Climate-induced landslide reactivation at the edge of the Most Basin (Czech Republic) – progress towards better landslide prediction

Abstract

Abstract. The catastrophic landslide at Eisenberg in North Bohemia was reactivated during January 2011. This study integrates a range of geoscientific evidence in order to constrain the spatial and temporal development of this reactivation. It has investigated long-term geodetic measurements to assess the morphological development of the site over the last two decades. There is evidence to suggest that, over this period, the site had been subjected to progressive deformation caused by the collapse of an old mine gallery. However, climatic data show that the reactivation itself was triggered by a dramatic rise in the water table induced by rapid snowmelt during a period of winter warming. Furthermore, geomorphological mapping has been used to characterise the morphology of the reactivated landslide and geophysical profiling has been used to analyse its internal structure. The results show that fissures are continuing to develop above the reactivated landslide scarp while highly saturated stiff-fissured claystones provide an incipient slide plane. The application of laser scanning has shown minimal evidence for ongoing landslide activity. It is, however, clear that future landslide events will occur here due to the favourable lithological, structural, and geotechnical conditions. Finally, we propose that future landslide activity at the site may be predicted by the height of water table as this defines theoretical pore pressure at the depth of the shear plane.

Investigation of landslide failure mechanisms adjacent to lignite mining operations in North Bohemia (Czech Republic) through a limit equilibrium/finite element modelling approach

“…According to Hurník (1982), the removal of millions of tons of overburden material per year (in the 1970s and 1980s) could have caused the elastic lifting of the mountain massif and the destabilization of the upper part of the slope. In this regard, recent studies (Burda et al, 2011;Burda et al, 2013) confirmed an influence of mining, mainly in the mountains' piedmont, where the basin sediments were exposed during excavations.…”

“…A dramatic slope deformation which started in 1952 (Rybář, 1997) resulted in the abandonment of the village of Eisenberg, but mining operations continued in the form of open-cast exploitation (Burda et al, 2013). According to Hurník (1982), the removal of millions of tons of overburden material per year (in the 1970s and 1980s) could have caused the elastic lifting of the mountain massif and the destabilization of the upper part of the slope.…”

Structural setting of the Čertovka landslide (Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic): morphostructural analysis and electrical resistivity tomography

“…There is clear in di ca tion of a low-re sis tiv ity (20-100 Wm) zone con tin u ing along the scarp and fur ther into the bed rock. Sim i lar fea tures are typ i cal for cross ing a sub-verti cal tec tonic line, usu ally a fault (Burda et al, 2013;Hartvich and Valenta, 2013).…”

A Study of the User Friendliness of Temporal Legends in Animated Maps

“…The monitoring is implemented in areas where the occurrence of shifts and deformations is probable or has already been manifested. Landslides cause natural disasters or limit the territorial development in many countries worldwide being the subject of great research interest (Pesci et al 2004;Burda et al 2013).…”