Natural and Artificial Rockslide Dams, 2011 Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences Series, Vol. 133

In the last one hundred years, a number of catastrophic events associated with rockslide dam formation and failure have occurred in the mountain regions of the world. This book presents a global view of the formation, characteristics and behaviour of natural and artificial rockslide dams. Chapters include a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of our global understanding natural and artificial rockslide dams, overviews of approaches to rockslide dam risk mitigation, regional studies of rockslide dams in India, Nepal, China, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Argentina. Rockslide dams associated with large-scale instability of volcanoes are also examined. Detailed case histories of well-known historic and prehistoric rockslide dams provide examples of investigations of rockslide dam behaviour, stability, and characteristics. The formation and behaviour of rockslide-dammed lakes ("Quake Lakes") formed during the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, China are also comprehensively summarised. The formation, sedimentology and stability of rockslide dams is examined in several analytical papers. An analysis of break-out floods from volcanogenic lakes and hydrological methods of estimating break-out flood magnitude and behavior are reviewed. The use of remote sensing data in rockslide-dammed lake characterisation is explored and a new approach to the classification of rockslide dams is introduced. Finally, a unique section of the book summarises Russian and Kyrgyz experience with blast-fill dam construction in two papers by leading authorities on the technology. The volume contains 24 papers by 50 authors from 16 countries including most of the recognised world authorities on the subject.

1. The formation and behaviour of natural and artificial rockslide dams; implications for engineering performance and hazard management S.G. Evans, R.L. Hermanns, A.L. Strom, G. Scarascia-Mugnozza, and K.B. Delaney

2. Risk-reduction measures for landslide dams R.L. Schuster

3. Technical and human aspects of historic rockslide dammed lakes and landslide dam breaches C. Bonnard

4. Rockslide and rock avalanche dams in the Southern Alps, New Zealand O. Korup

5. Landslide dams in the Central Andes of Argentina (Northern Patagonia and the Argentine northwest)

R.L. Hermanns, A. Folguera, I. Penna, L. Fauque, and S. Niedermann.

6. Rock avalanche dams on the Trans-Himalayan Upper Indus streams: a survey of late Quaternary events and hazard-related characteristics K. Hewitt

7. Landslide dams in the high mountains of India, Nepal and China – stability and life span of their dammed lakes J.T. Weidinger

8. Volcanic natural dams associated with sector collapses: textural and sedimentological constraints on their stability L. Capra

9. Formation and behaviour of landslide dams and associated "Quake Lakes" emplaced during the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan, China P. Cui et al.

10. The importance of geological models in understanding and predicting the life span of rockslide dams: the case of Scanno Lake, central Italy G. Bianchi-Fasani, C. Esposito, M. Petitta, G. Scarascia-Mugnozza, M. Barbieri, E. Cardarelli, M. Cercato, and G. Di Filippo

11. Formation, characterization, and modeling of the Val Pola rock-avalanche dam (Italy) G.B. Crosta, P. Frattini, N. Fusi, and R. Sosio

12. The 1786 Dadu River landslide dam, Sichuan, Chin C.F. Lee and F.C. Dai

13. La Josefina landslide dam and its catastrophic breaching in the Andean region of Ecuador G. Plaza, O. Zevallos, and E. Cadier

14. The Flims rockslide dam A. von Poschinger

15. Usoi natural dam, Lake Sarez, Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan: considerations of security and stability A. Ischuk

16. Rock-avalanche size and runout – implications for landslide dams T.R. Davies and M.J. McSaveney

17. Prospects for prediction of landslide dam geometry using empirical and dynamic models O. Hungr

18. The grain-size distribution of rock-avalanche deposits: implications for natural dam stability S.A. Dunning and P.J. Armitage

19. Incorporating the effects of groundwater and coupled hydro-mechanical processes in slope stability analysisE. Eberhardt and D. Stead

20. Paleohydrology of break-out floods from volcanogenic lakes in the Taupo volcanic zone, New Zealand V. Manville and K.A. Hodgson

21. The characterization of the 2000 Yigong River (Tibet) landslide dam and associated impoundment by remote sensing S.G. Evans and K.B. Delaney

22. The classification of rockslide dams  R.L.Hermanns, K. Hewitt, A.L. Strom, S.G. Evans, S.A. Dunning, and G. Scarascia-Mugnozza

23. Russian experience with blast-fill dam construction V.V. Adushkin

24. Utilisation of data derived from large-scale experiments and study of natural blockages for blast fill dam design V.F. Korchevskiy, A.V. Kolichko, A.L. Strom, L.M. Pernik, and K. Abdrakhmatov