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Reconstruction of the 1783 Scilla landslide, Italy: numerical investigations on the flow-like behaviour of landslides

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Abstract

This paper presents a mass flow model that includes gravity force, material stresses, drag force and topography effects solving a set of hyperbolic partial differential equations by using a so-called depth-averaged technique. The model is non-linear and general enough to tackle various problems of interest for geophysics and environmental engineering, such as the dynamic evolution of flow-like avalanches, the dam break problem (involving only water flow) and the generation of tsunami waves by landslides. The model is based on a Eulerian fluid solver, using a second-order central scheme with a minmod-like limiter; is tested against a number of typical benchmark cases, including analytical solutions and experimental laboratory data; and also compared with other numerical codes. Through this model, we study a historical tsunamigenic event occurred in 1783 in Scilla, Italy, that resulted to be catastrophic with a toll exceeding 1500 fatalities. The landslide is reconstructed by a mixture debris flow, and results are compared with the observational data and other numerical simulations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Prof. Lanhao Zhao of the Hohai University, China, for handing over the EU CADAM experiment data.

Funding

This author Liang Wang thanks the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for the financial support from the cooperation agreement between the University of Bologna and the China Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia (DIFA), Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 8, 40127, Bologna, Italy

    Liang Wang, Filippo Zaniboni & Stefano Tinti

  2. Department of Civil Engineering and Industrial Design, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Xue Zhang

Authors
  1. Liang Wang
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  2. Filippo Zaniboni
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  3. Stefano Tinti
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  4. Xue Zhang
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Correspondence to Liang Wang.

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Wang, L., Zaniboni, F., Tinti, S. et al. Reconstruction of the 1783 Scilla landslide, Italy: numerical investigations on the flow-like behaviour of landslides. Landslides 16, 1065–1076 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-019-01151-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-019-01151-5

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