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Analysis of waves generated by Gongjiafang landslide in Wu Gorge, three Gorges reservoir, on November 23, 2008

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Abstract

At 4:40p.m. on November 23, 2008, the Gongjiafang slope collapsed on the north bank of Yangtze River in Wu Gorge of Three Gorges Reservoir. The 380,000-m3 sliding mass consisted mainly of cataclastic rock. A video record of the major sliding incident was analyzed using the general laws of physical motion. The analysis indicated that the maximum speed and maximum acceleration of the sliding mass were 11.65 m/s and 2.23 m/s2, respectively, and that the maximum amplitude and the propagation velocity of the water wave near the landslide were 31.8 m and 18.36 m/s, respectively. Wave run-up investigation indicated that the maximum run-up on shore was 13.1 m, which declined to 1.1 m at Wushan dock 4 km away. The incident causes no casualties, but did result in economic losses of RMB five million. The numerical simulation model GEOWAVE was used to simulate and reproduced the impulse wave generated by the landslide; the results were in good agreement with the observed incident. The numerical simulation data were then applied to analyze the decay and amplification effects of the landslide wave in the river course. The field investigations and witness information provide valuable materials for the studies of landslide kinematics and impulse waves generated by landslides. In addition, the research results provide a useful reference for future similar waves generated by landslides in reservoirs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the China Geological Survey (project ID 1212011014027). We would like to express our gratitude to our friends: Prof. Guangze Peng, Prof. Fei Ma, Prof. Zhongfu Chen, and Engr. Huang Zhou from Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir Geological Hazards Prevention and Control Office for supplying us with necessary data. We also want to thank Prof. Changsheng Huang and Prof. Lide Chen from Wuhan Center of China Geological Survey for providing us with a relaxed working environment and favorable writing atmosphere. Finally, we want to thank Dr. Philip Watts who helped us register for GEOWAVE and helped us much in using GEOWAVE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China, 430074

    Bolin Huang

  2. Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, China, 430223

    Bolin Huang, Guangning Liu, Shichang Wang, Xiaoting Chen & Zhitao Huo

  3. China Institute for Geo-Environment Monitoring, Beijing, China, 100081

    Yueping Yin

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  1. Bolin Huang
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  2. Yueping Yin
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  3. Guangning Liu
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  4. Shichang Wang
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  5. Xiaoting Chen
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  6. Zhitao Huo
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Correspondence to Bolin Huang.

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Huang, B., Yin, Y., Liu, G. et al. Analysis of waves generated by Gongjiafang landslide in Wu Gorge, three Gorges reservoir, on November 23, 2008. Landslides 9, 395–405 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-012-0331-y

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