Experimental studies of frictional weakening beneath a deadly rock avalanche in China help to clarify the mechanisms that cause these devastating natural disasters.
landslides
Posted inScience Updates
International Effort Tackles Landslide Hazards to Keep the Peace
Earth scientists work with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to help keep a border-straddling hydroelectric power plant on the Black Sea coast safe from landslides.
Posted inScience Updates
An Early Warning System for Landslide Danger
Advances in satellite imaging, mapping, and rainfall estimations have made it possible to implement a regional real-time assessment of landslide hazard threats across Central America.
Posted inNews
Tracking Landslide Hazards Around the World, Pixel by Pixel
Combining satellite precipitation measurements and remotely sensed environmental data, a new system aims to improve landslide awareness and preparedness in all corners of the globe.
Posted inNews
Evidence Found for China's Ancient Origin Story
New geological findings suggest that an ancient flood in a popular legend about the birth of China's civilization might have actually occurred, but some 150 years later than historians thought.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Makes Long-Runout Landslides So Mobile?
New research shows that acoustic waves rippling through some large landslides can reduce friction and allow slides to run out long distances.
Posted inNews
A Warm Day Can Trigger Rockfalls
Research on a cliff face in Yosemite National Park finds that when rockfalls happen without an obvious cause, ordinary warming in the Sun could be the culprit.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Earthquakes May Prevent Underwater Landslides
Smaller quakes around the active edge of continental plates may contribute to increased stability by promoting compaction and solidifying the top 100 meters of seafloor sediment.
Posted inNews
Forensic Analysis of Landslide Reveals Rocky Secrets
Scientists used drones, seismic data, and eyewitness accounts to figure out what unleashed an unthinkably large landslide on a spring day in Colorado.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Model Improves Predictions of Shallow Landslides
An advanced, process-based model that incorporates typically neglected processes provides new insight into the complex dynamics controlling shallow landslide formation.