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Analysis of the triggering conditions and erosion of a runoff-triggered debris flow in Miyun County, Beijing, China

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Abstract

The occurrence of debris flow from channel-bed failure is occasionally noted in small and steeply sloping watersheds where channelized water flow dominates debris flow initiation. On August 12, 2016, a debris flow from channel-bed failures occurred in the Caozhuangzi Watershed of the Longtan Basin, Miyun, Beijing. Rainfall records over 10-min intervals and field investigations including channel morphology measurements were used to study the triggering conditions and erosion process. The results indicated that the occurrence of this event lagged the peak 10-min rainfall interval and that the cumulative rainfall prior to the occurrence time played an important role in its formation. A mean 10-min rainfall intensity–duration expression in the form of I10 = 5.0 × D−0.21, where I10 denotes the mean 10-min rainfall intensity and D is the rainfall duration ranging from 10 to 60 h, was proposed. The debris flows have low proportions of grain size fractions < 0.1 mm and higher fractions of grains 0.1–2 mm in size, indicating that the flow had low viscosity and was coarse-grain dominated. Channel morphology analysis revealed that abrupt changes in topography in the study area, including a steep section, a concave stream bank area, and a partial concave stream section were eroded more extensively than other sites. The maximum sediment erosion volume and erosion depth were not proportional to the variation in stream gradient. Consideration of the degree of erosion in the channel at sites with abrupt morphology changes, the maximum sediment erosion volume, and the erosion depth and volume at the initial channel site and downstream region of forest area together showed that the prime factor controlling erosion was entrained sediment volume. This work, thus, provides a case study regarding the triggering conditions of runoff-triggered debris flows and the topographical changes by debris flow erosion.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the anonymous reviewers of this paper for their detailed remarks and helpful suggestions.

Funding

This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant No. 2016ZCQ06) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41702369).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jinyun Forest Ecosystem Research Station, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Ma, Jiayong Deng & Rui Wang

  2. Beijing Engineering Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Ma, Jiayong Deng & Rui Wang

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  1. Chao Ma
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  2. Jiayong Deng
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  3. Rui Wang
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Correspondence to Chao Ma.

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Ma, C., Deng, J. & Wang, R. Analysis of the triggering conditions and erosion of a runoff-triggered debris flow in Miyun County, Beijing, China. Landslides 15, 2475–2485 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-018-1080-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-018-1080-3

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