Abstract
Abstract. Fractal model as an effective solution to complex nonlinear problems or phenomena has been widely used to describe such complicated phenomenon as geological hazards. Quantitative analysis of the spatial distribution characteristics of geological hazards and measuring its fractal relation on a national scale are significant for the geological hazards prevention or mitigation. In this contribution, firstly, three typical geological hazards, such as landslides, collapses and mudslides, were taken as research objects for fractal analysis, and a detailed hazard inventory including 109,008 landslides, 55,178 collapses, and 28,914 mudslides cases were compiled as data samples. Next, the fractal dimensions describing the spatial distribution characteristics of geological hazard densities were calculated by the invariant fractal model, and then the internal classification of five common predisposing factors (elevation, slope, aspect, NDVI, and precipitation) was applied, and the relative density of geological hazard was calculated by the ratio of "hazard ratio" and "grid ratio" on the basis of 1 km × 1 km grid cells. Finally, the variable fractal model was introduced for measuring the spatial association among three typical geological hazards and five common predisposing factors, and the obtained fractal dimensions were regarded as the quantitative measure of the effect of predisposing factors on geological hazards. The results shows that the fractal dimensions of spatial distribution of landslide, collapse and mudslide densities are 1.3042, 1.5185 and 1.5897, respectively. Moreover, the relative densities of geological hazards also follows the fractal features with hazard-related predisposing factors, the elevation factor has the greatest impact on the landslide, collapse, and mudslide hazard, while other predisposing factors have different effects on different types of geological hazards.
Highlights
Landslides, collapses and mudslides are the most common geological hazards worldwide and they cause enormous casualties and severe economic losses every year (Guzzetti et al, 2012; Pradhan et al, 2016)
In C hina, especially the southeast coastal, middle-south, and southeast areas have been seriously affected by landslides, collapses and mudslides, which pose a serious threat to the environment, residential districts, and industrial facilities (Xu et al, 2015)
In order to explain this hazard densities distribution behavior using the fractal concept, landslide, collapse and mudslide hazards occurred in China over the years and were taken as data samples, and 1×1 km, 1.5×1.5 km, 2×2 km, ..., and 10×10 km regular grid models covering the whole of China are respectively established at the size intervals of 0.5 km, and the number of grid units and the number of grid units containing geological hazards were counted at different grid scales, and the hazard densities of three kinds of geological hazards were calculated separately
Summary
Landslides, collapses and mudslides are the most common geological hazards worldwide and they cause enormous casualties and severe economic losses every year (Guzzetti et al, 2012; Pradhan et al, 2016). Analyzing the spatial distribution characteristics of geological hazards and measuring the spatial relationship between hazards and hazard-related predisposing factors are essential to understand and recognize the key conditioning features of hazard formation in order to produce reliable susceptibility map (Bui et al, 2011). In this study, based on 251943 geological hazards (109,008 landslides, 55,178 collapses and 28,914 mudslides) location information which are recorded nationwide, fractal models were introduced to analyze and measure the spatial distribution characteristics and spatial association among three typical geological hazards (landslides, collapses and mudslides) and five common predisposing factors such as elevation, slope, aspect, NDVI, and precipitation.
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