Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake
Abstract Topographic amplification is caused by the interaction between seismic waves and rough terrains. It increases shaking levels on hilltops and could lead stable slopes to the brink of failure. However, its contribution to coseismic landslide occurrence is yet to be quantified over landscapes...
| Autori principali: | , , , , , |
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| Natura: | Articolo |
| Lingua: | English |
| Pubblicazione: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Serie: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Accesso online: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01822-9 |
| _version_ | 1826970666642964480 |
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| author | Ashok Dahal Hakan Tanyas P. Martin Mai Mark van der Meijde Cees van Westen Luigi Lombardo |
| author_facet | Ashok Dahal Hakan Tanyas P. Martin Mai Mark van der Meijde Cees van Westen Luigi Lombardo |
| author_sort | Ashok Dahal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Topographic amplification is caused by the interaction between seismic waves and rough terrains. It increases shaking levels on hilltops and could lead stable slopes to the brink of failure. However, its contribution to coseismic landslide occurrence is yet to be quantified over landscapes shaken by strong earthquakes. Here, we examine how topographic amplification controls the spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. We find that 6–17% of coseismic failures initiate due to topographic amplification. Among these, only 13% occurred in the vicinity of the rupture zone (<40 km), presumably because proximal slopes fail due to the strong motion, irrespective of topographic amplification. Conversely, the majority of landslides (~60%) due to topographic amplification occur away from the epicentre. Our findings imply that the contribution of topographic amplification is generally overestimated in the case of strong earthquakes, an interpretation that rather holds only far from the rupture zone. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-18T04:52:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b8489cd3e98471c82d2e5b51a5ca5b1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-18T04:52:36Z |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b8489cd3e98471c82d2e5b51a5ca5b12024-11-17T12:50:24ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352024-11-015111010.1038/s43247-024-01822-9Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquakeAshok Dahal0Hakan Tanyas1P. Martin Mai2Mark van der Meijde3Cees van Westen4Luigi Lombardo5University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE) Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)Abstract Topographic amplification is caused by the interaction between seismic waves and rough terrains. It increases shaking levels on hilltops and could lead stable slopes to the brink of failure. However, its contribution to coseismic landslide occurrence is yet to be quantified over landscapes shaken by strong earthquakes. Here, we examine how topographic amplification controls the spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. We find that 6–17% of coseismic failures initiate due to topographic amplification. Among these, only 13% occurred in the vicinity of the rupture zone (<40 km), presumably because proximal slopes fail due to the strong motion, irrespective of topographic amplification. Conversely, the majority of landslides (~60%) due to topographic amplification occur away from the epicentre. Our findings imply that the contribution of topographic amplification is generally overestimated in the case of strong earthquakes, an interpretation that rather holds only far from the rupture zone.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01822-9 |
| spellingShingle | Ashok Dahal Hakan Tanyas P. Martin Mai Mark van der Meijde Cees van Westen Luigi Lombardo Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake |
| title_full | Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake |
| title_fullStr | Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake |
| title_short | Quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake |
| title_sort | quantifying the influence of topographic amplification on the landslides triggered by the 2015 gorkha earthquake |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01822-9 |
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