Abstract
Landslide-induced tsunamis may cause fatalities, damages and financial losses. In the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China, several large landslides are still unstable and persistently creeping toward the Yangtze River. In this paper, we investigate the impacts of landslide-induced tsunamis in the Three Gorges Reservoir by using a hybrid numerical approach. One of the largest unstable mass in this area, the Huangtupo landslide, is chosen as the study object. First, the landslide deformation and initiating velocities are obtained by using the finite-discrete element method. The landslide-induced tsunamis and their impacts on shipping on the Yangtze River are then investigated through smooth particle hydrodynamics modelling. Our results reveal that an approximately 80% reduction in shear strength of the tip in the landslide will lead to catastrophic failure of the landslide, with sliding velocities of up to 8 m/s. Subsequently, such a collapse may initiate a river tsunami, propagating up to 9 m on the nearby reservoir banks within 3 km. The impacts on surrounding floating objects, such as surges and sways, heaves and rolls, are up to 110 m, 8 m and 6°, respectively. The simulations indicate that although the likelihood of a catastrophic failure of the whole landslide is low, the partial sliding still poses severe threat to the nearby reservoir banks and shipping on the Yangtze River. Thus, we recommend continuous monitoring as well as landslide early warning systems at this and also other hazardous sites in this area.
Highlights
With the world’s largest hydropower station, the Three Gorges Dam is the key project to manage and develop the Yangtze River in China
We investigate the impacts of landslide-induced tsunamis in the Three Gorges Reservoir by using a hybrid numerical approach
The landslide-induced tsunamis and their impacts on shipping on the Yangtze River are investigated through smooth particle hydrodynamics modelling
Summary
With the world’s largest hydropower station, the Three Gorges Dam is the key project to manage and develop the Yangtze River in China. Many large landslides in the TGRA remain unstable and exhibit a creep movement pattern with episodic acceleration and deceleration [43] Some of these landslides were partially reinforced to slow their movement, the potential risk of catastrophic collapse is considerably high, owing to the periodic variations in water pressure [48], sliding materials deterioration [10] and/or extreme events such as earthquakes and rainstorms [54]. Existing studies on landslide-induced tsunamis are mainly focused on the landslide sliding velocity, wave propagation, wave height, wave run-up, and related influencing factors Most of these studies are based on failed landslides, and the simulation results can be verified with recorded data [17, 18, 52, 53]. The wave propagation and the dynamic motions of floating objects (i.e. ships) are numerically investigated by 2D and 3D simulations
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