Topographic fingerprints of bedrock landslides

Research Article| April 01, 2000 Topographic fingerprints of bedrock landslides Alexander L. Densmore; Alexander L. Densmore 1Department of Geology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Niels Hovius Niels Hovius 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2000) 28 (4): 371–374. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)282.0.CO;2 Article history received: 22 Sep 1999 rev-recd: 18 Jan 2000 accepted: 26 Jan 2000 first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Alexander L. Densmore, Niels Hovius; Topographic fingerprints of bedrock landslides. Geology 2000;; 28 (4): 371–374. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)282.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Bedrock landslides in mountainous regions may be triggered by either storms or earthquakes; the dominant mechanism in a region affects both landscape evolution and landslide hazard. We describe a simple observational test to distinguish between storm and earthquake triggers based on a probabilistic measure of hillslope morphology. In areas that are dominated by storm-triggered landslides, steep topographic slopes are concentrated on the lowermost parts of the hillslopes. Storm triggers act primarily on the hillslope toes, and landslides preferentially remove material from those locations, giving rise to inner gorges. Areas where most landslides are earthquake triggered have more uniform spatial distributions of steep topographic slopes, because coseismic shaking causes failures at both ridge crests and hillslope toes. Earthquake-triggered landslides lead to planar hillslopes and rare or absent inner gorges. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.