EOSC 114 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Water Content, Silt, Van Der Waals Force
17 Jul 2016
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Document Summary
Avalanche is new snow that is covering old snow. They start as slides and finish as flows, therefore they are complex. Factors inside the slope that affect stability. Acts as a medium for flows ii) in sediment (loose rocks, sand, silt, and clay): Water reduces shear strength along planes of weakness (fractures) If it freezes it expands, forcing the fractures apart a. inherently weak materials. Fail at relatively and/or very low angles. Different strengths and may have holes a. adverse (bad) geologic structures. Structures angled in an unstable direction or layered precariously. Clay is especially odd because it is incredibly small. So small that van der waals force has an effect. When in salt water clay is attracted to other clay particles. Salt content is lowered by percolating groundwater. Quick clay slides not common, but scary. Trigger-a force or event that disrupts the equilibrium of a slope and initiates mass movement.
