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Landslides and debris flows: analysis, monitoring, modeling and hazard assessment
Editor(s): M. Jaboyedoff, G. B. Crosta and M. Arattano

Published in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS)

M. Jaboyedoff has entirely prepared this specially financed by Quanterra, but it has been published under the University Lausanne Logo for convenience.

Preface and content

Since its first appearance, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences publishes special issues containing papers presented during European Geophysical Union meetings and European Geosciences Union (EGU) meetings. Taking the opportunity of the 1st EGU General Assembly held in Nice, France, from April 25 to April 30, 2004, we chose to merge five sessions in one special volume dedicated to Landslides and debris flows: analysis, monitoring, modeling and hazard assessment. The 16 papers presented in this volume are issued from sessions NH3.01: Documentation and monitoring of landslides and debris flows for mathematical modeling and design of mitigation measures; NH3.02: Rainfall induced landslides and debris flows; NH3.06: Slope instabilities: from dating, triggering and evolution modeling to hazard assessment; NH3.07: Terrain analysis using DTM and landslides and NH3.08: Modeling landslides as part of erosive processes.
This merging underlines the necessity to view slopes as systems, that have to be studied in several different ways to obtain the most accurate image of nature. Landslides have to be first characterized by their morphometry. The subject is discussed in 8 papers dedicated to case studies and/or digital elevation model (DEM) analysis. 6 papers are dedicated to either numerical or analogous modeling of slope movements, at instability, local, scale or at a regional scale. Stability aspects, as well as triggering rainfall, are considered. One paper is dedicated to rainfall-induced landslides related to climate and another is dedicated to landslide monitoring. By its variety, this set of articles covers many of the problems related to landslide hazard assessment. From morphological characterization to monitoring, landslide analysis must pass through several stages, which are illustrated here. Modeling, as well as analysis of triggering factors, must be considered for the understanding of slope processes. New techniques such as Laser DEM acquisition, monitoring facilities, computer modeling and analogous modeling make it possible to improve greatly all those analyses. The spatio-temporal aspect of landslide evolution is particularly addressed in this volume. We think that the present issue is a very good overview of the present state of the art in landslide hazard assessment.
The new policy of NHESS is to publish special issues first on the website, thus permitting a rapid distribution of the manuscripts without waiting for all papers to be published in a hard copy of the special volume. This is at the origin of a particularity of this special issue: the page numbers are not consecutive. Please find below the table of contents ordered according to the criteria previously presented:

Case studies and/or digital elevation model (DEM) analysis

Huggel, C., Zgraggen-Oswald, S., Haeberli, W., Kaab, A., Polkvoj, A., Galushkin, I., and Evans, S. G.: The 2002 rock/ice avalanche at Kolka/Karmadon, Russian Caucasus: assessment of extraordinary avalanche formation and mobility, and application of QuickBird satellite imagery, 5, 173– 187, 2005.

Conversini, P., Salciarini, D., Felicioni, G., and Boscherini, A.: The debris flow hazard in the Lagarelle Creek in the eastern Umbria region, central Italy, 5, 275–283, 2005.

Derron, M.-H., Jaboyedoff, M., and Blikra, L. H.: Preliminary assessment of rockslide and rockfall hazards using a DEM (Oppstadhornet, Norway), 5, 285–292, 2005. Casson, B., Delacourt, C., and Allemand, P.: Potential of multi-temporal remote sensing images for landslide slip surface characterization – application to the La Clapiere landslide (France), 5, 425–437, 2005.

Lantuit, H. and Pollard, W. H.: Temporal stereophotogrammetric analysis of retrogressive thaw slumps on Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, 5, 413–423, 2005. Dewitte, O. and Demoulin, A.: Morphometry and kinematics of landslides inferred fromprecise DTMs inWest Belgium, 5, 259–265, 2005.

Mikos, M., Vidmar, A., and Brilly, M.: Using a laser measurement system for monitoring morphological changes on the Strug rock fall, Slovenia, 5, 143–153, 2005. Nico, G., Rutigliano, P., Benedetto, C., and Vespe, F.: Terrain modeling by kinematical GPS survey, 5, 293–299, 2005.

Modeling of slope movement

Bruckl, E. and Parotidis, M.: Prediction of slope instabilities due to deep-seated gravitational creep, 5, 155–172, 2005. Baron, I., Agliardi, F., Ambrosi, C., and Crosta, G. B.: Numerical analysis of deep-seated mass movements in the Magura Nappe; Flysch Belt of the Western Carpathians (Czech Republic), 5, 367–374, 2005.

Bathurst, J. C., Moretti, G., El-Hames, A., Moaven- Hashemi, A., and Burton, A.: Scenario modeling of basinscale, shallow landslide sediment yield, Valsassina, Italian Southern Alps, 5, 189–202, 2005.

Bachmann, D., Bouissou, S., and Chemenda, A.: Influence of weathering and pre-existing large scale fractures on gravitational slope failure: insights from 3-D physical modeling, 4, 711–717, 2004.

Arattano, M., and Franzi, L.: Analysis of different watersediment flow processes in a mountain torrent, 4, 783–791, 2004.
Lin, M.-L.,Wang, K.-L., and Huang, J.-J.: Debris flow run off simulation and verification – case study of Chen-You-Lan Watershed, Taiwan, 5, 439–445, 2005.

Rainfall-induced landslides

Zezere, J. L., Trigo, R. M., and Trigo, I. F.: Shallow and deep landslides induced by rainfall in the Lisbon region (Portugal): assessment of relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation, 5, 331–344, 2005.

Monitoring of landslides

Arattano, M. and Marchi, L.: Measurements of debris flow velocity through cross-correlation of instrumentation data, 5, 137–142, 2005.

Acknowledgements. We thank all the scientists who were involved in the success of the 2004 EGU meeting sessions and the reviewers who made a rapid and efficient work. We thank also and particularly K. G¨anger who by her efficiency facilitate our work as guest editors in NHESS.

Michel Jaboyedoff, Lausanne, Switzerland
Giovanni B. Crosta, Milano, Italy
Massimo Arattano, Torino, Italy
Special Issue Editors