Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relation between basin morphometric features and dynamic characteristics of debris flows – a case study in Siberia, Russia

  • Published:
Journal of Mountain Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Extreme and prolonged rainfall in the Tunka Ridge caused several debris flows in the vicinity of the Arshan village (Siberia, Russia) on June 28, 2014. These debris flows, in spite of similar geological conditions, had different velocity, peak discharge and alluvial fan volume values. The flow velocity was from 3.5 m/s to 19.6 m/s, the peak discharge ranged from 63 m3/s to 13566 m3/s, and the alluvial fan volume varied from 4.13×103 to 8.45×105 m3. Such a great range of values is due to the morphometric parameters of the debris flow basins. The article deals with the influence of morphometric parameters of debris flow basins, such as the basin area, the average slope, Melton ratio, relief ratio on the debris flow velocity, peak discharge and volume of alluvial fans. In this debris flow event the average values of slope angle and total basin relief of the debris flow basins did not affect the values of debris flow velocity, peak discharge and alluvial fan volume. The highest correlations were observed with the debris flow basin area that was connected with the water inflow volume into the debris flow basins during the rainfall. The unequal water distribution among debris flow basins also had an impact on the debris flow velocity, peak discharge and volume of alluvial fans.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agafonov BP (1996) Cumulative debris flows in the Baikal region. Geomorphology 2: 27–36 (In Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Aleotti P, Chowdhury R (1999) Landslide hazard assessment: summary review and new perspectives. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the environment 58(1): 21–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s100640050066

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen SK, Rastner P, Arora M, et al. (2015) Lake outburst and debris flow disaster at Kedarnath, June 2013: hydrometeorological triggering and topographic predisposition. Landslides 13(6): 1479–1491. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0584-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beven KJ, Kirkby MJ (1979) A physically based, variable contributing area model of basin hydrology. Hydrological Sciences Journal 24: 43–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boudz MD (1968) Conditions of debris flow formation in the Baikal region. Proceedings of the 10th All-Union Conference on debris flows and mountain river processes. pp 291–296 (In Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bovis MJ, Jakob M (1999) The role of debris supply conditions in predicting debris flow activity. Earth Surface Process Landforms 24: 1039–1054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breien H, De Blasio FV, Elverhøi A, et al. (2008) Erosion and morphology of a debris flow caused by a glacial lake outburst flood, western Norway. Landslides 5: 271–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-008-0118-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calcaterra D, Parise M, Palma B, et al. (2000) Multiple debris flows in volcaniclastic materials mantling carbonate slopes. Proceedings 2nd International Conference on “Debris-Flow Hazards Mitigation: Mechanics, Prediction, and Assessment”. Taiwan. pp 99–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calcaterra D, Coppin D, de Vita S, et al. (2007) Slope processes in weathered volcaniclastic deposits within the city of Naples: the Camaldoli Hill case. Geomorphology 87: 132–157. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.03.040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon SH, Kirkham RM, Parise M (2001) Wildfire-related debris-flow initiation processes, Storm King Mountain, Colorado. Geomorphology 39(3–4): 171–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(00)00108-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon SH, Gartner JE, Parrett C, et al. (2003) Wildfire-related debris-flow generation through episodic progressive sediment bulking processes, western USA. In: Rickenmann D, Chen C (eds), “Debris-Flow Hazards Mitigation: Mechanics, Prediction, and Assessment”, Proceedings 3rd International Conference. Davos (Switzerland). 1: 71–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen HX, Zhang LM, Chang DS, et al. (2012) Mechanisms and runout characteristics of the rainfall-triggered debris flow in Xiaojiagou in Sichuan Province, China. Natural Hazards 62(3): 1037–1057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0133-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiarle M, Iannotti S, Mortara G, et al. (2007) Recent debris flow occurrences associated with glaciers in the Alps. Global and Planetary Change 56(1): 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.07.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coe JA, Godt JW, Parise M, et al. (2003) Estimating debris-flow probability using fan stratigraphy, historic records, and drainage-basin morphology, Interstate 70 highway corridor, central Colorado, U.S.A. In: Rickenmann D, Chen C (eds), “Debris-Flow Hazards Mitigation: Mechanics, Prediction, and Assessment”, Proceedings 3rd International Conference. Davos (Switzerland). 2: 1085–1096.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa JE (1988) Rheologic, Geomorphic and Sedimentologic differentiation of water floods, hyperconcentrated flows, and debris flows. Flood Geomorph 113–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dimri AP, Thayyen RJ, Kibler K, et al. (2016) A review of atmospheric and land surface processes with emphasis on flood generation in the Southern Himalayan rivers. Science of the Total Environment 556: 98–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong JJ, Lee CT, Tung YH, et al. (2009) The role of the sediment budget in understanding debris flow susceptibility. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 34(12): 1612–1624. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1850

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu X, Wang G, Kang Z, et al. (2007) Planar velocity distribution of viscous debris flow at Jiangjia Ravine, Yunnan, China: A field measurement using two radar velocimeters. Wuhan University Journal of Natural Sciences 12(4): 583–587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11859-006-0297-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furman MSh (1972) Meteorological monthly magazine, Issue 22, No. 13. Irkutsk Hydrometeorological Center: Irkutsk (In Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Garfi G, Bruno D, Calcaterra D, et al. (2007) Fan morphodynamics and slope instability in the Mucone River basin (Sila Massif, southern Italy): significance of weathering and role of land use changes. Catena 69: 181–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2006.06.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haeberli W, Whiteman C (2015) Snow and Ice-Related Hazards, Risks, and Disasters: A General Framework. Snow and Ice-Related Hazards, Risks and Disasters. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Han Z, Chen G, Li Y, et al. (2015) Exploring the velocity distribution of debris flows: An iteration algorithm based approach for complex cross-sections. Geomorphology 241: 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.03.043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hungr O, Evans S, Bovis M, et al. (2001) A review of the classification of landslides of the flow type Environmental and Engineering Geoscience 7(3): 221–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Hürlimann M, Copons R, Altimir J (2006) Detailed debris flow hazard assessment in Andorra: a multidisciplinary approach. Geomorphology 78(3): 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.02.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson RM (1997) The physics of debris flows. Reviews of Geophysics 35: 245–296. https://doi.org/10.1029/97RG 00426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson RM, Vallance JW (2001) New views of granular mass flows. Geology 29: 115–118. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0115:NVOGMF>2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson LE, Kostaschuk RA, Macdonald GM (1987) Identification of debris flow hazard on alluvial fans in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Reviews in Engineering Geology 7: 115–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jakob M, Hungr O, Jakob DM (2005) Debris-flow hazards and related phenomena. Springer: Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis A, Reuter HI, Nelson A, et al. (2008) Hole-filled seamless SRTM data V4, International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org (available at 27 October 2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kadetova AV, Rybchenko AA, Kozireva EA, et al. (2016) Debris flows of 28 June 2014 near the Arshan village (Siberia, Republic of Buryatia, Russia). Landslides 13(1): 129–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0661-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levi KG, Zadonina NV, Berdnikova NE, et al. (2002) 500-year chronology of anomalous phenomena in nature and society of Siberia and Mongolia. Irkutsk State Technical University: Irkutsk. (In Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu CN, Huang SF, Dong JJ (2008) Impacts of September 21, 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake on the characteristics of gully-type debris flows in central Taiwan. Natural Hazards 47: 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-008-9223-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lo WC, Tsao TC, Hsu CH (2012) Building vulnerability to debris flows in Taiwan: a preliminary study. Natural hazards 64(3): 2107–2128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0124-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lvov A, Kropochev G (1909) Summary of the research carried out near the Arshan settlement on the instructions East Siberian Branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Proceedings of the Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society 40: 41–77 (In Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ma C, Hu K, Tian M (2013) Comparison of debris-flow volume and activity under different formation conditions. Natural hazards 67(2): 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-0557-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Makarov SA (2012) Debris flows in the Cis-Baikalia. The V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography SB RAS: Irkutsk (In Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchi L, Tecca PR (2013) Debris-flow monitoring in Italy. In: Schneuwly-Bollschweiler M, Stoffel M, Rudolf-Miklau F (eds), Dating Torrential Processes on Fans and Cones. Adv. Glob. Change Res. 47: 309–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melton MA (1965) The geomorphic and paleoclimatic significance of alluvial deposits in southern Arizona. The Journal of Geology 1–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery DR, Dietrich WE (1992) Channel initiation and the problem of landscape scale. Science 225: 826–830.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ni H, Zheng W, Li Z, et al. (2010) Recent catastrophic debris flows in Luding county, SW China: geological hazards, rainfall analysis and dynamic characteristics. Natural hazards 55(2): 523–542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-010-9545-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palshin GB (1968) Engineering Geology of the Baikal region: Nauka, Moscow. (In Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Perov VF (2012) Mudflow research. Study Guide. MSU Faculty of Geography: Moscow (In Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierson TC, Costa JE (1987) A rheologic classification of subaerial sediment-water flows. In: Geological Society of America Reviews in Eng. Geol. 7: 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plyusnin VM, Kitov AD (2010) Dynamics of nival-glacial systems of the south of Eastern Siberia. Ice and Snow 2: 5–11 (In Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Portilla M, Chevalier GG, Hurlimann ZM (2010) Description and analysis of the debris flows occurred during 2008 in the Eastern Pyrenees. Natural hazards and Earth system sciences 10(7): 1635–1645. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-10-1635-2010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prochaska AB, Santi PM, Higgins JD, et al. (2008) A study of methods to estimate debris flow velocity. Landslides 5(4): 431–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-008-0137-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rickenmann D (1999) Empirical relationships for debris flows. Natural hazards 19(1): 47–77. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008064220727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rickenmann D (2005) Run-out prediction methods. In Jakob M and Hungr O (Eds), Debris-flow Hazards and Related Phenomena. Springer, Berlin. pp 305–324.

  • Ritter DF, Kochel RC, Miller JR (1995) The drainage basin. Process Geomorphology. William C. Brown: Dubuque.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schilirò L, De Blasio FV, Esposito C, et al. (2015) Reconstruction of a destructive debris-flow event via numerical modeling: the role of valley geometry on flow dynamics. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 40(14): 1847–1861. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sepúlveda SA, Moreiras SM, Lara M, et al. (2015) Debris flows in the Andean ranges of central Chile and Argentina triggered by 2013 summer storms: characteristics and consequences. Landslides 12(1): 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0539-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shetnikov AA (2001) Geomorphology of Tunka rift. Geomorphology 2: 93–103 (In Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Simoni A, Mammoliti M, Berti M (2011) Uncertainty of debris flow mobility relationships and its influence on the prediction of inundated areas. Geomorphology 132: 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.05.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sosio R, Crosta GB, Frattini P (2007) Field observations, rheological testing and numerical modelling of a debris-flow event. Earth Surface Proceses and Landforms 32: 290–306. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staley DM, Kean JW, Cannon SH, et al. (2013) Objective definition of rainfall intensity-duration thresholds for the initiation of post-fire debris flows in southern California. Landslides 10(5): 547–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-012-0341-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumburgh AL (1971) Geological map of the Soviet Union. 1: 200000. East Sayan. Sheet M-48-I. Explanatory note. Moscow (In Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang C, Zhu J, Li WL (2009) Rainfall-triggered debris flows following the Wenchuan earthquake. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment 68(2): 187–194. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10064-009-0201-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tecca PR, Genevois R (2009) Field observations of the June 30, 2001 debris flow at Acquabona (Dolomites, Italy). Landslides 6(1): 39–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-009-0145-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiranti D, Cremonini R, Marco F, et al. (2014) The DEFENSE (debris Flows triggered by storms-nowcasting system): An early warning system for torrential processes by radar storm tracking using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Computers & Geosciences 70: 96–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2014.05.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ufimtsev GF, Shchetnikov AA (2003) The Tunka Rift. Priroda 8: 43–49 (In Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Vennari C, Santangelo N, Santo A, et al. (2016) A database on flash flood events in Campania, southern Italy, with an evaluation of their spatial and temporal distribution. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 16: 2485–2500. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-2485-2016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Volkwein A, Wendeler C, Guasti G (2011) Design of flexible debris flow barriers. 5th International Conference debris-flow hazard mitigation. Mechanics, prediction and assessment. Padua, Italy. pp 1093–1100 https://doi.org/10.4408/IJEGE. 2011-03.B-118

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilford DJ, Sakals ME, Innes JL, et al. (2004) Recognition of debris flow, debris flood and flood hazard through watershed morphometrics. Landslides 1(1): 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-003-0002-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang H, Wei F, Hu K (2014) Mean velocity estimation of viscous debris flows. Journal of Earth Science 25(4): 771–778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-014-0465-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yune CY, Chae YK, Paik J, et al. (2013) Debris flow in metropolitan area-2011 Seoul debris flow. Journal of Mountain Science 10(2): 199–206. https://doi.org/10.1007/ns11629-013-2518-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the employees of the "Tunkinskiy" National Park for assistance in the field work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of the Earth’s Crust, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 128 Lermontov Street, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia

    Artem A. Rybchenko, Alena V. Kadetova & Elena A. Kozireva

Authors
  1. Artem A. Rybchenko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alena V. Kadetova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elena A. Kozireva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alena V. Kadetova.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rybchenko, A.A., Kadetova, A.V. & Kozireva, E.A. Relation between basin morphometric features and dynamic characteristics of debris flows – a case study in Siberia, Russia. J. Mt. Sci. 15, 618–630 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4547-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4547-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation