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.
After heavy rains, a landslide "completely leveled" a remote village in western Sudan in early September. It was the temporary home of hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled the conflict between the ...
Environment
Sep 10, 2025
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Solid as they are, rocks are not static materials with constant properties. Even small loads are enough to alter their mechanical properties; their reaction to being deformed is a loss of stiffness. Rocks which have been ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 29, 2025
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Researchers have shown for the first time how hidden motions could control how granular materials such as soil and snow slip and slide, confirming a long-suspected hypothesis. The knowledge could help in understanding how ...
General Physics
Aug 26, 2025
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More than 50 years after the last manned moon mission, the Apollo program is still making groundbreaking discoveries.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 19, 2025
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In the wake of a wildfire, there's often an assumption that burned landscapes will be more susceptible to landslides. But new research from the University of Oregon suggests it's not always that simple.
Earth Sciences
Aug 8, 2025
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In its latest postcard from Mars, the European Space Agency's Mars Express returns to Acheron Fossae: a dramatic network of chasms carved into the surface of the red planet.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 6, 2025
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Every morning, Nepali primary school teacher Bina Tamang steps outside her home and checks the rain gauge, part of an early warning system in one of the world's most landslide-prone regions.
Environment
Aug 1, 2025
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Northwestern University and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) scientists have developed a new process-based framework that provides a more accurate and dynamic approach to landslide prediction over large areas.
Earth Sciences
Jul 25, 2025
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When an earthquake causes a landslide, debris flow, or erosion, it can change the makeup of nearby lakes by introducing larger sediment particles, causing faster sediment buildup, and affecting carbon sequestration. The sediments ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 24, 2025
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Researchers from the University of Cambridge are using AI to speed up landslide detection following major earthquakes and extreme rainfall events—buying valuable time to coordinate relief efforts and reduce humanitarian impacts.
Earth Sciences
Jul 22, 2025
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