Weathering as a Predisposing Factor to Slope Movements

Book excerpt: This volume is intended to provide an up-to-date overview of the approaches, methodologies and techniques devoted to better understand-ing of the weathering conditions of rock masses on slopes. According to the local conditions, a variety of slope movements may take place and involve weathered rock masses. Shallow and rapid soil slips evolving to debris flows are probably the most common type of slope movement. At the same time, deep-seated, intermittent landslides can also affect large volumes of weathered rocks and soils. Despite the high frequency of landslides in weathered materials, and the damage and casualties they repeatedly cause, little is known about the relationship between weathering and slope move-ments. This book presents worldwide case studies, where a variety of geo-logical and geomorphological settings are discussed. The content is divided into three sections: the first is devoted to broad aspects of the weathering/landslide processes; the second and third sections include papers dealing with igneous/metamorphic and sedimentary weathered rocks, respec-tively.