A landslide granular phase transition

Author / Creator

Powders & Grains 2021 (2021)

Conferences

Powders & Grains 2021 Q&A session 2 (2021)

Available as

Online

Summary

Landslides appear in many different forms and sizes, from devastating debris flows to overly optimistic sand castles. A familiar and well-documented feature of all landslides is the positive correl...

Landslides appear in many different forms and sizes, from devastating debris flows to overly optimistic sand castles. A familiar and well-documented feature of all landslides is the positive correlation between volume and landslide runout. Larger landslides have a greater potential to reach farther. Here we explore the low volume limit and find a surprising negative correlation between volume and landslide runout. A decrease in volume leads to an increase in runout. In a series of experiments we systematically vary the landslide volume to reveal a transition between these two regimes.

Show More