Surface changes on a landslide affected high bluff in Dunaszekcső (Hungary)

Abstract

AbstractThis article presents results from the survey conducted on Dunaszekcső loess bluff after the last major rotational sliding event in 2008. The study area is a region of 25×30 m located on loess bluff close to the recent scarp. The relative elevation change of the surface was surveyed in 2.5×5 m grid network in relation to a marked base point. The survey was conducted using simple equipment such as analogue theodolite and leveller with regular time interval during a year and control measurements were taken after six months.It was assumed that measurements to the nearest cm are sufficient to recognize vertical displacements of the surface. The study focused on identifying the pattern of general vertical movements for the study area by the relative movements of individual points. Our results show significant cm scale vertical displacements. Most of the grid points have a slow decreasing tendency, but close to the scarp a more significant displacement was found. The main character of the spatial pattern is subsidence, which is more definitive on southern part of the study area than the northern part. Our observations correlate with the broader geomorphological characteristics of loess bluffs along the Danube.