Controls on the size distributions of shallow landslides.

ABSTRACT: Rainfall-triggered shallow landslides are destructive hazards and play an important role in landscape processes. A theory explaining the size distributions of such features remains elusive. Prior work connects size distributions to topography, but field-mapped inventories reveal pronounced similarities in the form, mode, and spread of distributions from diverse landscapes. We analyze nearly identical distributions occurring in the Oregon Coast Range and the English Lake District, two regions of strikingly different topography, lithology, and vegetation. Similarity in minimum sizes at these sites is partly explained by theory that accounts for the interplay of mechanical soil strength controls resisting failure. Maximum sizes, however, are not explained by current theory. We develop a gener

SUBMITTER: Bellugi DG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7936322 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature