Mass Movement Processes Research Articles

Natural hazards in mountain regions of Uzbekistan: A review of mass movement processes in Tashkent province

Natural hazards in mountain regions of Uzbekistan: A review of mass movement processes in Tashkent province

Full dynamic process simulation of landslides using a combination of limit analysis and Savage–Hutter model

This paper deals with the full dynamic process of landslides, including the landslide initiation process and the mass movement and accumulation process. This paper presents a new approach combination of the limit analysis and the depth-averaged Savage–Hutter model to simulate the full dynamic process of the landslides triggered by earthquakes. In this procedure, limit analysis is used to find the critical sliding surface. Subsequently, the depth-averaged Savage–Hutter model is used to simulate the mass movement and accumulation based on the critical sliding surface. This approach is illustrated by simulating the full dynamic process of a landslide triggered by earthquake. Simulation results indicate that the position of the sliding surface has a strong effect on the mass movement and accumulation. Finally, results from the simulation of the Daguangbao landslide and the real-world effects of the landslide are compared. The results indicate that the proposed approach is valid and reasonable to predict the full dynamic process of landslides.

Dendrogeomorphic reconstruction of lahar activity and triggers: Shiveluch volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

Lahars are highly concentrated, water-saturated volcanic hyperconcentrated flows or debris flows containing pyroclastic material and are a characteristic mass movement process on volcanic slopes. On Kamchatka Peninsula (Russian Federation), lahars are widespread and may affect remote settlements. Historical records of past lahar occurrences are generally sparse and mostly limited to events which damaged infrastructure on the slopes or at the foot of volcanoes. In this study, we present a tree-ring-based reconstruction of spatiotemporal patterns of past lahar activity at Shiveluch volcano. Using increment cores and cross sections from 126 Larix cajanderi trees, we document 34 events covering the period AD 1729–2012. Analyses of the seasonality of damage in trees reveal that 95% of all lahars occurred between October and May and thus point to the predominant role of the sudden melt of the snow cover by volcanic material. These observations suggest that most lahars were likely syn-eruptive and that lahar activity is largely restricted to periods of volcanic activity. By contrast, rainfall events do not seem to play a significant role in lahar triggering.

An analysis of the entrainment effect of dry debris avalanches on loose bed materials.

Substrate entrainment can greatly influence the mass movement process of a debris avalanche because it can enlarge the landslide volume and change the motion characteristics of the sliding masses. To study the interaction between debris avalanches and erodible substrate, physical modeling experiments varying in the mass of granular flow and substrate thickness were performed. The experimental results show that both the entrained materials and the maximum erosion depth are increased with increasing mass of the debris avalanche and decreasing substrate thickness. During the experiment, several tests were recorded using a high-speed digital camera with a frequency of 500 frames per second, so that the process of entrainment could be clearly observed. Combined with the experiment result and results of previous studies from predecessors, the entrainment mechanism during debris avalanches are analyzed and discussed. The entrainment effect of the sliding masses on the loose bed materials include basal abrasion and impact erosion of the avalanche front, the latter of which can contribute to the former by failing or yielding the erodible bed.

Effects of model parameters, topography, and scale on the mass movement processes of debris avalanches using the discrete element method

The mass movement process of a debris avalanche is a complex dynamic system and is influenced by topographic conditions, material composition, sliding-bed surface conditions and other factors. A discrete element method is used to simulate the mass movement process of debris avalanches and is validated by laboratory flume tests. Sensitivity analyses for the model parameters show that a low bond strength indicates that a small impact force can lead to slope failure. The friction coefficient has a little effect on the mass movement process. However, high particle stiffness and bond strength causes the sliding material to behave like a rigid block of rock; therefore low bond strength and particle stiffness are selected to simulate the laboratory flume tests. The velocity of the sliding material increases with the increasing slope of the flume. If the sliding material hits a barrier, the travel direction will change and energy dissipation will occur, resulting in the sudden decrease in velocity. With an increase in landslide volume, the model parameters particle stiffness and parallel bond strength should be increased to ensure the reasonableness of the simulated results. When the landslide volume is not large enough, the selection of those model parameters has no significant effect on the movement process. The proper selection of model parameters is very important for the reasonableness of the simulated results.

Landslide risk perception in Mexico: a research gate into public awareness and knowledge

The purpose of this paper is to analyze landslide risk public awareness and knowledge in Mexico based on people’s common understanding and perception of landsliding associated with previous events. The methodology involved the design and application of a risk perception questionnaire in the municipality of Teziutlan, Puebla, Mexico, an area that has been historically affected by mass movement processes, particularly during a rainfall induced landslide disaster event in October 1999. Sampling framework comprised two boroughs; Downtown Teziutlan (DTT, N = 65), and San Andres neighborhood (SAN, N = 72). The former has no evidence of landslide risk, whereas the latter has been affected by landsliding. The questionnaire included the following items: (1) experience, (2) landslide risk awareness, (3) exposure, (4) preparedness, (5) responsibility, (6) response, and (7) trust. Results suggested that all the inhabitants of the sample are aware of risk of landsliding and consider the dwellings situated in the city center as the safest. The latter is consistent with a landslide susceptibility map on which hillslope material properties are reflected and lithological units of highest resistance are located beneath the city center. The need of undertaking different initiatives to achieve disaster risk reduction at community level was clearly expressed by the respondents in terms of ranking all the actions listed in the questionnaire as of high and moderate priority to improve the security of the residents. Highest accountability for actions in case of a landslide disaster was attached to the Mexican Army, as it is in charge of disaster response nationwide. Responses provided by the municipal government, health institutions and the Red Cross in DTT and by the state and municipal government along with civil protection in SAN were perceived as bad or just sufficient. High level of people’s confidence to get information on landslide disaster preparedness and response from the Red Cross and scientists was also perceived in the two communities. From the outcome of the present investigation, it is possible to conclude and reinforce the argument that a better understanding on how landsliding is perceived is one of the most significant issues for enhancing landslide disaster risk awareness and knowledge and to guarantee the advance of resilient communities at individual and collective scales.

Inestabilidad de laderas e infraestructura vial: análisis de susceptibilidad en la Sierra Nororiental de Puebla, México

In Mexico and around the world, disasters associated with slope instability generate negative impacts on the socio-economic and environmental contexts. Besides the loss of life and damage to vegetation cover, the damages to homes and infrastructure are common. In recent years, the destruction and deterioration of road infrastructure has been of particular importance.The Sierra Norte de Puebla is among the different áreas of the country that are recurrently affected by slope instability. Direct and indirect human and economic losses result of the occurrence of mass movement processes (MMP) -mainly triggered by heavy rains- in vulnerable exposed communities in this region, have taken place since some decades. The impact on infrastructure has become important, especially since 1999. Therefore, this study is focused on the analysis of susceptibility to mass movement processes on the main roads of the Northeast region of the Sierra de Puebla.This analysis involved the development of an inventory of MMP as well as of the thematic maps used as input for the implementation of multi-criteria and weights of evidence analysis. Two maps of susceptibility of the region of interest were obtained and the results were analyzed by a recurrence index of MMP. Finally, the spatial analysis of susceptibility to MMP for several road sections of the Sierra Nororiental, based on the analysis of proximity and overlap, was made.The inventory was generated based on two procedures. The first was through direct observation in the field and data collection by using a global positioning system (GPS). The second was through remote sensing using SPOT satellite images and Google Earth. The inventory included 166 landslides and 40 potentially unstable areas.According to the recurrence index of MMP developed in order to analyze the produced maps, results obtained by applying the method of weights of evidence, showed that 72.28% of MMP occurred in the ranges of high and very high susceptibility, 24.1% in areas of medium susceptibility and 3.6% in the low range. The MMP categorized as low range were caused by human factors, and were situated in slope cuts or artificial excavations of small dimensions, which due to map scale and the interval of contour lines were not properly represented.Moreover, according to the multi-criteria analysis, 69.27% of MMP were located in the range of high and very high susceptibility, 23.49% are in areas of medium susceptibility and the remaining 7.22% were concentrated on low and very low areas of susceptibility. MMP that are in the low range are of small size and result from the constructions and cuts for roads, that is to say, to factors or parameters that were not considered directly in this analysis.The high susceptibility áreas correspond to áreas with very rugged terrain, while the fíat regions coincide with áreas of very low susceptibility. The variation of the results expressed in the susceptibility maps produced by applying both methodologies implies that the zoning of multi-criteria analysis tends to produce lower values in urban areas, while the weight of evidence, conferred lower values to mountain areas that can be characterized as potentially unstable due to its geological-geomorphological nature, but lacks of records or concrete evidence.This study represents a first step in the analysis of slope instability triggered by rainfall in the road infrastructure in the Sierra Nororiental de Puebla (North Eastern Range of Puebla). It is therefore important that future studies of multidisciplinary nature and especially the contribution of civil engineering perspective consider the interaction between the physical environment and road infrastructure. As such, it will be of great significant to address issues including slope cutting height, angle of slope, drainage works cleaning, type of cross section of the road, functionality of the retention works, type of soil and rock, rock fractures, discontinuities, the level of cutting of vegetation coverage, erosion processes, and rainfall- infiltration dynamics.

Application of the Multitype Strauss Point Model for Characterizing the Spatial Distribution of Landslides

Landslides are common but complex natural hazards. They occur on the Earth’s surface following a mass movement process. This study applies the multitype Strauss point process model to analyze the spatial distributions of small and large landslides along with geoenvironmental covariates. It addresses landslides as a set of irregularly distributed point-type locations within a spatial region. Their intensity and spatial interactions are analyzed by means of the distance correlation functions, model fitting, and simulation. We use as a dataset the landslide occurrences for 28 years from a landslide prone road corridor in the Indian Himalayas. The landslides are investigated for their spatial character, that is, whether they show inhibition or occur as a regular or a clustered point pattern, and for their interaction with landslides in the neighbourhood. Results show that the covariates lithology, land cover, road buffer, drainage density, and terrain units significantly improved model fitting. A comparison of the output made with logistic regression model output showed a superior prediction performance for the multitype Strauss model. We compared results of this model with the multitype/hard core Strauss point process model that further improved the modeling. Results from the study can be used to generate landslide susceptibility scenarios. The paper concludes that a multitype Strauss point process model enriches the set of statistical tools that can comprehensively analyze landslide data.

Ice-proximal Labrador Sea Heinrich layers: a sedimentological approach

During Late Pleistocene Heinrich events (H-events), distinct, decimetre- to centimetre-thick layers of ice-rafted debris (IRD) were deposited in the North Atlantic as Heinrich layers (H-layers). These layers are characterized by high detrital carbonate content, low foraminifera content, a high percentage of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) among the planktonic foraminifera, high magnetic susceptibility, and high grey colour values. In contrast, H-layers in the Labrador Sea reach metre thickness at core sites proximal to the iceberg source off the Hudson Strait ice stream (HSIS), and show low magnetic susceptibility and relatively low grey levels on the colour scale. To provide the reader with some background information, four hypotheses concerning the origin of H-events are discussed at the outset: (1) the binge–purge (internal forcing) model, (2) the subglacial outburst flood model, (3) the external forcing model, and (4) the catastrophic ice shelf breakup model. The higher thickness of ice-proximal H-layers is due to the supply of large amounts of terrigenous sediments that were eroded from country rocks underlying the northeastern sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). These sediments were transported to the deep Labrador Sea by the efficient processes of bottom-following mass and surface plume movement, where they mixed with ice-rafted sediment. Four distinct depositional facies of H-layers (Types I to IV) have been identified: Type I H-layers occur within 300 km from the presumed HSIS terminus and consist of stacked thin layers of graded muds containing IRD. The graded muds that are spiked with IRD are the result of deposition of fine-grained sediment from lofting sediment columns that collected dropstones and grains under the iceberg route. Type II H-layers occur on the slope and rise at a greater distance south of the Hudson Strait outlet, on the levees of tributary canyons to the Northwest Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (NAMOC). These layers consist of alternating thin mud turbidites with intercalated laminae of IRD. Type III H-layers exist on the levees of the main channel of the NAMOC, and consist of layers of IRD alternating with fewer fine-grained spillover turbidites, reflecting the lower spillover frequency from the deep channel compared to the less deep slope canyons. Type IV H-layers are made up of bioturbated hemipelagic muds with IRD, and occur in regions between canyons not reached by spillover turbidity currents, and in distal regions of the open ocean or on seamounts. The anomalously high thickness of individual H-layers on the slope and rise off Hudson Strait is explained by the transport of significant portions of H-layer sediment by suspended sediment columns lofted from sand-carrying freshwater turbidity currents (Type I), and by low density turbidity currents (Types II and III). Isopach maps for H-layers 1–3 give hints of the drift routes of the lofted suspended sediment during its ascent to the surface, and of iceberg drift directions in the Labrador Sea.

INFLUENCE OF PYROCLASTIC EMISSION ON VALLEY MORPHOLOGY AND RIVER NETWORK DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE STUDY OF THE NORTHERN GROUP VOLCANOES, KAMCHATKA

On the sides of volcanoes the chain of paragenetic processes performs from the top and to the foot that includes volcanic, slope mass movement and erosion processes. River valleys provide transportation routes (“transport corridors”) for sediments involved in the lithodynamic system. Valleys are used by pyroclastic flows that transfer much volumes of sediments. Fluvial processes transport them from the upper parts to the foots of volcanoes. Physical properties of volcanic materials predetermine specific features of its reworking by water flows and thus exert influence on fluvial processes in river valleys. In the bottoms of river valleys, not alluvial but debris flow, mass movement, aeolian, thermokarstic processes dominate throughout the most part of year. Development of glaciation contributes to the increase of non-uniformity (“salvo” character) of lithodynamic flows and increase the area of pyroclastic material reworking by fluvial processes.

A New Assessment Method for Structural-Control Failure Mechanisms in Rock Slopes — Case Examples

Mass movement processes of bedrock slopes are highly dependent on the orientations of structural discontinuities within the rock mass. The associated hazards are typically defined by the orientation of structures and associated mechanisms of slope failure such as planar sliding, wedge sliding and toppling. A typical rock mass with multiple weak surfaces, or discontinuities, may form a consistent pattern over a range of spatial scale. The type of hazard resulting from the pattern of discontinuities will vary according to the angle and direction of the slope face. Assessing the risk of rock slope instability involves understanding of the complex three-dimensional structural features of the rock mass. Recent developments in stereographic methods show advantages are gained by representing wedges by linking great circles rather than showing the intersection line on the stereograph. We applied these methods to three rock slopes where active mass movement has occurred. The case studies include a large rock slide-debris avalanche in the Philippines, coastal cliffs in Australia and mining excavation slopes in Ghana, West Africa.

Mass movement processes triggered by land subsidence in Iztapalapa, the eastern part of Mexico City

Abstract. Geological and structural conditions in the Basin of Mexico coupled with natural and anthropogenic factors, such as groundwater exploitation, provokes land subsidence and differential deformation. The study area is located in to the north of Iztapalapa, a municipality within Mexico City, in a site called "El Eden" with irregular topography. Where volcanic sequences overlie the lacustrine deposits of clays and silts and show displacements by the action of gravity. The displacement zone was delimited at the top of the slope by the formation of circular tensile fractures with stair -shaped geometries. At the base of the slope, compressive processes damaged housing, sidewalks and inclined light poles and trees. A NW-SE system of fractures was identified in which displacement velocities vary from a few millimeters to several centimeters per year. Which affects urban facilities. In this work a conceptual model of deformation is presented that integrates the geological and mechanical factors leading to landslide and land subsidence. A geophysical survey leads to evidence of how land subsidence processes increase the sliding slope.

The good, the bad and the ugly: on the interactions among experience, exposure and commitment with reference to landslide risk perception in México

Risk perception plays a significant role not only in terms of behaviour, but as a basic element for enhancing awareness and preparedness and achieving disaster risk management. Disasters are produced by the combination of hazards and the different dimensions of vulnerability. Recognizing the social and cognitive construction of risk turns out to be a requirement for the identification and implementation of adequate strategies for risk awareness and preparedness and hence for reducing vulnerability of communities exposed to hazards. As risk perception has not been yet taken into account as a baseline for delineating strategies for disaster prevention in Mexico, in this paper, attention is paid to the relationships among the different realms of landslide risk perception—as a function of hazard exposure, experiences and commitment to disaster risk reduction—so that outcomes can be incorporated into future risk management agendas. This approach was applied in Teziutlan, Puebla, a municipality historically affected by mass movement processes. The findings of this research provide significant evidence to argue that previous experience and exposure to risk affect the perception of people and also influence the patterns associated with preventive and coping actions. Identifying specific characteristics of population segments within the context of risk perception is useful for tailoring public policies, mitigation strategies and integrated disaster risk reduction efforts.

Regional-scale landslide inventory, central-western sector of the Basilicata region (Southern Apennines, Italy)

ABSTRACTA detailed landslide inventory map has been drawn for a large sector of the axial-outer zone of the Southern Italian Apennines using photo-aerial interpretation and field survey. Our results reveal a landscape greatly affected by landslide phenomena, which involve about 7% of the entire area. DEM analysis allowed us to assess the influence of landslide processes on the geomorphological evolution and investigate the main predisposing factors, which promote the initiation and evolution of mass movements. In order to understand the influence of lithological and topographic factors on slope processes, an evaluation of the landslide susceptibility has been carried out using the SINMAP model. A statistical comparison between the stability index map and landslides highlights a good prediction ability of the susceptibility assessment. Apart from the implications for mass movement processes and relief evolution, the acquired data can represent a basic contribution to land management and hazard assessment as well as the gathering of basic information on landslide susceptibility of this sector of the southern Apennine chain.

Boulder aprons indicate long-term gradual and non-catastrophic evolution of cliffed escarpments, Stołowe Mts, Poland

Caprock-crowned escarpments are characteristic geomorphic features of the sandstone tableland of the Stołowe Mountains (SW Poland). Their mid- and lower slopes truncate weaker sedimentary formations but are littered with sandstone boulders of various size, often more than 5m long, which form nearly continuous aprons. A model of escarpment retreat by rock fall has been widely accepted in literature but in the Stołowe Mountains it has never been tested against field evidence; in addition no rock fall events except one minor fall in 1921 have been recorded in historical times. In this paper we erected five hypotheses of how escarpments may have evolved through time to result in widespread boulder presence on the slopes. Mapping boulder extent and slope morphology, run-out distance simulations using Conefall software, and rock strength determinations using the Schmidt hammer carried out on boulders along eight representative slope profiles provide data about characteristics of the boulder covers. Systematic decrease in intact rock strength with an increasing distance from the sandstone cliffs suggests that the boulder aprons are diachronic and record long-term retreat of escarpments. There exists no conclusive evidence of widespread boulder downslope movement, although in a few localities shallow landslides have rafted boulders far away from the cliff lines. Modelling exercise shows that the actual extent of boulders is 2–3 times bigger than suggested by Conefall predictions. These findings, coupled with observations along the cliff lines themselves, lead us to propose a model of free face in situ disintegration as the most likely hypothesis to explain block detachment and release from rock faces. As cliff lines recede and the slope surface below is lowered, remnant boulders occupy a position increasingly further away from escarpment rims, but experience little actual movement. This model complements the existing models of tableland evolution which tend to emphasize catastrophic mass movement processes on cliffed escarpments.

Criterios geológico-hidrológicos para recomendaciones del uso de suelo en zonas conurbadas sujetas a afectaciones por lluvias intensas. Caso de estudio: sur de la ciudad de Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas

Currently in the urban zone south of the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, manifest geological movements, where urbanization promotes its own vulnerability to heavy rains mainly by weather phenomena such as tropical storms and hurricanes and even ordinary rain, impacting also to other parts lowest in the city. This paper identifies potentially active and inactive areas and their physical vulnerability in four basins to 1:20 000, which can integrate locally criteria identifying the evolutionary processes of mass movements on slopes, determining temporal scenarios of dangerous activity. Are processed in GIS, 28 factors of quality and quantity of such geological and hydrological and land use, to obtain categorical elements. The results show differentiated geological hazards and those who have their maximum development in extraordinary rainfall, which is derived from the identification of sites for conservation, rehabilitation and less constraint for urban use.

Quantification of the ice-cored moraines' short-term dynamics in the high-Arctic glaciers Ebbabreen and Ragnarbreen, Petuniabukta, Svalbard

Extensive ice-cored moraine complexes are common elements, marking the last advance of many Svalbard glaciers. Sediment gravity flows are among the most dynamic processes, transforming these landforms. The short-term (yearly and weekly) dynamics of mass-wasting processes were studied in a cm-scale using repetitive topographic scanning. We monitored several active sites on the forelands of two glaciers, Ebbabreen and Ragnarbreen, both of which are located near Petuniabukta at the northern end of Billefjorden in Spitsbergen.The surveys indicate high dynamic rates of landforms' transformation. The mean annual volume loss of sediments and dead-ice for the most active parts of the moraines was up to 1.8ma−1. However, most of the transformation occurred during summer, with the short-term values of mean elevation changes as high as −104mmday−1. In comparison, the dynamics of the other (i.e. non-active) parts of the ice-cored moraines were much lower, namely, the mean annual lowering (attributed mainly to dead-ice downwasting) was up to 0.3ma−1, whereas lowering during summer was up to 8mmday−1. Our results indicate that in the case of the studied glaciers, backwasting was much more effective than downwasting in terms of landscape transformation in the glacier forelands. However, despite the high activity of localised mass movement processes, the overall short-term dynamics of ice-cored moraines for the studied glaciers were relatively low. We suggest that as long as debris cover is sufficiently thick (thicker than the permafrost's active layer depths), the mass movement activity would occur only under specific topographic conditions and/or due to occurrence of external meltwater sources and slope undercutting. In other areas, ice-cored moraines remain a stable landsystem component in a yearly to decadal time-scale.

Discrete element modeling of the mass movement and loose material supplying the gully process of a debris avalanche in the Bayi Gully, Southwest China

The dynamic process of a debris avalanche in mountainous areas is influenced by the landslide volume, topographical conditions, mass-material composition, mechanical properties and other factors. A good understanding of the mass movement and loose material supplying the gully process is very important for understanding the dynamic properties of debris avalanches. Three-dimensional particle flow code (PFC3D) was used to simulate a debris avalanche in Quaternary deposits at the Bayi Gully, Southwest China. FORTRAN and AutoCAD were used for the secondary development to display the mass movement process and to quantitatively describe the mass movement and loose material supplying the gully process. The simulated results show that after the landslide is initiated, the gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy with a variation velocity for the sliding masses. Two stages exist for the average-movement velocity: the acceleration stage and the slowdown stage, which are influenced by the topographical conditions. For the loose materials supplying the gully process, the cumulative volume of the sliding masses into the gully gradually increases over the time. When the landslide volume is not large enough, the increasing landslide volume does not obviously influence the movement process of the sliding masses. The travel distance and movement velocity increase with the decreasing numerical parameters, and the mass-movement process is finished more quickly using low-value parameters. The deposition area of the sliding masses decreases with the increasing numerical parameters and the corresponding deposition thickness increases. The mass movement of the debris avalanche is not only influenced by the mechanical parameters but is also controlled by the topographical conditions.

Geoelectric Tomography Carried Out on a Mass Movement Site of Kulcs Settlement (in Hungary)

Intensification of the surface mass movement processes on the right bank of the Danube river on the territory of village Kulcs caused serious damages during the past decade. Several significant rehabilitation projects have been performed in order to stabilize the area and protect the settlement. Following the last greater movement, the area of Hullam and Deak Ferenc Streets was declared to Life Hazard Zone. Experimental geophysical measurements along profiles were carried out on areas classified as Life Hazard Zone, in order to explore the possible geological causes of the mass movements. It was investigated if those – probably 2D or 3D – structures which may give explanation to the specific spatial distribution of the surface mass movements could be detected by geoelectrical methods. Multielectrodal direct current method was applied to image the subsurface electrical resistivity distribution. Any given formations identified on the obtained resistivity distributions can be corresponded to a rock type based on prior geological information. The applied geophysical methods contribute to our better understanding of the geological environment of the high bank, provide additional explanation to the causes of the mass movements, and may yield information concerning the place of potential future mass movements. Results may also help us plan further drillings on appropriate sites, and the necessary geotechnical procedures.

Effects of open‐cast sulphur mining on sediment transfers and toxification of riparian forests

The spoil heaps of the sulphur mines of the egoiul omânesc volcanic cone are intensely reworked by mass movement processes which not only lead to severe sedimentation in downstream rivers, but also to the toxification of riparian orway spruce (icea abies (.) arst.) forests. Along the lateral borders of the Dumitrelul retention basin, recent sedimentation has covered . abies trees with up to 160 cm of toxic, sulphur‐rich material originating from the spoil heaps deposits. This study documents the deposition of toxic sediments and illustrates the effects that these sulphur‐rich sediments have on tree growth. The results show that trees affected by sedimentation reacted with severe growth suppression and the formation of tangential rows of traumatic resin ducts, and that the intensity and persistence of growth anomalies in trees are positively correlated with local depths and granulometry of sediments.