A catastrophic rockslide-debris flow in Wulong, Chongqing, China in 2009: background, characterization, and causes |
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| Authors: | Qiang Xu Xuanmei Fan Runqiu Huang Yueping Yin Shengshan Hou Xiujun Dong and Minggao Tang |
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| Institution: | (1) State Key Laboratory of Geo-hazard Prevention and Geo-environment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Sichuan, 610059, China;(2) International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Enschede, The Netherlands;(3) China Geological Survey, Beijing, 100037, China;(4) China Institute of Geo-Environment Monitoring, Beijing, 100037, China |
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| Abstract: | On June 5, 2009, a catastrophic rockslide-debris flow occurred at the crest of the Jiweishan Mountain in Wulong, Chongqing,
China. Approximately five million cubic meters of limestone blocks slid along a weak interlayer of bituminous and carbonaceous
shale. The source mass descended from the upper part of the slope rapidly, crossing a 200-m wide and 50-m deep creek in front
of it. Blocked by the opposite steep creek wall, the sliding mass changed its direction and traveled a further 2.2 km along
the creek in debris-flow mode, finally forming a large accumulation zone with an average depth of 30 m. This is one of the
most catastrophic rockslide events in recent years in China. It buried 12 houses and the entrance of an iron mining tunnel
where some 27 miners were working inside. Ten people died, 64 missing, and eight wounded. Immediately after this disaster
happened, the government organized an expert team to assist the rescue work. As one of the geological experts, the author
did a lot of field investigations and collected first-hand information. Multi-methods including the remote sensing, 3D laser
scanning, geophysical exploration, and numerical modeling were used for analyzing the characteristics and the triggering mechanism
of the Wulong rockslide. The preliminary investigation results reveal that this rockslide with poor geological conditions
was mainly induced by the gravitation and the karst effect and also affected by the previous mining activities. The research
in this paper is meaningful and useful for further research on such kind of rockslides that are geologically similar to the
Wulong rockslide. |
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