Abstract
The interpretation of landslide kinematics provides important information for those responsible for the management of landslide risk. This paper presents an interpretation of the kinematics of the slow-moving Kostanjek landslide, located in the urbanized area of the city of Zagreb, Croatia. The sliding material (very weak to weak marls, often covered with clayey topsoil) exhibits plastic, rather than rigid behavior. Due to this reason, and low landslide velocities, landslide features, such as main scarps or lateral flanks, are barely noticeable or do not exist in most of the landslide area. The data used for the kinematic interpretation were obtained from 15 GNSS sensors, for the period of 2013-2019. The monitoring data revealed a different spatial and temporal distribution of landslide velocities, resulting as a consequence of geomorphological conditions and forces that govern the landslide movements. Temporally, eight periods of faster movements and seven periods of slower movements were determined. Spatially, velocities measured in the central part of the landslide were higher than on its boundaries. The interpretation of the surface (horizontal and vertical) displacements and the direction of movement reveal a new insight into the engineering geological model and provide important information for the management of the Kostanjek landslide risk.
Highlights
Landslides, generally defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope (Cruden, 1991), play an important role in the evolution of a landscape (Crozier, 2010)
This paper presents an interpretation of the kinematics of the slow-moving Kostanjek landslide, located in the urbanized area of the city of Zagreb, Croatia
The Kostanjek landslide kinematics were interpreted for the period of 2013-2019, based on the reliable data gathered by the continuous measurements of 15 GNSS
Summary
Landslides, generally defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope (Cruden, 1991), play an important role in the evolution of a landscape (Crozier, 2010). Landslides include different materials, various types of movements and states of activity, as well as different velocities (Cruden and Varnes, 1996; Hungr et al, 2014). The combination of slow movement and plastic or rigid-plastic material behavior can form landslides without distinctive morphology, where landslide features are missing and landslide kinematics cannot be interpreted. Knowledge of kinematics helps to reveal temporally and spatially variable stresses acting within landslides, their boundary geometries, mechanical properties of materials composing landslides, external forcing conditions, and characteristics of future landslide movement (Schulz et al, 2017).
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