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Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology pp 1–3Cite as

Landslide

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

A landslide is the gravitational downslope movement of solids on natural or artificial slopes. The solids are geotechnical materials that can contain water, ice, and air; however the solids are volumetrically dominant over the transport medium (water, ice, and air).

Landslides have been classified based on the movement types (falls, topples, slides, spreads, flows, and complex) and the material involved (bedrock, debris, earth) (Varnes 1978). This classification is broadly accepted although engineering properties of materials (rock, clay, mud, silt, sand, gravel, boulders, debris, peat, and ice) rather than the division into debris and earth are today used, and the term complex is not further recommended, while the term slope deformation is introduced as a movement type (Fig. 1) (Hungr et al. 2014). Therefore, ice is today reconsidered as a possible material. In contrast snow is considered only in Scandinavialine considered as a material in landslide science and snow avalanche...

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References

  • Evans S, Mugnozza GS, Strom A, Hermanns RL, Ischuk A, Vinnichenko S (2006) Landslides from massive rock slope failure and associated phenomena. In: Evans S, Mugnozza GS, Strom A, Hermanns RL (eds) Landslides from massive rock slope failure. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 03–52

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  • Fell R, Corominas J, Bonnard C, Cascini L, Leroi E, Savage WZ (2008) Guidelines for landslide susceptibility, hazard and risk zoning for land use planning. Eng Geol 102:85–98

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  • Hermanns RL, Oppikofer T, Anda E, Blikra LH, Böhme M, Bunkholt H, Crosta GB, Dahle H, Devoli G, Fischer L (2013) Hazard and risk classification for large unstable rock slopes in Norway. In: Proceedings of the international conference Vajont 1963–2013, Padua, 8–10 Oct 2013, pp 241–250

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  • Hungr O, Leroueil S, Picarelli L (2014) The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update. Landslides 11:167–194

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  • Varnes, DJ (1978) Slope movement types and processes. Transportation research board special report no. 176

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geohazard and Earth Observation team, Geological Survey of Norway, NGU, Leiv Eirikssons vei 39, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Reginald L. Hermanns

  2. Department of Geology and Mineral Resources Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Reginald L. Hermanns

Authors
  1. Reginald L. Hermanns
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Correspondence to Reginald L. Hermanns .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Kanata, Ontario, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

  2. London, United Kingdom

    Brian Marker

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Hermanns, R.L. (2016). Landslide. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_183-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_183-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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