 and 2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. División de Geociencias Aplicadas, IPICYT, Camino a la Presa San José 2055, Lomas 4ta sección, 78216, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

    Cecilia Irene Villaseñor-Reyes, Pablo Dávila-Harris & Sócrates Figueroa-Miranda

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra, UMSNH, Avenida Francisco J. Mujica S/N, 58030, Morelia, Mexico

    Víctor Manuel Hernández-Madrigal

Authors
  1. Cecilia Irene Villaseñor-Reyes
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  2. Pablo Dávila-Harris
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  3. Víctor Manuel Hernández-Madrigal
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  4. Sócrates Figueroa-Miranda
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Correspondence to Cecilia Irene Villaseñor-Reyes.

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Villaseñor-Reyes, C.I., Dávila-Harris, P., Hernández-Madrigal, V.M. et al. Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations triggered by extreme rainfall and agricultural practices (eastern Michoacan, Mexico). Landslides 15, 1867–1879 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-018-1031-z

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