Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Scaling and multivariate analysis of medium to large landslide events: Haida Gwaii, British Columbia

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Natural Hazards Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Gimbarzevsky (1988) collected an exceptional landsliding inventory for Haida Gwaii, British Columbia that included over 8,000 landsliding vectors covering an area of approximately 10,000 km2. This database was never published in the referred literature, despite its regional significance. It was collected prior to widespread application of GIS technologies in landsliding studies, limiting the analyses undertaken at the time. Gimbarzevsky identified landslides using 1:50,000 aerial photographs, and transferred the information to NTS map sheets. In our study, we digitized the landslide vectors from these original map sheets and connected each landslide to a digital elevation model. Lengths of landslide vectors are compared to the landsliding inventory for Haida Gwaii analyzed in Rood (1984), Martin Y et al. BC Can J Earth Sci 39:289–305 (2002); the latter inventory is based on larger-scale aerial photographs (~1:12,000). Rood’s database contains a more complete record of smaller landslides, while the inventory of Gimbarzevsky provides improved statistical representation of less frequent, medium to large landslides. It is suggested that combined landslide delineation at different scales could provide a more complete landslide record. Discriminant analysis was undertaken to assess which of nine predictor variables, chosen on the basis of mechanical theory, best predict failed versus unfailed locations. Seven of the nine variables were found to be statistically significant in discriminating amongst failed and unfailed locations. Results show that 81.7% of original grouped cases were correctly classified.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ardizzone F, Cardinali M, Carrara A, Guzzetti F, Reichenbach P (2002) Impact of mapping errors on the reliability of landslide hazard maps. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 2:3–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baeza C, Corominas J (2001) Assessment of shallow landslide susceptibility by means of multivariate statistical techniques. Earth Surf Process Landf 26:1251–1263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banner A, Pojar A (1982) Environmental and ecological characteristics of the Coastal Western Hemlock and neighboring biogeoclimatic zones on the Queen charlotte Islands. B.C. Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Forests. Fish/Forestry Interaction Program, British Columbia

    Google Scholar 

  • Barlow J, Martin Y, Franklin S (2003) High spatial resolution satellite imagery, DEM derivatives, and image segmentation for the detection of mass wasting processes. Photogramm Eng Remote Sens 44:735–741

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrie JV, Conway KW (2002) Rapid sea level change and coastal evolution on the Pacific margin of Canada. Sediment Geol 150:171–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brardinoni F, Church M (2004) Representing the landslide magnitude-frequency relation: Capilano river basin, British Columbia. Earth Surf Process Landf 29:115–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell D, Roberts B, Schwab J, Millard T (2010) Landslides in organic soils on forested slopes. British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range, Forest Science Program, Victoria. Extension Note 99. www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/En/En99.htm. Accessed 6 Sept 2011

  • Carrara A (1983) Multivariate models for landslide hazard evaluation. Math Geol 15:403–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carrara A, Cardinali M, Detti R, Guzzetti F, Pasqui V, Reichenbach P (1991) GIS techniques and statistical models in evaluating landslide hazard. Earth Surf Process Landf 16:427–443

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cruden DM (1991) A simple definition of a landslide. Bull Int As Eng Geol 43:27–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai FC, Lee CF (2002) Landslide characteristics and slope instability modeling using GIS, Lantau, Hong Kong. Geomorphology 42:213–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans IS (1980) An integrated system of terrain analysis and slope mapping. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie Supplement band 36:274–295

  • Gimbarzevsky P (1988) A regional study of mass wasting in the Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Land management Report 29, British Columbia

  • Guthrie RH (2002) The effects of logging on frequency and distribution of landslides in three watersheds on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Geomorphology 43:273–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie RH, Evans SG (2004) Analysis of landslide frequencies and characteristics in a natural system, coastal British Columbia. Earth Surf Process Landf 29:1321–1339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guzzetti F, Carrara A, Cardinali M, Reichenbach P (1999) Landslide hazard evaluation: a review of current techniques and their application in a multi-scale study, Central Italy. Geomorphology 31:181–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guzzetti F, Malamud BD, Turcotte DL, Reichenbach P (2002) Power-law correlations of landslide areas in Central Italy. Earth Planet Sci Lett 195:169–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogan DL, Schwab JW (1990) Precipitation and runoff characteristics: Queen Charlotte Islands. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Land Management Report 60, British Columbia

  • Hovius N, Stark CP, Allen PA (1997) Sediment flux from a mountain belt derived by landslide mapping. Geology 25:231–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hovius N, Stark C, Hao-Tsu C, Jiun-Chuan L (2000) Supply and removal of sediment in a landslide-dominated mountain belt: Central Range. Taiwan J Geol 108:73–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Huabin W, Gangjun L, Weiya X, Gonghui W (2005) GIS-based landslide hazard assessment: an overview. Prog Phys Geogr 29:548–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huberty CJ (1994) Applied discriminant analysis. Wiley-Interscience Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hungr O (2004) Landslide hazard in B.C. achieving balance in risk assessment. Innovation 2004:12–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakob M (2000) The impacts of logging on landslide activity at Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia. Catena 38:279–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamaludin S, Huat B, Omar H (2006) Evaluation of slope assessment systems for predicting landslides of cut slopes in granitic and meta-sediment formations. Am J Environ Sci 2:135–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korup O (2009) Linking landslides, hillslope erosion, and landscape evolution. Earth Surf Process Landf 34:1315–1317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malamud BD, Turcotte DL, Guzzetti F, Reichenbach P (2004) Landslide inventories and their statistical properties. Earth Surf Process Landf 29:687–711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin Y (2000) Modelling hillslope evolution: linear and nonlinear transport relations. Geomorphology 34:1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin Y, Rood K, Schwab J, Church M (2002) Sediment transfer by shallow landsliding in the Queen Charlotte Islands. B.C. Can J Earth Sci 39:289–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagle HK (2000) Folic debris slides near Prince Rupert, British Columbia. MSc thesis. University of Alberta, Edmonton

  • Ohlmacher GC, Davis J (2003) Using multiple logistic regression and GIS technology to predict landslide hazard in northeast Kansas. USA Eng Geol 69:331–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice RM, Pillsbury NH (1982) Predicting landslides in clearcut patches. In: Walling DE (ed) Recent developments in explanation and prediction of erosion and sediment yield. International Association of Hydrological Sciences, Publication No. 137, Wallingford, pp 302–311

  • Rood KM (1984) An aerial photograph inventory of the frequency and yield of mass wasting on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Land Management Report 34, British Columbia

  • Rood KM (1990) Site characteristics and landsliding in forested and clearcut terrain, Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Land management Report 64, British Columbia

  • Santacana N, Baeza B, Corominas J, DePaz A, Marturia J (2003) A GIS-based multivariate statistical analysis for shallow landslide susceptibility mapping in La Pobla de Lillet area (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain). Nat Hazards 30:281–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwab JW (1983) Mass wasting: October–November 1978 storm, Rennell Sound, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Reseaarch Note 91, Victoria

  • Schwab JW (1988) Mass wasting impacts to forest land: forest management implications, Queen Charlotte timber supply area. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Land Management Report 56, Victoria

  • Schwab JW (1998) Landslides on the Queen Charlotte Islands: processes, rates and climatic events. In: Hogan DL, Tschaplinski PJ, Chatwin S (eds) Carnation Creek and Queen Charlotte Islands Fish/Forestry Workshop: applying 20 years of coast research to management solutions. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Land Management Handbook 41, pp 41–46

  • Selby MJ (1993) Hillslope materials and processes. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Soil Classification Working Group (1998) The Canadian system of soil classification (3rd edn). Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Publication 1646. http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/references/1998sc_a.html. Accessed 6 Sept 2011

  • Sutherland Brown A (1968) Geology of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. British Columbia Department Mines and Petroleum Resources, Bulletin 54, British Columbia

  • Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (2001) Using multivariate statistics (4th edn). Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA

  • Takahashi T (1981) Debris flow. Annu Rev Fluid Mech 13:57–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarboton DG (2000) TARDEM, A suite of programs for the analysis of digital elevation data. http://hydrology.usu.edu/taudem. Accessed 26 June 2007

  • Walsh JS, Lightfoot DR, Butler DR (1987) Recognition and assessment of error in geographic information systems. Photogramm Eng Remote Sens 53:1423–1430

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of an NSERC Discovery Grant to Yvonne Martin. We thank the departmental technicians and research assistants who provided invaluable support for this project. We also are grateful to Michael Church for providing us with the copies of the original Gimbarzevsky landslide maps and to Philip Gimbarzevsky for collecting his exceptional landsliding inventory. We also thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to improve the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pioneer Natural Resources, 5205 N. O’Conner Blvd. Suite 200, Irving, TX, 75039, USA

    Les Jagielko

  2. Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Yvonne Elizabeth Martin & Darren Boyd Sjogren

  3. Department of Geoscience (Adjunct Status), University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Yvonne Elizabeth Martin & Darren Boyd Sjogren

  4. Biogeoscience Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Yvonne Elizabeth Martin

Authors
  1. Les Jagielko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yvonne Elizabeth Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Darren Boyd Sjogren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yvonne Elizabeth Martin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jagielko, L., Martin, Y.E. & Sjogren, D.B. Scaling and multivariate analysis of medium to large landslide events: Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. Nat Hazards 60, 321–344 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-0012-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-0012-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation