Strug landslide in W Slovenia: A complex multi-process phenomenon

Abstract

Large rock slides frequently cause secondary unstable phenomena. Many such instability processes happened after December 2001, when the Strug rockslide estimated at 95,000 m 3 was triggered above the Koseč village near Kobarid in the Julian Alps, W Slovenia. It was initiated at the contact between high permeable calcareous rocks (Cretaceous scaglia) thrusted over nearly impermeable clastic rocks (Cretaceous flysch). Soon after the rockslide initiation, a rock fall with a volume of 45,000 m 3 was initiated within the rockslide. The kinetic push of the rock fall caused the movement of a translational soil landslide with a volume of 180,000 m 3 that partially slipped into the torrential ravine of the Brusnik Stream. After a sudden drop of 15 m in December 2001, the rockslide average velocity exponentially slowed down to less than 10 m/year till the end of 2002, and came to a practical stillstand in 2003. After the rainfall in spring 2002, small debris flows made of clayey gravels with a volume of up to 1000 m 3 started to flow from the zone of accumulation of the rock fall over the soil landslide to and along the channel of the Brusnik Stream. In 2002, more than 20 debris flow events were registered. The statistical analysis of the measured local rainfall intensities showed that debris flows were initiated at daily rainfall reaching from 20 to 30 mm, depending on the antecedent precipitation. This value may be taken as a specific hydrologic threshold for this site. Because in 2003 no more debris flows were registered, a conclusion was drawn that debris flow events were rainfall-induced but governed on the same time by the availability of rock fall debris in its zone of accumulation.