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Stress redistribution following landslides: Insights from 3D stress modelling of mountain topography
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DOI：10.1002/esp.70358.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Steep mountainous landscapes are subject to persistent gravitational stresses strongly linked to mountain relief. The extent and spatial distribution of these stresses, and their redistribution as a result of topographic unloading with ongoing landslide activity, remain poorly quantified. Assessing the propagation of stresses during landslide-driven mountain range decay is fundamental for characterizing their current mechanical state, providing insights into both long-term landform evolution and the identification of potentially unstable rock masses near their failure limit. To address this, we couple a probabilistic rockfall model (mimicking cumulative decay) with high-resolution 3D stress simulations using the Finite Cell Method. Sequential removal of unstable material generated a series of digital elevation models representing progressive topographic unloading, for which full stress tensors and displacements were calculated throughout the 10 km × 10 km $$ 10\kern0.1em \mathrm{km}\times 10\kern0.1em \mathrm{km} $$ mountain massif of the Hochkönig region (Northern Calcareous Alps). The simulations produced ∼ $$ \sim $$ 1.8 km3 of cumulative mass loss and up to 500 m of surface lowering. Maximum near-surface shear stresses decreased significantly, from initial values of up to ∼ $$ \sim $$ 14 MPa to ∼ $$ \sim $$ 11 MPa. Concurrently, stress variability decreases, and horizontal displacement vectors converge towards the main scars, indicating coherent elastic relaxation of the surrounding rock mass. These results demonstrate that removal of excess relief can redistribute stresses in a way that promotes cascades of subsequent detachments and landslides in the short term. Over longer timescales, this process leads to the dissipation of localized driving stresses and the emergence of a mechanically more uniform and resilient landscape geometry.
Keywords:
3D elastic modelling
alpine relief
gravitational stress redistribution
landscape evolution
landslides
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2.7
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324
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1.5W
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