Abstract
The distribution of permafrost-related slope failures along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway from Wuddaoliang to Fenghuoshan correlates with ice content, slope gradient, and ground temperature. Slope failures are of two types. (1) Retrogressive thaw slumps result from icy permafrost being exposed by either man-induced excavation or fluvial-thermal erosion and undercutting of basal slopes. (2) Active-layer-detachment failures are caused by thaw of icy permafrost at the active layer-permafrost interface. After initial failure, active-layer-detachment failures can lead to retrogressive thaw-slumping and localized surficial landslide. Common trigger mechanisms for failure include high summer air temperatures and heavy summer precipitation. A third possible trigger mechanism for slope failure is earthquake occurrence. A geotechnical slope stability analysis was undertaken for an active-layer-detachment failure that had progressed into a retrogressive thaw slump. A safety factor (F s ) of 1.24 for the natural slope was determined using in situ tested strength parameters. However, the slope would lose stability when either the groundwater level over the permafrost table exceeded 1.42 m or seismic acceleration reached, or exceeded, 0.03 g.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Western Project Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-XB3-19), the State Key Development Program of Basic Research of China (973 Plan, 2012CB026101), and the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41121061). The authors are indebted to Professor Fuchu Dai, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Sergey Marchenko, University of Alaska Fairbanks, for constructive comments. Professor Hugh French, Emeritus Professor, University of Ottawa, undertook final editing.
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Niu, F., Luo, J., Lin, Z. et al. Thaw-induced slope failures and stability analyses in permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Landslides 13, 55–65 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0545-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0545-2