Abstract
Landslide damming is a widespread phenomenon worldwide and significantly affects the evolution of fluvial landscapes. However, it is rarely witnessed from an antiquities perspective, and the case for observing their internal structure is challenging. We attempt to visualize the subsurface structure and understand the likely breaching mechanism of the late Pleistocene Diexi gigantic landslide dam (longevity of ~ 10 ka), using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method. Eight ERT measurements on the Diexi dam body revealed high resistivity zones near the periphery and lower resistivity zones in the middle portion of the profiles. Geomorphological mapping based on the LiDAR data determined the boundary of the landslide. Field investigation found that zones of low resistivity were connected to a ditched gully. Because breaching such an enormous lake with a total area of 21.4 km2 dammed by a gigantic landslide body with intact rocks was not likely by overtopping alone. The authors postulate that differential seepage of water from the gullies through the landslide debris could have accelerated the undercutting erosion of the otherwise stable Diexi dam. Utilizing geophysical techniques, along with field geomorphology works, can provide valuable information on the evolution of a gigantic paleo-landslide dam, which has real implications for the stability evaluation and forecast of future landslide dams.
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Acknowledgements
The authors express their sincere gratitude to Mr. Chengbing Zhou, Mr. Yujin Zhong, Mr. Bing Xia, Mr. Kunyong Xiong, Mr. Bingbing Luo, and Mr. Zhepeng Rong of the Chengdu University of Technology for invaluable assistance in the field investigation. Special thanks to Mr. Yongdong Liu, Mr. Zhehua Shi, Mr. Xishan Lin, and Mr. Bingbing Yan from Lanzhou University in the field of ERT detection.
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This research is financially supported by the Funds for National Science Foundation for Outstanding Young Scholars, Grant 42125702 (XF).
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Dai, L., Fan, X., Wang, D. et al. Electrical resistivity tomography revealing possible breaching mechanism of a Late Pleistocene long-lasted gigantic rockslide dam in Diexi, China. Landslides 20, 1449–1463 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-023-02048-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-023-02048-0