Landslide-channel feedbacks amplify channel widening during floods
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Channel widening is a major hazard during floods, particularly in confined mountainous catchments. However, channel widening during floods is not well understood and not always explained by hydraulic variables alone. Floods in mountainous regions often coincide with landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, yet landslide-channel interactions during a flood event are not well known or documented. Here we demonstrate with an example from the Great Colorado Flood in 2013, a 1000 year precipitation event, how landslide-channel feedbacks can substantially amplify channel widening and flood risk. We use a combination of DEM differencing, field analysis, and multiphase flow modeling to document landslide-channel interaction during the flood event in which sediment delivered by landslides temporarily dammed the channel before failing and generating substantial channel widening. We propose that such landslide-flood interactions will become increasingly important to account for in flood hazard assessment as flooding and landsliding both increase with extreme rainfall under climate change.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Landslide-channel feedbacks amplify channel widening during floods |
| Series title | Natural Hazards |
| DOI | 10.1038/s44304-025-00059-6 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Publication Date | January 24, 2025 |
| Year Published | 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| Contributing office(s) | Geologic Hazards Science Center - Landslides / Earthquake Geology |
| Description | 7, 9 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| Other Geospatial | North Saint Vrain |