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.
The landslide that occurred in Blatten in the canton of Valais at the end of May 2025 and the one in the village of Brienz in Graubünden in June 2023 remind us of the potential for landslide hazards in the Alps. Debris flows ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 16, 2025
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Geology is full of detective stories about the Earth's history, and a new paper in Geology by University of New Mexico Distinguished Professors Emeritus Karl Karlstrom and Laurie Crossey, along with their co‐authors, links ...
Space Exploration
Jul 15, 2025
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In September 2023, a bizarre global seismic signal was observed which appeared every 90 seconds over nine days—and was then repeated a month later. Almost a year later, two scientific studies proposed that the cause of these ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 3, 2025
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The landslide that buried most of a Swiss village this week is focusing renewed attention on the role of global warming in glacier collapses around the world and the increasing dangers.
Environment
May 31, 2025
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Below ocean wind farms, oil rigs and other offshore installations are mammoth networks of underwater structures, including pipelines, anchors, risers and cables, that are essential to harnessing the energy source. But much ...
Earth Sciences
May 27, 2025
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Landslide-generated tsunamis pose a serious risk to coastal communities, particularly within narrow fjords where tall cliffs can trap and amplify waves. Scientists rely heavily on earthquake-based observation systems to issue ...
Earth Sciences
May 14, 2025
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A new analysis of a fatal landslide that occurred on 13 February 2024 at the Çöpler Gold Mine in Turkey reveals that the site of the landslide had been slowly moving for at least four years prior to the failure.
Earth Sciences
May 9, 2025
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Landslides pose a significant threat to people and the environment worldwide. Researchers from the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), together with international partners, have developed a new framework ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 31, 2025
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Imagine a heavy book resting on a table. If you try to gently push the book across the table with the tip of your finger, it may first appear to remain motionless—it needs a lot more force to start sliding visibly. Similarly, ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 13, 2025
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The 2019 volcanic explosion on Whakaari/White Island, which killed 22 people touring the crater and severely injured 25, is one of New Zealand's worst disasters.
Environment
Mar 12, 2025
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