Abstract
Precipitation infiltration is one of the most significant triggering factors for slope failure occurrence in many places around the world. Knowledge of the mechanisms leading to precipitation-induced slope failures is of great importance to the management of landslide hazard. In this study, a soil water balance model is developed to estimate soil water flux during the process of infiltration from rainfall data, with consideration of storm periods and non-storm periods. Two important assumptions in this study are given: (1) instantaneous uniform distribution of the degree of saturation and (2) a linear relationship between evapotranspiration and the related degree of saturation. For storm periods, the Brooks and Corey model estimates both the soil water retention curve and soil water parameters. The infiltration partition is employed by an infinite-series solution of Philip in conjunction with the time compression approximation. For none-storm periods, evapotranspiration can be derived for the moisture depletion of soil water. This study presents a procedure for calculating the safety factor for an unsaturated slope suffering from precipitation infiltration. The process of infiltration into a slope due to rainfall and its effect on soil slope behavior are examined using modified Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion in conjunction with a soil water balance model. The results indicate that the matric suction, which is closely related to slope stability, is affected by the degree of saturation controlled by rainfall events.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen RG, Pereira LS, Rase D, Smith M (1998) Crop evapotranspiration Guidelines for computing crop water requirements-FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56, Rome
Au SWC (1998) Rain-induced slope instability in Hong Kong. Eng Geol 51:1–36
Bishop AW (1959) The principle of effective stress. Teknisk Ukeblad I Samarbeide Med Teknikk, Oslo, Norway 106:859–863
Borga M, Fontana GD, De Ros D, Marchi L (1998) Shallow landslide hazard assessment using a physically based model and digital elevation data. Environ Geol 35:81–88
Bras RL (1990) Hydrology, An introduction to hydrologic science. Addison-Wesley, Reading
Brooks RJ, Corey AT (1964) Hydraulic properties of porous media. Hydrology Papers 3 Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Chen H (2006) Controlling factors of hazardous debris flow in Taiwan. Quatern Int 147:3–15
Chen H, Lee CF, Law KT (2004) Causative mechanisms of rainfall-induced fill slope failures. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 130:593–602
Chen CY, Lin LY, Yu FC, Lee CS, Tseng CC, Wang AH, Cheung KW (2007) Improving debris flow monitoring in Taiwan by using high-resolution rainfall products from QPESUMS. Nat Hazards 40:447–461
Cho SE, Lee SR (2002) Evaluation of Surficial Stability for Homogeneous Slopes Considering Rainfall Characteristics. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 128:756–763
Collins BD, Znidarcic D (2004) Stability analyses of rainfall induced landslides. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 130:362–372
Crosta GB, Frattini P (2003) Distributed modeling of shallow landslides triggered by intense rainfall. Natural Hazards Earth Syst Sci 3:81–93
Eagleson PS (1978) Climate, soil, and vegetation 2, the distribution of annual precipitation derived from observed storm sequences. Water Resour Res 14:713–721
Fourie AB, Rowe D, Blight GE (1999) The effect of infiltration on the stability of the slopes of a dry ash dump. Geotechnique 49:1–13
Fredlund DG, Rahardjo H (1993) Soil mechanics for unsaturated soils. Wiley, New York
Godt JW, Baum RL, Lu N (2009) Landsliding in partially saturated materials. Geophys Res Lett 36:L02403
Iverson RM (2000) Landslide triggering by rain infiltration. Water Resour Res 36:1897–1910
Khalili N, Khabbaz MH (1998) A unique relationship for χ for the determination of the shear strength of unsaturated soils. Geotechnique 48:681–687
Kim CP, Stricker JNM, Torfs PJJF (1996) An analytical framework for the water budget of the unsaturated zone. Water Resour Res 32:3475–3484
Kuo CY, Tai YC, Chen CC, Chang KJ, Siau AY, Dong JJ, Han RH, Shimamoto T, Lee CT (2011) The landslide stage of the Hsiaolin catastrophe: simulation and validation. J Geophys Res 116:F04007
Lee YF, Chi YY (2011) Rainfall-induced landslide risk at Lushan,Taiwan. Eng Geol 123:113–121
Lee CT, Huang CC, Lee JF, Pan KL, Lin ML, Dong JJ (2008) Statistical approach to storm event-induced landslides susceptibility. Nature Hazards Earth Syst Sci 8:941–960
Lim TT, Rahardjo H, Chang MF, Fredlund DG (1996) Effect of rainfall on matric suction in a residual soil slope. Can Geotech J 33:618–628
Lu N, Godt JW (2008) Infinite-slope stability under steady unsaturated seepage conditions. Water Resour Res 44:W11404
Mein RG, Larson CL (1973) Modeling infiltration during a steady state rain. Water Resour Res 9:384–394
Montgomery DR, Dietrich WE (1994) A physically based model for the topographic control on shallow landslide. Water Resour Res 30:83–92
Muntohar AS, Liao HJ (2009) Analysis of rainfall-induced infinite slope failure during typhoon using a hydrological–geotechnical model. Environ Geol 56:1145–1159
Pan KL (1996) Application of remote sensing images in the analysis of geologic hazards in the areas along new central cross-island highway caused by the typhoon Herb. Sino Geotechnics 57:45–54
Parlange JY, Lisle I, Braddock RD, Smith RE (1982) The three parameter infiltration equation. Soil Sci 133:337–341
Parlange JY, Hogarth WL, Barry DA, Parlange MB, Haverkamp R, Ross PJ, Steenhuis TS, DiCarlo DA, Katul G (1999) Analytical approximation to the solution of Richards’ equation with applications to infiltration, ponding, and time compression approximation. Adv Water Resour 23:189–194
Philip JR (1957) The theory of infiltration, 4, sorptivity and algebraic infiltration equation. Soil Sci 84:257–264
Rahardjo H, Lim TT, Chang MF, Fredlund DG (1995) Shear-strength characteristics of a residual soil. Can Geotech J 32:60–77
Rahardjo H, Li XE, Toll DG, Leong EC (2001) The effect of antecedent rainfall on slope stability. Geotech Geol Eng 19:371–399
Richards LA (1931) Capillary conduction of liquids through porous media. Physics 1:318–333
Shou K, Chen Y, Liu H (2009) Hazard analysis of Li-shan landslide in Taiwan. Geomorphology 103:143–153
Sidle RC, Ochiai H (2006) Landslides: processes, prediction, and land use, American Geophysical Union Water Resources Monograph 18, Washington DC
Smith RE, Parlange JY (1978) A parameter-efficient hydrologic infiltration model. Water Resour Res 14:533–538
Terzaghi K (1943) Theoretical soil mechanics. Wiley, New York
Tsai TL (2011) Influences of soil water characteristic curve on rainfall-induced shallow landslides. Environ Earth Sci 64(2):449–459
Tsai TL, Chen HF (2010) Effects of degree of saturation on shallow landslides triggered by rainfall. Environ Earth Sci 59:1285–1295
Vanapalli SK, Fredlund DG, Pufahl DE, Clifton AW (1996) Model for the prediction of shear strength with respect to soil suction. Can Geotech J 33:379–392
Wu W, Sidle RC (1995) A distributed slope stability model for steep forested basins. Water Resour Res 31:2097–2110
Yeh HF (2008) Analysis of Groundwater Resources in Mountainous Basin: Case Study. Ph.D. Dissertation, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Zahn TLT, Ng CWW, Fredlund DG (2007) Field study of rainfall infiltration into a grassed unsaturated expansive soil slope. Can Geotech J 44:392–408
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the support of the Research Project of the National Science Council (NSC100-2116-M-006-004). Comments from the Editor and anonymous reviewers are greatly appreciated.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yeh, HF., Lee, CH. Soil water balance model for precipitation-induced shallow landslides. Environ Earth Sci 70, 2691–2701 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2326-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2326-y