Surface deformation as a guide to kinematics and three-dimensional shape of slow-moving, clay-rich landslides, Honolulu, Hawaii

U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, United States

Two slow-moving landslides in Honolulu, Hawaii, were the subject of photogrammetric measurements, field mapping, and subsurface investigation to learn whether surface observations can yield useful information consistent with results of subsurface investigation. Mapping focused on structural damage and on surface features such as scarps, shears, and toes. The x-y-z positions of photo-identifiable points were obtained from aerial photographs taken at three different times. The measurements were intended to learn if the shape of the landslide failure surface can be determined from systematic surface observations and whether surface observations about deformation are consistent with photogrammetrically-obtained displacement gradients. Field and aerial photographic measurements were evaluated to identify the boundaries of the landslides, distinguish areas of incipient landslide enlargement, and identify zones of active and passive failure in the landslides. Data reported here apply mainly to the Alani-Paty landslide, a translational, earth-block landslide that damaged property in a 3.4-ha residential area. It began moving in the 1970s and displacement through 1991 totaled 4 m. Thickness, determined from borehole data, ranges from about 7 to 10 m; and the slope of the ground surface averages about 9 degrees . Field evidence of deformation indicated areas of potential landslide enlargement outside the well-formed landslide boundaries. Displacement gradients obtained photogrammetrically and deformation mapping both identified similar zones of active failure (longitudinal stretching) and passive failure (longitudinal shortening) within the body of the landslide. Surface displacement on the landslide is approximately parallel to the broadly concave slip surface.

This record provided courtesy of AGI/GeoRef.