Integration of multi-parameter geophysical data to the structural mapping of a landslide’s subsurface

With this note, we show a three-dimensional reconstruction of the basal surface of a large-scale and deep-seated rock-slide located in Northern Apennines (Northern Italy), obtained by integrating direct observations from boreholes and data from multi-methods geophysics. This type of landslides is so intrinsically complex and extended, that borehole investigations alone are generally insufficient to fully characterize the inner structures. To overcame such limitations, geophysical surveys are employed extensively (Bogoslovsky and Ogilvy 1977; Bruno and Marillier 2000; Bichler et al. 2004; Jongmans and Garambois 2007). In this study, we integrated multi-parameter data derived from 400 m of DC electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), 466 m of P-wave seismic refraction tomography (SRT), 420 meters of P-wave seismic reflection profile (SRF) together with 156 HVSR seismic noise recordings processed with spectral ratio methodology (Nakamura 1989). To constrain the inversion of the HVSR and migrate to the spatial domain the SRF, the P-wave velocity domains from SRT profiles were used after comparison with stratigraphic data. Moreover, the ERT profile fitted the geometrical features depicted by SRF profile. By means of all these data, we managed to map the surface exhibiting the highest acoustic impedance and the most relevant spatial continuity, which, according to the stratigraphic data, is to be ascribed to the basal interface between the fractured flysch rock masses involved in deep-seated sliding and the underlying undamaged bedrock. Comparison with inclinometer data also showed, presently, the active sliding surfaces match the mapped interface only in some locations, whereas in other they are shallower.  This indicates that the mapped basal surface can be considered the envelope of the maximum volume involved, in the past, by the mass movement, and that part of such volume is nowadays no longer moving. The integration of multi-geophysical surveys, in this case, proved to be a valuable way to spatialize evidences collected by boreholes, providing the basis for a three-dimensional geological model of the slope that can later on be used for modelling purposes.

References

Bichler, A., P. Bobrowsky, M. Best, M. Douma, J. Hunter, T. Calvert, and R. Burns. 2004. “Three-Dimensional Mapping of a Landslide Using a Multi-Geophysical Approach: The Quesnel Forks Landslide.” Landslides 1 (1): 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-003-0008-7.

Bogoslovsky, V A, and A A Ogilvy. 1977. “GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF LANDSLIDES.” GEOPHYSICS 42 (3): 562–71. https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1440727.

Bruno, F., and F. Marillier. 2000. “Test of High-Resolution Seismic Reflection and Other Geophysical Techniques on the Boup Lanslide in the Swiss Alps.” Surveys in Geophysics 21 (4): 333–48.

Jongmans, Denis, and Stéphane Garambois. 2007. “Geophysical Investigation of Landslides: A Review.” Bulletin de La Societe Geologique de France 178 (2): 101–12. https://doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.178.2.101.

Nakamura, Y. 1989. “Method for Dynamic Characteristics of Subsurface Using Microtremor on the Ground Surface.” Proc. 20th JSCE Earthquake Eng. Symposium.