Analysis of historical data for a better understanding of post‐construction landslides at an artificial waterway

Abstract

With growing urbanization, an increasing number of landslides worldwide are linked to construction works, especially along transportation routes. To get a better understanding of these post‐construction landslides at artificial waterways, archive studies have been conducted, in addition to analysis of historical scientific literature and technical reports. The resultant database is used to describe the occurrence and the characteristics of the landslides at the Mittelland Canal, and to evaluate aspects of conditioning and preparatory factors, potential triggers and applied mitigation measures. The Mittelland Canal has been chosen because it is one of the most important artificial waterways in Europe, and the high number of landslides that occur there is unique. In particular, landslides at the Mittelland Canal were frequently reported in the first half of the 20th century. The susceptibility to landslides is strongly influenced by material characteristics, as a large number of landslides is linked to sites where fine‐grained mudstone is abundant, which quickly decomposes under immersion in water or under dynamic stress. In addition, landslides can be linked to the creation of over‐steepened slopes. Construction works can also be considered another preparatory factor for landslides. In addition, some landslides in World War II appear to be connected to the blast of aerial bombings. Precipitation seems to play a minor role in triggering landslides. The applied mitigation measures were developed recently, marking the importance of the canal as a transportation route. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Special issue: German Society for Geomorphology

“…Wohlers and Damm ( 2021 ) present an in‐depth evaluation of a landslide inventory that collates the locations, times of occurrence and properties of 116 events that occurred during and after the construction of the Mittelland Canal, an artificial waterway that links the Rhine and Elbe catchments. Based on historical data, scientific literature and technical reports, they attributed the majority of events to material characteristics, over‐steepened slopes and construction works.…”

115 years of sediment deposition in a reservoir in Central Europe: Topographic change detection

“…Influence on sediment transport has increased substantially, especially in the second half of the 20th century (Goudie, 2020; Lewin, 2013). Human‐induced sediment mobilisation is caused by direct effects such as construction (Lucas‐Borja et al, 2021; Wohlers & Damm, 2021) and mining (Tarolli & Sofia, 2016; Wilkinson, 2005) and indirect effects such as LULC (land use and land cover) changes (Cendrero et al, 2022; Dethier et al, 2022; Venter et al, 2016) and climate change (Borrelli et al, 2020; Goudie, 2020).…”