Landsliding caused by water level variation in China three gorges reservoir

Abstract

In Three Gorges area of China, the biggest dam in the world was constructed from 1994 to 2008. During the reservoir operation up to now, many landslides occurred. In this report, research results on Qianjiangping landslide, which was triggered by an initial impoundment in 2003 and moved for long distance with high velocity, and Shuping landslide, which was reactivated by the initial impoundment and moved slowly until present are presented. It is found that the slope structure controlled the influences of the water level variation. For slopes with dip-structure, large deformation may occur during water level rising; while for existing landslides with near circular sliding surface, the reactivation becomes active during water level decreasing, and the landslide deformation rate is proportional to the water level decreasing rate. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.