A case study in the research polygon in Glina and Dvor municipality, Croatia–landslide susceptibility assessment of geological units

Abstract

In this paper, a preliminary analysis of the landslide inventory is presented for the wider area of the municipalities of Glina and Dvor, within Sisak-Moslavina County in Croatia, where LiDAR scanning for 45.85 km2 was conducted. Landslide polygons were outlined based on the visual interpretation of HRDEM derivates. In total, 477 landslides were contoured with an average landslide density of 9.85 per km2. Most of the landslides are characterised as moderate, shallow, and not recent. The spatial relationship between landslides and geological units is expressed with the landslide index. Subsequently, the geological units were grouped into four engineering geological units representing different susceptibilities to landslides. The geological units most prone to landslides are the Eocene, Oligocene, Palaeocene and Jurassic sandstones. Even though all geological units were analysed here, the majority of landslides are within sandstones. A particular emphasis was on landslide occurrence in metamorphic and igneous rocks of the ophiolite sequence, a distinctive characteristic of the research area where less susceptibility to landslide processes was observed. Moreover, to further distinguish the differences between the units in the area a morphometric characteristic (relief) and drainage network was also analysed. The purpose of this analysis was to additionally confirm the landslide susceptibility assessment and the division of geological units into engineering geological units, which again implied the different behaviours between landslides in igneous and metamorphic rocks compared to sandstones. Because the research area is poorly studied regarding landslide susceptibility, relief, and drainage networks, these findings will be a step forward in recognising the relationship between them and creating a base for the development of a landslide susceptibility map for this area.