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Information - NH4.1 Investigation of historic and prehistoric mass movements (co-listed in GM)
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Event Information |
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Rock falls, landslides, earth and debris flows and other mass movements are one of the most threatening natural hazards for mankind. Nowadays recent and active mass movements can be found all over the world, especially in mountainous areas with high gradient and steep slopes. It can be assumed, that occurrence and frequency of mass movements in the past centuries/millennia and in the present are roughly of the same order of magnitude. But due to erosion and weathering processes, evidences of (pre-)historic mass movements are far more difficult to identify and less frequent than evidences of recent ones.
Nevertheless it is very important to increase the knowledge about (pre-)historic mass movements to obtain a better understanding of recent ones, to identify the worst scenario and to outline the areas that are prone for future mass movements. Very often, the activity of mass movements varies over time. Inactive or dormant mass movements which are temporarily under stable conditions can suddenly be reactivated by a trigger such as extreme weather pattern or an earthquake. Therefore comprehensive investigations of historic and prehistoric mass movements are essential for modern hazard analyses.
Investigations of (pre-)historic mass movements are also essential for interdisciplinary analyses of the impact of mass movements on society in general or in local and regional scale. How did mass movements affect the life of our ancestors and how did they deal with such threats?
In all cases it is very important (1) to identify and map (pre-)historic mass movements, (2) to determine the type of the ancient mass movements, (3) to find out the triggering mechanism, (4) to date the active period(-s) of the mass movement and to compare and correlate (if possible) it with other mass movements in the same region and (5) to determine the recurrence time depending on the magnitude of the event.
The objective of this session is to present and compare different methodologies and approaches for investigating historic and prehistoric mass movements developed and applied for different areas and regions. Contributions dealing with the above mentioned and other related topics are strongly encouraged. Case studies are as much welcome as theoretical studies dealing with the basic principles of the investigation of (pre-)historic mass movements or certain aspects thereof.
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Preliminary List of Solicited Speakers |
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