Abstract
At a regional scale, the concurrent occurrence of multiple post-seismic debris flows has been commonly encountered due to abundant source materials, of which spatial distribution is crucial for the debris flow hazard assessment. So far, quantitative assessments of post-seismic debris flows at a regional scale are still limited, especially with the consideration of the spatial distribution of source materials. In the present study, a framework for post-seismic debris flows hazard assessment at the regional scale is proposed, considering topography, source materials and rainfall, based on the depth-integrated particle method coupled with a soil–water mixing model. In particular, the Beichuan region, where was one of the most damaged regions during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, is chosen as a case study. The spatial distribution of source materials, which is identified based on the high-resolution imagery, is considered during the hazard assessment. Simulation results show that the delineated post-seismic debris flow map, based on the computed specific affected area, is in fairly good agreement with field investigations in the Beichuan region after the earthquake event. Regional hazard assessment shows that the destructive potential of post-seismic debris flows to the Beichuan city is amplified, comparing with that evaluated separately at a catchment scale. The enhanced destructive potential is mainly attributed to the coupling effects between multiple debris flows in terms of discharge and velocity. In addition, the magnitude and intensity of post-seismic debris flows considering the spatial distribution of source materials are computed more accurately than those only estimated by rainfall and topography. This study implies that the regional assessment framework considering the spatial distribution of source materials, topography and rainfall can provide reasonable and reliable physical–mechanical parameters in practical engineering, avoiding underestimation of hazard assessment or unreasonable prevention and mitigation strategies.
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Data availability
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their gratitude for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41807257 and 51909205).
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The work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41807257 and 51909205).
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Zhang, N., Mu, Q. Quantitative investigation of post-seismic debris flows considering the spatial distribution of source materials. Environ Earth Sci 80, 713 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10048-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-10048-3