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Prediction of ground displacements and velocities from groundwater level changes at the Vallcebre landslide (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain)

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Abstract

In active landslides, the prediction of acceleration of movement is a crucial issue for the design and performance of warning systems. The landslide of Vallcebre in the Eastern Pyreenes, Spain, has been monitored since 1996 and data on rainfall, groundwater levels and ground displacements are measured on a regular basis. Displacements observed in borehole wire extensometers have shown an immediate response of the landslide to rainfall episodes. This rapid response is likely due to the presence of preferential drainage ways. The occurrence of nearly constant rates of displacement in coincidence with steady groundwater levels suggests the presence of viscous forces developed during the movement. An attempt to predict both landslide displacements and velocities was performed at Vallcebre by solving the momentum equation in which a viscous term (Bingham and power law) was added. Results show that, using similar rheological parameters for the entire landslide, computed displacements reproduce quite accurately the displacements observed at three selected wire extensometers. These results indicate that prediction of displacements from groundwater level changes is feasible.

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Acknowledgements

The financial support of this work has been provided by CEC through the NEWTECH project (Contract ENV-CT96-0248), the Spanish CICYT (Contract AMB96-2480-CE) and the Institute of Geomodels (IGME-DURSI-UPC-UB). The authors are indebted to David N. Petley who has reviewed and made some valuable suggestions to this paper

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, Technical University of Catalonia, UPC, Jordi Girona 1-3, D-2 Building, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Corominas, José Moya, Alberto Ledesma, Antonio Lloret & Josep A. Gili

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  1. Jordi Corominas
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  2. José Moya
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  3. Alberto Ledesma
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  4. Antonio Lloret
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  5. Josep A. Gili
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Correspondence to Jordi Corominas.

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Corominas, J., Moya, J., Ledesma, A. et al. Prediction of ground displacements and velocities from groundwater level changes at the Vallcebre landslide (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain). Landslides 2, 83–96 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-005-0049-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-005-0049-1

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