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A possible mechanism of earthquake-induced landslides focusing on pulse-like ground motions

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Abstract

This paper proposes a mechanism of earthquake-induced landslides with pulse-like ground motion (PLGM) based on the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) method. In recent near-fault earthquake-induced landslides, the two phenomena confusing landslide researchers are observed. One is that large-scale landslides occurred in the area with small PGA but no landslide in the area with large PGA, for example, the landslides occurred during the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. The other is that one side slopes collapsed while the opposite side slopes back to back remain stable. For example, most west-faced slopes collapsed while the east-faced slopes back to back remain stable in the 2018 Hokkaido earthquake. To explain the two phenomena in near-fault earthquake-induced landslides with PLGM, a symmetrical slope model subjected to different ground motions during these two earthquakes are analyzed and discussed by using the DDA method. The analysis results show that PLGM may be a major triggering factor for co-seismic landslides in the near-fault region, while PGA may not be the right parameter for the initiation of the earthquake-induced landslides. Meanwhile, the aspect of collapsed slope is related to both the velocity pulse of PLGM and strength parameters of the slope. The proposed mechanism for the earthquake-induced landslides in the near-fault region with PLGM considers both tensile and shear strengths of the slope, which can well explain the landslide initiation phenomena in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake and the 2018 Hokkaido earthquake. The relationship between PLGM and forward directivity effect is also studied in combination with two earthquake cases to more accurately clarify the mechanism of the initiation of co-seismic landslides in the near-fault region.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to K-NET for providing data in the 2018 Hokkaido earthquake and 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. The authors also wish to thank the editor and other reviewers for useful suggestions.

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Number JP19KK0121) and the SKLGP open fund (SKLGP2018K009). The financial supports are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 8190395, Japan

    Guangqi Chen, Mingyao Xia & Dao Thanh Thuy

  2. Department of Geotechnical Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Yingbin Zhang

Authors
  1. Guangqi Chen
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  2. Mingyao Xia
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  3. Dao Thanh Thuy
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  4. Yingbin Zhang
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Correspondence to Guangqi Chen.

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Highlights

1. Proposed a possible mechanism of earthquake-induced landslides with PLGM based on the DDA method.

2. Discussed the PLGM and PGA on the initiation of earthquake-induced landslides.

3. Investigated and explained the two miserable landslide phenomena in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake and the 2018 Hokkaido earthquake.

4. Analyzed the earthquake-induced landslide in the area with PLGM in consideration of both the tensile and shear strengths of the slopes by using DDA simulation.

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Chen, G., Xia, M., Thuy, D.T. et al. A possible mechanism of earthquake-induced landslides focusing on pulse-like ground motions. Landslides 18, 1641–1657 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01597-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01597-y

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