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Implication of subsurface flow on rainfall-induced landslide: a case study

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Abstract

Post-failure field investigation, instrumentation, monitoring, and numerical simulation were performed to give insights into the failure mechanism of a 13-h-delayed rainfall-induced landslide. A conceptual hydrological model was postulated based on the findings obtained from the investigation works. The results showed that subsurface flow was recharged by intense and prolonged rainfall through outcrops of fissured bedrock. The recharged water was mounded in the moderately weathered granite layer and caused an increase in hydraulic head. The groundwater seeped gradually upward into the overlying fill layer even after the rain has ceased, and eventually triggered the landslide when the water table was raised to a critical state. As most of the existing hydrologic-slope stability models were developed on the basis of soil-impermeable bedrock model, this could result in great discrepancies between the simulated results and the real hydrological responses of the slope. The findings from the present study highlighted the importance of considering subsurface flow and hydro-geological features in assessing the mechanism of rainfall-induced landslide.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial supports from the National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program, 2014CB047004) and National Natural Science Foundation of China for Youth (No. 51309259). We sincerely acknowledge T.C. Chen (The University of Hong Kong), and Ling Xu (Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for their assistance in installing and maintaining the field instruments. The authors would also like to acknowledge the anonymous reviewers who helped us in improving the technical content of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing, 100048, China

    Wei Chao Li & Ying Qi Wei

  2. Department of Geotechnical Engineering, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100048, China

    Wei Chao Li & Ying Qi Wei

  3. College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    F. C. Dai

  4. Center for Assessment and Development of Real Estate, Shenzhen, 518034, China

    Ming Long Wang

  5. Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China

    Hong Min

  6. Department of Civil Engineering, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, 53300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Lee Min Lee

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  1. Wei Chao Li
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Correspondence to Wei Chao Li.

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Li, W.C., Dai, F.C., Wei, Y.Q. et al. Implication of subsurface flow on rainfall-induced landslide: a case study. Landslides 13, 1109–1123 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0619-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0619-9

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