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Landslides in Mountain Regions: Hazards, Resources and Information

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Geophysical Hazards

Part of the book series: International Year of Planet Earth ((IYPE))

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Abstract

The role of landslides in mountain regions is complicated. Landslides are considered as a mechanism of loss and the accumulation of dispersed mineral matter. They also play a role in the formation of new mountain relief and ecosystems, and the conservation of archeological and environmental information. The loss by landslides of fine earth, an irreversible resource, reduces the life-supporting resources of mountain regions. To investigate this a 15–100 year chronosequence of landslides was studied in the West Caucasus (Georgia), using case studies of stabilised slumps within newly settled agricultural areas with accumulated fine earth. Past landslides that buried settlements can be considered as “keepers” of scientific information recorded in cultural layers and fossil soils. The archeological site Gruzinka (North Caucasus, Russia) is such an example.

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Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank sincerely Prof. G. Khomeriki, senior geologist of Department for Geology and Mining of Republic of Adzharia (Georgia), and O. Papidze, Chief of Land Department of Khulo district, for their assistance and providing information. Research in the Georgia could not have been undertaken without the goodwill and generosity of local administrations and the numerous landowners of Skhalta Sakrebulo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography of RAS, 119017, Moscow, Russia

    Raisa Gracheva & Alexandra Golyeva

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  1. Raisa Gracheva
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  2. Alexandra Golyeva
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Correspondence to Raisa Gracheva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Atmospheric Research, Station Street 111, Aspendale, 3195, Australia

    Tom Beer

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Gracheva, R., Golyeva, A. (2009). Landslides in Mountain Regions: Hazards, Resources and Information. In: Beer, T. (eds) Geophysical Hazards. International Year of Planet Earth. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3236-2_15

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