Debris flows study provides new insights into landslide mechanics
Each year in the United States, landslides and debris flows kill an estimated 25 to 50 people and cause roughly $1 billion in property damage. A deeper understanding of the specific mechanisms through which landslides occur could help guide architects and engineers in reducing this loss of life and property. In an October 2022 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a joint team of geophysicists and mechanical engineers from the University of Pennsylvania and University of California, Santa Barbara applied recent advances in the physics of dense suspensions (heterogeneous mixtures of solids and liquids) in an attempt to better model complex debris flows. The team determined that an existing model for simple, ideal flows can be extended to account for complex, natural flows. The results accordingly offer a way to improve hazard assessment of hillslopes and their constituent materials. See also: Geophysical fluid dynamics; Geophysics; Landslide; Mass wasting; Suspension
