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Reactivation mechanism of ancient giant landslides in the tectonically active zone: a case study in Southwest China

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Abstract

The reactivation mechanism and stability of ancient landslides are the major concerns in the tectonically active zone. A detailed case study has been conducted to examine the reactivation mechanism of ancient landslides in Southwest China by investigating the reactivation process, shear strength and stability. Field investigation suggests that the reactivation of ancient giant slides, such as the Luosiwan slide, is attributed to the cumulative effect of adverse geological, structural condition and intensive artificial processes. However, long-term observation has shown that the ancient giant landslides usually remain stable in the remote area in spite of such adverse conditions. Ring shear tests also indicate high peak shear strength of the sliding zone soils. However, the shear strength decreases significantly once displacement occurs at the toe of giant landslide due to engineering construction. The construction process could be considered as the critical triggering factor for the reactivation of ancient giant landslide, which exerts sudden changes in the forces acting on the slope. Both long-term adverse geological evolution and sudden change in the strength lead to the reactivation of giant landslide. This study also suggests that liquefaction plays an important role in the failure behavior of reactivated ancient landslide. An effective drainage system has to be set up during engineering construction so as to reduce the probability of reactivation of ancient landslides.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Project of 12th Five-Year National Sci-Tech Support Plan (2011BAK12B09), the Special Project of Basic Work of Science and Technology (2011FY110100-2), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41072269), and the Project of China Geological Survey (12120113038000). We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers and the editor for their helpful suggestions, which have improved the clarity of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Neotectonic Movement and Geohazard, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yongshuang Zhang, Changbao Guo, Nengjuan Zhou & Xin Yao

  2. Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yongshuang Zhang, Changbao Guo, Nengjuan Zhou & Xin Yao

  3. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Hengxing Lan

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  1. Yongshuang Zhang
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  2. Changbao Guo
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Correspondence to Yongshuang Zhang.

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Zhang, Y., Guo, C., Lan, H. et al. Reactivation mechanism of ancient giant landslides in the tectonically active zone: a case study in Southwest China. Environ Earth Sci 74, 1719–1729 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4180-6

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