Analysis of the 2017 June Maoxian landslide processes with force histories from seismological inversion and terrain features

Abstract

SUMMARY A devastating landslide occurred in Maoxian (China) on 2017 June 24, which generated strong signals that were recorded by a regional seismic network. We determined the landslide force history from long-period seismic waves and identified eight subevents. For each subevent, we obtained an independent force history and calculated its sliding path. The shape of the terrain before and after the landslide was found to play a critical role in the motion of the sliding mass. A combination of seismic and terrain data was used to discriminate between or relate the subevents to each other, and to locate the initiation point of each sliding path. We explain the Maoxian landslide dynamics as the combination of the rock collapse, centripetal acceleration of the sliding body, deceleration and acceleration once again after overcoming obstacles along the sliding path.