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Deformation and mechanism of landslide influenced by the effects of reservoir water and rainfall, Three Gorges, China

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Abstract

Since the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir in June 2003, numerous preexisting landslides have been reactivated. This paper seeks to find the factors influencing landslide deformation and the relationship between displacement and fluctuation of the reservoir water level, while the displacement and the intensity of rainfall based on monitoring data; 6 years of monitoring were carried out on the Shiliushubao landslide, a old landslide, consisting of a deep-seated main block and two shallow blocks, with a volume of 1,180 × 104 m3 and located on the left bank of the Yangtze River, 66 km upstream of the Three Gorges dam. This landslide was reactivated by the impoundment and since then the landslide body has been experiencing persistent deformation with an observed maximum cumulative displacement of 8,598.5 mm up to December 2009. Based on the monitoring data, we analyzed the relationship between the fluctuation of the reservoir water level and displacement, rainfall and displacement, and found that the rainfall is the major factor influencing deformation for two shallow blocks and the displacement has a positive correlation with the variation of rainfall intensity. The fluctuation of the reservoir water level is the primary factor for main block, and the deformation rate has a negative correlation with the variation of reservoir water level, declined with the rise of the water level and increased with the drawdown of the water level.

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Acknowledgments

The research is sponsored by funds No. 41072229. We sincerely thank Huang bangzhi and Sun renxian for providing facilities for the field survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geo-hazard Prevention and Geo-environment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, No. 1 Erxianqiao East Road, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Min XIA, Guang Ming REN & Xin Lei MA

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  1. Min XIA
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  2. Guang Ming REN
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  3. Xin Lei MA
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Correspondence to Guang Ming REN.

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XIA, M., REN, G.M. & MA, X.L. Deformation and mechanism of landslide influenced by the effects of reservoir water and rainfall, Three Gorges, China. Nat Hazards 68, 467–482 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-0634-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-0634-x

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