A landslide is a mass-movement phenomenon in which soil, rock, regolith, or debris moves downslope under the influence of gravity, often along a discrete shear surface or failure plane. It encompasses diverse mechanisms such as rotational and translational slides, debris flows, rockfalls, and avalanches, typically initiated when driving forces exceed resisting forces due to factors like pore-water pressure increase, seismic shaking, weathering, or anthropogenic slope modification. Landslides are characterized by rapid to extremely rapid kinematics, spatial heterogeneity of displacement, and strong dependence on lithology, structural discontinuities, hydrological conditions, and topography, and are central to geomorphological evolution and natural hazard assessment.
A relatively simple statistical analysis method can more accurately predict the risk of landslides caused by heavy rain, according to a study coordinated by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the Institute of Mathematical ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 28, 2026
0
27
Gaetano Ferrera had just a few minutes to grab belongings from his home, one of hundreds evacuated after a landslide in Sicily that experts warn could worsen due to heavy rainfall.
Environment
Jan 28, 2026
0
21
The tragic events in the Bay of Plenty this week are a stark reminder that landslides remain the deadliest of the many natural hazards New Zealand faces. A large landslide swept through the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday ...
Environment
Jan 25, 2026
0
40
Marine turbidites are layers of mud and sand deposited on the deep ocean floor by massive underwater landslides and are often used as a historical record for reconstructing earthquake histories.
Since 2020, the Barry Landslide in Alaska's Prince William Sound has been outfitted with instruments monitoring seismic signals from the area, as researchers hope to catch a destructive, tsunami-generating landslide before ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 2, 2025
0
15
Thailand's northern regions, characterized by complex geology and active fault systems, experience frequent landslides that threaten both lives and critical infrastructure. In 2022, a slope failure occurred along Highway ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 21, 2025
0
28
When the tectonic subduction zone beneath the Pacific Northwest moves, it does so in dramatic fashion. Not only is ground shaking from a magnitude 9+ earthquake incredibly destructive, the event triggers tsunamis and landslides ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 3, 2025
0
391
"Atmospheric rivers" are large-scale extreme weather systems that are making headlines more frequently. When viewed in satellite images, they appear just as described—like rivers in the sky. Though they are often reported ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 22, 2025
0
39
In May, a landslide above Blatten in the canton of Valais buried most of the village under a mass of ice, mud and rock, an event that has prompted in-depth research. At a recent conference in Innsbruck, UZH researcher Christian ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 18, 2025
0
32
The Rosalind Franklin mission's chance of finding evidence of past life on Mars has been boosted by two studies that show that the rover won't have to travel far to find materials potentially laden with organic molecules. ...
Astrobiology
Sep 11, 2025
0
50
