- Email: [email protected]
Preface to Special Volume
Geomorphology 54 (2003) 1 – 2 www.elsevier.com/locate/geomorph
Editorial
Preface to Special Volume The motive for Project RUNOUT, on Major Risk from Rapid, Large-Volume Landslides in Europe, was to improve strategies for mitigating the hazard from slope movements of at least 106 m3 travelling at rates from the hundreds of metres a day to several kilometres within minutes. Funded by the European Commission (Contract No. ENV4-CT97-0527), the 2-year project combined research groups from Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Spain, The Netherlands and Switzerland, and integrated a wide range of topics, from geomorphology through fracture mechanics and fluid dynamics, to the public awareness of landslide hazards. Although some groups had collaborated in previous EC projects (notably EPOCH, TESLEC and NEWTECH) and were active members of the European Research Center on Geomorphological Risk (CERG), a key feature of the consortium was the enthusiastic and innovative contribution from younger team members. Studies were focussed on five test areas: the sturzstrom deposits from Ko¨fels (Tyrol, Austria) and Vajont (Dolomites, Italy) and the active landslides (both slides and flows) at Tessina (Dolomites, Italy), the Barranco de Tirajana (Gran Canaria, Spain) and Bad Goisern (or Stambach-Zwerchwand, Tyrol, Austria). These test areas were chosen to cover a wide range of landslide types and emplacement mechanisms. Purist will note that we have maintained the traditional term sturzstrom (Hsu, 1978) to represent catastrophic, giant landslide, rather than use alternative terms, proposed more recently, such as ‘rock avalanche’ or ‘complex slide’ (e.g., Dikau et al., 1996). The reason is that we wish to emphasize the importance of rapid emplacement (on the order of metres per second) without specifying a particular
dynamic regime. The alternative terms can then be applied on a case-by-case basis. The papers collected in this volume represent only a part of the project’s output. Additional results have appeared in a special volume of the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (Van Westen, 2000), while those from continuing studies will be presented elsewhere. None of the papers, however, can capture the essential enjoyment with which all the groups pursued their objectives. In particular, Ken Hsu, who almost single-handedly revived interest in giant, catastrophic landslides in the 1970s, was a continued inspiration for the rest of the team. Riccardo Casale and Denis Peter, the project’s scientific officers at the European Commission, also provided exceptional support. Finally, thanks are due to the many colleagues who gave their time for constructive reviews of this collection of papers: M.-G. Angeli, R.L. Bras, E.N. Bromhead, D. Brunsden, A. Carton, J. Corominas, G.P. Giani, F. Guzzetti, A. Hansen, I. Main, B. Marcolongo, M. Panizza, R. Pike, H. Pinkerton, M. Sodati and M. Sorriso-Valvo. In addition, we are indebted to Adrian Harvey (Editor-in-Chief) and Femke Wallien, without whose patience this volume would not have been possible.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-49-829-5800; fax: +39-49829-5827. 0169-555X/03/$ - see front matter D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0169-555X(03)00049-7
Alessandro Pasuto* Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica (IRPI)-CNR, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova, Italy E-mail address: [email protected] Christopher R.J. Kilburn Benifield Greig Hazard Research Center, Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT, UK
2
Editorial
References Dikau, R., Brunsden, D., Schott, L., Ibsen, M.-L. (Eds.), 1996. Landslide recognition. Identification, Movement and Causes. Wiley, Chichester. 251 pp. Hsu, K.J., 1978. Albert Heim: observation on landslides and rele-
vance to modern interpretations. In: Voight, B. (Ed.), Roskslide and Avalanches: 1. Natural Phenomena. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 71 – 93. Van Westen, C.J. (Ed.), 2000. EU RUNOUT Project. Special Issue, JAG: The International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, vol. 2 (1). 64 pp.
Editorial
Preface to Special Volume The motive for Project RUNOUT, on Major Risk from Rapid, Large-Volume Landslides in Europe, was to improve strategies for mitigating the hazard from slope movements of at least 106 m3 travelling at rates from the hundreds of metres a day to several kilometres within minutes. Funded by the European Commission (Contract No. ENV4-CT97-0527), the 2-year project combined research groups from Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Spain, The Netherlands and Switzerland, and integrated a wide range of topics, from geomorphology through fracture mechanics and fluid dynamics, to the public awareness of landslide hazards. Although some groups had collaborated in previous EC projects (notably EPOCH, TESLEC and NEWTECH) and were active members of the European Research Center on Geomorphological Risk (CERG), a key feature of the consortium was the enthusiastic and innovative contribution from younger team members. Studies were focussed on five test areas: the sturzstrom deposits from Ko¨fels (Tyrol, Austria) and Vajont (Dolomites, Italy) and the active landslides (both slides and flows) at Tessina (Dolomites, Italy), the Barranco de Tirajana (Gran Canaria, Spain) and Bad Goisern (or Stambach-Zwerchwand, Tyrol, Austria). These test areas were chosen to cover a wide range of landslide types and emplacement mechanisms. Purist will note that we have maintained the traditional term sturzstrom (Hsu, 1978) to represent catastrophic, giant landslide, rather than use alternative terms, proposed more recently, such as ‘rock avalanche’ or ‘complex slide’ (e.g., Dikau et al., 1996). The reason is that we wish to emphasize the importance of rapid emplacement (on the order of metres per second) without specifying a particular
dynamic regime. The alternative terms can then be applied on a case-by-case basis. The papers collected in this volume represent only a part of the project’s output. Additional results have appeared in a special volume of the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (Van Westen, 2000), while those from continuing studies will be presented elsewhere. None of the papers, however, can capture the essential enjoyment with which all the groups pursued their objectives. In particular, Ken Hsu, who almost single-handedly revived interest in giant, catastrophic landslides in the 1970s, was a continued inspiration for the rest of the team. Riccardo Casale and Denis Peter, the project’s scientific officers at the European Commission, also provided exceptional support. Finally, thanks are due to the many colleagues who gave their time for constructive reviews of this collection of papers: M.-G. Angeli, R.L. Bras, E.N. Bromhead, D. Brunsden, A. Carton, J. Corominas, G.P. Giani, F. Guzzetti, A. Hansen, I. Main, B. Marcolongo, M. Panizza, R. Pike, H. Pinkerton, M. Sodati and M. Sorriso-Valvo. In addition, we are indebted to Adrian Harvey (Editor-in-Chief) and Femke Wallien, without whose patience this volume would not have been possible.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-49-829-5800; fax: +39-49829-5827. 0169-555X/03/$ - see front matter D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0169-555X(03)00049-7
Alessandro Pasuto* Istituto di Ricerca per la Protezione Idrogeologica (IRPI)-CNR, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova, Italy E-mail address: [email protected] Christopher R.J. Kilburn Benifield Greig Hazard Research Center, Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT, UK
2
Editorial
References Dikau, R., Brunsden, D., Schott, L., Ibsen, M.-L. (Eds.), 1996. Landslide recognition. Identification, Movement and Causes. Wiley, Chichester. 251 pp. Hsu, K.J., 1978. Albert Heim: observation on landslides and rele-
vance to modern interpretations. In: Voight, B. (Ed.), Roskslide and Avalanches: 1. Natural Phenomena. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 71 – 93. Van Westen, C.J. (Ed.), 2000. EU RUNOUT Project. Special Issue, JAG: The International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, vol. 2 (1). 64 pp.