Chapter 23 Modelling Mass Movements and Landslide Susceptibility

Abstract

Publisher Summary Advances in geographic information system (GIS) technology and the mathematical/statistical tools for modeling and simulation, as well as the increasing availability of digital elevation models (DEMs), have led to many applications and a growing literature. The methods and techniques employed range from empirical and heuristic to statistical and physically-based, and each brings its own unique advantages and disadvantages that determine its suitability for a given type of mass movement and application. This chapter samples two of the many approaches that employ geomorphometry. Geomorphometry provides analytical tools and generates DEM-derived data that have revolutionized the spatial modeling of slope failure and mass movements. The resulting large body of findings has advanced the understanding of landslide processes in the natural environment, and is being applied to the protection of human life and property. This chapter concludes with a brief appraisal of the GIS models that illustrate the two general topics, downslope spread of material released in alpine mass movements and the mapping of landslide susceptibility in hilly topography. GIS can model the propagation of mass movements in mountainous areas in many ways; existing approaches include the specific, as well as the general, and are based on different principles. Various regional models of the landslide hazard have been proposed for GIS implementation, and each has its strong and weak points.