Self-organized criticality in layered, lacustrine sediments formed by landsliding

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 2002 Self-organized criticality in layered, lacustrine sediments formed by landsliding Basil Gomez; Basil Gomez 1Geomorphology Laboratory, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana 47809, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mike Page; Mike Page 2Landcare Research, Private Bag 11 052, Palmerston North, New Zealand Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Per Bak; Per Bak 3Department of Mathematics, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Noel Trustrum Noel Trustrum 4Landcare Research, Private Bag 11 052, Palmerston North, New Zealand Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2002) 30 (6): 519–522. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0519:SOCILL>2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 15 Nov 2001 rev-recd: 31 Jan 2002 accepted: 12 Feb 2002 first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Basil Gomez, Mike Page, Per Bak, Noel Trustrum; Self-organized criticality in layered, lacustrine sediments formed by landsliding. Geology 2002;; 30 (6): 519–522. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0519:SOCILL>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Landsliding is the dominant mass-wasting process in humid-temperate uplands and an important regulator of sediment yield from steep-land drainage basins. Information about the magnitude and frequency distribution of landslides has been derived from aerial photography, but it has proved difficult to set limits on the long-term scaling behavior of landsliding because the requirements of spatial and temporal coherence and the large number of observations necessary to undertake magnitude versus frequency analyses are not easy to fulfill. We use a 2250-yr-long record of hillslope erosion associated with extreme hydrologic events preserved in sediments from Lake Tutira, New Zealand, to investigate scaling in landslide deposits. Both the magnitude versus frequency distribution of sediment layers attributed to landsliding and the distribution of time intervals between landsliding events take the form of power laws, the former with an exponent b = 2.06 and the latter with an exponent b = 1.4. These results suggest that the erosional events originate from a self-organized critical process, and are in agreement with observations of scaling in turbidite deposits and grain flows in controlled laboratory experiments. The implications are that the aggregate behavior of landsliding at the catchment scale is orderly and that the stratigraphic record preserves a unique, long-term perspective on a fundamental geomorphic process and the extreme hydrologic events that trigger it. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.