Dynamics of the Bingham Canyon rock avalanches (Utah, USA) resolved from topographic, seismic, and infrasound data: Bingham Canyon Rock Avalanches

Moore, Jeffrey R.; Pankow, Kristine L.; Ford, Sean R.; Koper, Keith D.; Hale, J. Mark; Aaron, Jordan; Larsen, Chris F.

doi:10.1002/2016JF004036

Title: Dynamics of the Bingham Canyon rock avalanches (Utah, USA) resolved from topographic, seismic, and infrasound data: Bingham Canyon Rock Avalanches

Journal Article · 01 March 2017 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JF004036 · OSTI ID:1378536

^[1];

^[2]; Koper, Keith D. ^[1];

^[1]; Aaron, Jordan ^[3]; Larsen, Chris F. ^[4]

Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Atmospheric Earth and Energy Division
Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada). Dept. of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States). Geophysical Inst.

The 2013 Bingham Canyon Mine rock avalanches represent one of the largest cumulative landslide events in recorded U.S. history and provide a unique opportunity to test remote analysis techniques for landslide characterization. We combine aerial photogrammetry surveying, topographic reconstruction, numerical runout modeling, and analysis of broadband seismic and infrasound data to extract salient details of the dynamics and evolution of the multiphase landslide event. Our results reveal a cumulative intact rock source volume of 52 Mm³, which mobilized in two main rock avalanche phases separated by 1.5 h. We estimate that the first rock avalanche had 1.5–2 times greater volume than the second. Each failure initiated by sliding along a gently dipping (21°), highly persistent basal fault before transitioning to a rock avalanche and spilling into the inner pit. The trajectory and duration of the two rock avalanches were reconstructed using runout modeling and independent force history inversion of intermediate-period (10–50 s) seismic data. Intermediate- and shorter-period (1–50 s) seismic data were sensitive to intervals of mass redirection and constrained finer details of the individual slide dynamics. Back projecting short-period (0.2–1 s) seismic energy, we located the two rock avalanches within 2 and 4 km of the mine. Further analysis of infrasound and seismic data revealed that the cumulative event included an additional 11 smaller landslides (volumes ~10⁴–10⁵ m³) and that a trailing signal following the second rock avalanche may result from an air-coupled Rayleigh wave. These results demonstrate new and refined techniques for detailed remote characterization of the dynamics and evolution of large landslides.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1378536

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL--698941

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 122; ISSN 2169-9003

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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