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Comprehensive analyses of the initiation and entrainment processes of the 2000 Yigong catastrophic landslide in Tibet, China

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Abstract

The 2000 Yigong landslide was one of the most catastrophic landslides worldwide, resulting in huge casualties and property losses. The dynamic process of the Yigong landslide was very complicated, especially for the initiation and entrainment mechanism during the landslide movement process. The topography, geological condition, traces left by the landslide, and distribution characteristics of the landslide deposits were determined by field investigations, combined with several years of monitoring the temperature and rainfall data in this region. The initiation mechanism of the Yigong landslide is presented. The main reasons for the landslide initiation are as follows: the strength reduction of rock masses (especially for the weak structural surface), the impact from years of freeze-thaw cycles, the superposition of glacier melting and heavy rainfall on the slope, and a slope that was almost at the limit state before the landslide. Laboratory tests and physical modeling experiments were carried out to study the entrainment process of this landslide. Combined with the topographic survey data and theoretical analyses, the entrainment mechanism during the movement process of the Yigong landslide is presented. The old landslide deposits on the lower slope collided with and were scraped by the high-speed debris avalanche, which resulted in the volume amplification of the landslide. The existence of water plays a key role during the landslide initiation and movement processes.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41472272, 41030742, and 41102194) and the Science Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of Sichuan University (2013SCU04A07). Dr. Gong-dan Zhou and Dr. Zhi-man Su provided valuable discussion on the initiation mechanism of the Yigong landslide. Critical comments by the reviewers greatly improved the initial manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Jia-wen Zhou

  2. Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Earth Surface Processes, Chinese Academy of Science, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610044, People’s Republic of China

    Peng Cui

  3. College of Water Resources and Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Ming-hui Hao

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  1. Jia-wen Zhou
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Correspondence to Jia-wen Zhou.

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Zhou, Jw., Cui, P. & Hao, Mh. Comprehensive analyses of the initiation and entrainment processes of the 2000 Yigong catastrophic landslide in Tibet, China. Landslides 13, 39–54 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0553-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0553-2

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