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Mass wasting, also known as mass movement, [1] is a general term for the movement of rock or soil down slopes under the force of gravity. It differs from other processes of erosion in that the debris transported by mass wasting is not entrained in a moving medium, such as water, wind, or ice.
It is the removal of the slope's physical support which provokes this mass wasting event. Thorough wetting is a common cause, which explains why slumping is often associated with heavy rainfall, storm events and earthflows. Rain provides lubrication for the material to slide, and increases the self-mass of the material.
It is an intermediate type of mass wasting that is between downhill creep and mudflow. The types of materials that are susceptible to earthflows are clay, fine sand and silt, and fine-grained pyroclastic material. [1] When the ground materials become saturated with enough water, they will start flowing (soil liquefaction). Its speed can range ...
A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. [1] Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. [2]
Mass wasting or mass movement is the downward and outward movement of rock and sediments on a sloped surface, mainly due to the force of gravity. [49] [50] Mass wasting is an important part of the erosional process and is often the first stage in the breakdown and transport of weathered materials in mountainous areas.
Rock slides are the most dangerous form of mass-wasting because they incorporate a sudden, incredibly fast-paced release of bedrock along a uniform plane of weakness. These uniform weaknesses are key to identifying rock slides because unlike slumps, flows, or falls, the failed material moves in a fairly uniform direction over a layer of solid ...
Denudation incorporates the mechanical, biological, and chemical processes of erosion, weathering, and mass wasting. Denudation can involve the removal of both solid particles and dissolved material. These include sub-processes of cryofracture, insolation weathering, slaking, salt weathering, bioturbation, and anthropogenic impacts. [4]
Favourable geology and climate are the principal causal mechanisms of rockfall, factors that include intact condition of the rock mass, discontinuities within the rockmass, weathering susceptibility, ground and surface water, freeze-thaw, root-wedging, and external stresses. A tree may be blown by the wind, and this causes a pressure at the ...