Frequency of debris flows and rockfall along the Mendoza river valley (Central Andes), Argentina: Associated risk and future scenario

Moreiras, Stella Maris

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2006.05.028

Cited by 41 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…More than 300 historical landslide events have been triggered by rainfall along the Mendoza River valley in Argentina since the beginning of the twentieth century (Moreiras 2006). Most of the damaging events have occurred in the localities reported in this paper.…”

Section: Geological and Geomorphological Settingmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Such are the cases of the violent debris flows channelized along Quebrada Seca in 1974 and 2007, both destroying the international route. A debris flow coming from Quebrada del Camino razed a vehicle in 1942 due to an intense storm in this catchment (Moreiras 2005(Moreiras , 2006. In addition, debris flows coming from the so-called Picheuta A zone interrupted the international traffic in 1997 and 2003 (Moreiras 2005).…”

Section: Geological and Geomorphological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the long term, the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been linked to major landsliding activity and above-average river flows (Moreiras 2005;Sepúlveda et al 2006;Araneo and Compagnucci 2008). However, the influence of the Pacific Anticyclone seems to be limited to high mountain areas of the Andes Main and Frontal ranges, while hillslope instability in the eastern Precordillera is induced by humid periods of the Atlantic Anticyclone (Moreiras 2006;Moreiras et al 2012). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Debris flows in the Andean ranges of central Chile and Argentina triggered by 2013 summer storms: characteristics and consequences

et al. 2014

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Artículo de publicación ISIIn January and February 2013, heavy rainfall during local summer storms triggered a large number of landslides in the Andes Main and Frontal ranges of central Chile and Argentina (32°–34° S). Most of the mass movements classify as debris flows, while rockfalls and debris avalanches also occurred. The major debris flows occurred in the Maipo and Aconcagua valleys (Chile) and along the Mendoza River valley (Argentina). The debris flows caused serious disruption to the international highway connecting both countries and local roads and produced a large impact on the population of major cities downstream, mainly due to potable water supply cutoffs. Debris flow deposits have silt and clay particles usually ranging between 10 and 20% by weight, which favors the movement of viscous flows in short, steep lateral gullies. Most of the flows tended to channelize, and the materials were deposited in alluvial fans and cones in areas with previous records of such events. This indicates that they constitute a significant hazard that may not have been properly considered in road infrastructure and potable water supply strategies for the region. This potential hazard may become more serious due to climate change in the near future

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Section: Geological and Geomorphological Settingmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Geological and Geomorphological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Debris flows in the Andean ranges of central Chile and Argentina triggered by 2013 summer storms: characteristics and consequences

et al. 2014

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“…In Argentina, the Mendoza river valley (Moreiras 2004(Moreiras , 2005(Moreiras , 2009a has been studied extensively, with many deposits which were initially interpreted as glacial in origin reinterpreted as large rock avalanches (Moreiras et al 2008). Quaternary faults have been proposed to trigger many of the rock avalanches (Moreiras 2006(Moreiras , 2009b. In Chile, Antinao & Gosse (2009) prepared a large landslide inventory and suggested a relationship with regional faults and seismicity, yet only one historic earthquake in 1958 (M w 6.3, Alvarado et al 2009) triggered landslides and these were only of medium to large size (volume of a few millions of cubic metres; Sepúlveda et al 2008).…”

Section: Quaternary Tectonics and Geohazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geodynamic processes in the Andes of Central Chile and Argentina: an introduction

Sepúlveda

Giambiagi

Moreiras

et al. 2014

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The Andes, the world's largest non-collisional orogen, is considered the paradigm for geodynamic processes associated with the subduction of an oceanic plate below a continental plate margin. In the framework of UNESCO-sponsored IGCP 586-Y project, this Special Publication includes state-of-the-art reviews and original articles from a range of Earth Science disciplines that investigate the complex interactions of tectonics and surface processes in the subductionrelated orogen of the Andes of central . This introduction provides the geological context of the transition from flat slab to normal subduction angles, where this volume is focused, along with a brief description of the individual contributions ranging from internal geodynamics and tectonics, Quaternary tectonics and related geohazards, to landscape evolution of this particular segment of the Andes.Convergent continental margins are one of the firstorder expressions of the movement of Earth's tectonic plates atop a convecting mantle. The topography of convergent margins is due to the interactions of rock uplift, climate and surface processes that are dominantly driven by upper crustal and internal lithospheric deformation as well as erosional processes (e.g. Molnar & Lyon-Caen 1988;Beaumont et al. 2004;Whipple & Meade 2006). The Andes of central Chile and Argentina (c. 32 -368S, Figs 1 & 2) straddle a potentially important transition in geodynamic boundary conditions imposed on the upper plate: a drastic change in the geometry of the subducting Nazca plate from 'flat' to normal subduction angles, from c. 5-108 to 308 (Cahill & Isacks 1992; Fig. 1). This segment of the Andes is therefore a particularly suitable setting to evaluate the interplay between constructive deep mechanisms, resulting in rock uplift and lateral expansion of the Andes, and the mechanisms of exhumation and erosion that shape the landscape in an active, convergent margin.The Central Andes are composed of different morphostructural units (from west to east; Figs 1 & 2): the Chilean Coastal Cordillera, the Principal Cordillera (spanning Chile and Argentina), the Frontal Cordillera, the Argentine Precordillera and the Pampean Ranges (Jordan et al. 1983). Although previous studies attempt to constrain the magnitudes of orogenic shortening for each morphostructural unit, limited amounts of geochronology complicate attempts to constrain more tightly the rates of shortening and topographic uplift. There are several outstanding questions regarding the interplay between deep and surface processes in the development of the Andean Orogen over different timescales, as follows. † What is the nature of the interaction between tectonic and surface processes in this sector of the Andes? In particular, are surface and tectonic processes part of a strongly coupled system? † What control does the geometry of the subducting slab exert over the timing and style of deformation in the South American plate? † How do deformation and denudation evolve in space and time? Are there differences between ...

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“…Rockfall instabilities are a major hazard for people, human activities and infrastructure (Bell and Glade, 2004;Moreiras, 2006). It is thus essential to assess the rockfall hazard in areas over which they are likely to occur and to propose a mapping of the hazard to manage the risk in urban areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of expertise on rockfall hazard assessment using empirical methods

Delonca

Verdel

Gunzburger

2016

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. To date, many rockfall hazard assessment methods still consider qualitative observations within their analysis. Based on this statement, knowledge and expertise are supposed to be major parameters of rockfall assessment. To test this hypothesis, an experiment was carried out in order to evaluate the influence of knowledge and expertise on rockfall hazard assessment. Three populations were selected, having different levels of expertise: (1) students in geosciences, (2) researchers in geosciences and (3) confirmed experts. These three populations evaluated the rockfall hazard level on the same site, considering two different methods: the Laboratoire des Ponts et Chaussées (LPC) method and a method partly based on the "slope mass rating" (SMR) method. To complement the analysis, the completion of an "a priori" assessment of the rockfall hazard was requested of each population, without using any method. The LPC method is the most widely used method in France for official hazard mapping. It combines two main indicators: the predisposition to instability and the expected magnitude. Reversely, the SMR method was used as an ad hoc quantitative method to investigate the effect of quantification within a method. These procedures were applied on a test site divided into three different sectors.A statistical treatment of the results (descriptive statistical analysis, chi-square independent test and ANOVA) shows that there is a significant influence of the method used on the rockfall hazard assessment, whatever the sector. However, there is a non-significant influence of the level of expertise of the population the sectors 2 and 3. On sector 1, there is a significant influence of the level of expertise, explained by the importance of the temporal probability assessment in the rockfall hazard assessment process. The SMR-based method seems highly sensitive to the "site activity" indicator and exhibits an important dispersion in its results. However, the results are more similar with the LPC qualitative method, even in the case of sector 1.

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Frequency of debris flows and rockfall along the Mendoza river valley (Central Andes), Argentina: Associated risk and future scenario

Cited by 41 publications

References 12 publications

Debris flows in the Andean ranges of central Chile and Argentina triggered by 2013 summer storms: characteristics and consequences

Debris flows in the Andean ranges of central Chile and Argentina triggered by 2013 summer storms: characteristics and consequences

Geodynamic processes in the Andes of Central Chile and Argentina: an introduction

Influence of expertise on rockfall hazard assessment using empirical methods

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