Mechanism of Permafrost Landslide Based on GPS and Resistivity Surveying

Abstract

The formation and development of landslide at K178 + 530 section of Bei’an-Heihe expressway was mainly affected by armchair shape topography of the slope, hydrologic and climatic conditions, frost-heave cycles, and geotechnical engineering activities for highway construction. The study employed data obtained from portable global positioning system (GPS) equipment and high-resolution resistivity profiling to characterize landslide mass dynamic characteristics, stratigraphic log profile of the landslide and analyze the motion mechanism of the landslide in K178 + 530 section of Bei’an-Heihe expressway. Lithologic and geological information were obtained from four monitoring wells drilled along the slope. About 40 GPS gauge piles were placed at different positions on the sliding mass on September 13, 2010, to accurately determine the time, direction and rate of movement at different locations and analyze the role of freezing, thawing and rainfall on the sliding mass. The field monitoring campaign lasted for more than 1 year. Between June, and September 2010, we carried out a high-resolution resistivity investigation to obtain resistivity profile logs of the slope. The results show that the landslide material resistivity profile logs show a significant difference before and after the sliding. Result shows that before the movement of the slope, data obtained from resistivity log shows a uniform signature, while after or during sliding, the resistivity signature changed. The change was due to the development of a slip surface within the landslide mass.