Brittle and Ductile Behavior in Deep-Seated Landslides: Learning from the Vajont Experience

This paper analyzes the mechanical behavior of the unstable Mt. Toc slope before the 1963 catastrophic collapse, considering both the measured data (surface displacements and microseismicity) and the updated geological model of the prehistoric rockslide. From February 1960 up to 9 October 1963, the unstable mass behaved as a brittle–ductile ‘mechanical system,’ characterized by remarkable microseismicity as well as by considerable surface displacements (up to 4–5 m). Recorded microshocks were the result of progressive rock fracturing of distinct resisting stiff parts made up of intact rock (indentations, undulations, and rock bridges). The main resisting stiff part was a large rock indentation located at the NE extremity of the unstable mass that acted as a mechanical constraint during the whole 1960–1963 period, inducing a progressive rototranslation toward the NE. This large constraint failed in autumn 1960, when an overall slope failure took place, as emphasized by the occurrence of the large perimetrical crack in the upper slope. In this circumstance, the collapse was inhibited by a reblocking phenomenon of the unstable mass that had been previously destabilized by the first reservoir filling. Progressive failure of localized intact rock parts progressively propagated westwards as a consequence of the two further filling–drawdown cycles of the reservoir (1962 and 1963). The characteristic brittle–ductile behavior of the Vajont landslide was made possible by the presence of a very thick (40–50 m) and highly deformable shear zone underlying the upper rigid rock mass (100–120 m thick).