Chapters authored
Earthquake-Generated Landslides and Tsunamis
Large earthquakes generate tsunamis, but when it also triggers a landslide, the tsunami may become enormous. Slide scars on the continental shelf of the North Atlantic Ocean show this. For estimating the tsunami, a translatory wave theory has been suggested. Slide data are used to estimate the amplitude of the displacement wave. The amplitudes are used to obtain wave heights at a reference point outside the breaker zone. Energy transmission formulas are used to find the wave height transfer coefficients from the source area to a reference point. Tsunami risk from several sources at a reference point is quantified using stochastic processes, and estimations of a hazard curve for the probability of landslide occurrence are carried out. The sensitivity of the hazard curve to uncertainties in determining the wave height from the individual sources turns can be evaluated. In two case studies, the Tohoku tsunami and earthquake in 2011 in Japan is found to be caused by a coseismic slip and a landslide in combination, and a hazard curve for a reference point south of Iceland is found for tsunamis in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Part of the book: Earthquakes
The Translatory Wave Model for Landslides
The Saint-Venant equations are usually the basis of numerical models for landslide flows. They are nonstationary and nonlinear. The theory for translatory waves in a prismatic channel and a funneling channel can be used for landslides using the assumption of either turbulent or laminar flow in the slide. The mathematics of translatory waves traveling over dry land or superimposed on another flow are developed. This results in a new slope factor controlling the flow velocity, together with the Chezy coefficient used in previous applications of the translatory wave theory. Flow times for the slide to reach a given destination, slide depth, and velocity can be calculated using the initial magnitude of the flow in the slide. The instabilities of the wave tail are discussed. Three case studies are presented: a submarine slide that started the Tohoku tsunami in Japan, the Morsárjökull rock avalanche in SE Iceland, and the Móafellshyrna slide in central N Iceland.
Part of the book: Landslides