Impact of earthquake-triggered landslides on catchment sediment yield

Romania; Siret; Catchments; Geophysics; Landslides; Lithology; Runoff; Sediments; Seismology; Peak ground acceleration; Rating curve; Sediment yields; Earthquakes

Abstract :

[en] This study explores the role of seismic activity in explaining spatial and temporal variation in sediment export from the Siret basin in Romania. Based on long-term (>30 years) sediment export measurements for 38 subcatchments, we found that spatial variation in sediment yield (SY) is strongly correlated to the degree of seismic activity and catchment lithology. Combined, these factors explain 80% of the variation in SY. To investigate the role of earthquake-triggered landslides in explaining these correlations, we studied the temporal variability in sediment concentrations before and after the 7.4 Mw earthquake of 1977 for ten subcatchments. Despite the fact that this earthquake triggered many landslides, only one subcatchment showed a clear (3-fold) increase in sediment concentration per unit discharge after the earthquake. This shows that, although prolonged seismic activity strongly controls average SY, individual earthquakes do not necessarily affect sediment export at short timescales. Copyright © 2014 IAHS Press.

Disciplines :

Earth sciences & physical geography

Author, co-author :

Vanmaercke, Matthias ; Université de Liège > Département de géographie > Géographie physique et du quaternaire

Obreja, F.; Hydrology, Hydrogeology and River Forecast Service, SIRET Water Branch, Bacau, Romania

Poesen, J.; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, Heverlee, Belgium

Bentley, S. J.

Xu, Y. J.

Collins, A. L.

Stone, M.

Allison, M. A.

Horowitz, A. J.

Erskine, W. D.

Golosov, V.

Language :

English

Title :

Impact of earthquake-triggered landslides on catchment sediment yield

Publication date :

2014

Event name :

International Symposium on Sediment Dynamics: From the Summit to the Sea, ICCE 2014

Event date :

11 December 2014 through 14 December 2014

Journal title :

IAHS-AISH Proceedings and Reports

ISSN :

0144-7815

Publisher :

Copernicus GmbH

Volume :

367

Pages :

291-296

Peer reviewed :

Peer reviewed

Commentary :

115823 9781907161452

Available on ORBi :

since 28 March 2017

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