Unprecedented rates of landslide and surface erosion along a newly constructed road in Yunnan, China

Roy C Sidle; Takahisa Furuichi; Y Kono

doi:10.1007/s11069-010-9614-6

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Unprecedented rates of landslide and surface erosion along a newly constructed road in Yunnan, China

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Unprecedented rates of landslide and surface erosion along a newly constructed road in Yunnan, China

Roy C Sidle, Takahisa Furuichi and Y Kono

Natural Hazards, Vol.57(2), pp.313-326

2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-010-9614-6

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Abstract

road-related landslides

dry ravel

channel aggradation

gulley erosion

Mekong River

rural development

Field measurements conducted 4 years after the construction of a new portion of the Weixi-Shangri-La road in Yunnan, China, reveal that unprecedented rates of mass wasting occurred along the road with much of this sediment directly impacting the headwaters of the Mekong River. Landslide erosion (including dry ravel) exceeded 33,000 t ha-1 year-1 along the most severely eroded sections of the road and averaged more than 9,600 t ha-1 year-1 along the surveyed 23.5 km of road; these values are the highest ever reported for road-related landslides. While surface erosion was only about 7% of the total erosion from the road, it is still more than an order of magnitude higher than typical surface erosion rates from disturbed lands in Southeast Asia. Combined landslide and surface erosion from this road delivered an estimated 19 times more sediment to the river than the remaining 99.6% of the contributing catchment. These sediment inputs are aggrading local channels, promoting downstream sediment transport, degrading aquatic habitat, and creating the possibility for a future debris flood or hyperconcentrated flow. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Details

Title: Unprecedented rates of landslide and surface erosion along a newly constructed road in Yunnan, China
Authors: Roy C Sidle (Author) - Appalachian State University
Takahisa Furuichi (Author) - Appalachian State University, United States
Y Kono (Author) - Appalachian State University, United States
Publication details: Natural Hazards, Vol.57(2), pp.313-326
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Date published: 2011
DOI: 10.1007/s11069-010-9614-6
ISSN: 0921-030X
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449553602621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Geosciences, Multidisciplinary; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences; Water Resources

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