PapersFlow Research Brief
Landslides and related hazards
Research Guide
What is Landslides and related hazards?
Landslides and related hazards are the damaging processes and risks associated with the downslope movement of rock, soil, or debris—often triggered by rainfall, earthquakes, or hydrologic change—and their assessment, mapping, and management for risk reduction.
The research literature on landslides and related hazards spans hazard assessment, susceptibility mapping, and process-based understanding of slope failure and mass flows, including debris flows and rock-slope instabilities. This topic cluster contains 144,731 works (5-year growth rate: N/A). Core technical foundations include standardized landslide type classification, multi-scale hazard evaluation methods, and physically based descriptions of debris-flow behavior (Hungr et al., 2013; Guzzetti et al., 1999; Iverson, 1997).
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Landslide Susceptibility Mapping with GIS
This sub-topic develops statistical (logistic regression) and machine learning models using GIS for spatial probability mapping. Researchers validate with ROC-AUC on multi-scale datasets.
Rainfall-Triggered Landslide Mechanisms
Studies hydrological thresholds, soil moisture antecedent conditions, and intensity-duration models for failure initiation. Physics-based and empirical approaches predict timing.
Earthquake-Induced Landslide Hazard Assessment
Focuses on Newmark's displacement analysis, peak ground acceleration correlations, and co-seismic inventory mapping. Research scales empirical models regionally.
Debris Flow Risk Modeling and Mitigation
Investigates rheological models, runout simulations using RAMMS/FLO2D, and channelized flow hazards. Studies evaluate check dams and early warning efficacy.
Remote Sensing for Landslide Detection and Monitoring
This area applies InSAR, LiDAR DEMs, and multispectral change detection for inventory creation and deformation tracking. Multi-temporal satellite analysis quantifies movement rates.
Why It Matters
Landslide science directly supports public safety decisions such as zoning, infrastructure corridor planning, and early warning by linking failure mechanisms to mapped hazard and exposure. Guzzetti et al. (1999) in "Landslide hazard evaluation: a review of current techniques and their application in a multi-scale study, Central Italy" synthesized how landslide hazard evaluation methods can be applied across scales, which is central to producing actionable susceptibility and hazard maps for local planning versus regional screening. Standardized terminology and process distinctions in "The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update" (Hungr et al., 2013) matter operationally because emergency managers and engineers need consistent categories (e.g., falls, slides, flows) to choose monitoring strategies and mitigation designs appropriate to the expected kinematics and material. For flow-like hazards, Iverson (1997) in "The physics of debris flows" provided a physics-based framework for debris-flow behavior, supporting engineering design of protective structures and runout assessment where solid–fluid mixtures can rapidly threaten roads and settlements. Policy and funding signals in "National Landslide Preparedness Act and the Status of Landslide Risk Reduction" (2025) quantify U.S. federal support for implementation: $25 million annual funding for FY2021–FY2024 for the USGS to carry out NLHRP, plus $11 million for NSF landslide research grants and $1 million for NOAA, illustrating that landslide risk reduction is treated as an applied national capability rather than only an academic topic.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
Start with "The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update" (Hungr et al., 2013) because it provides the shared vocabulary and typology that most mapping, inventories, and hazard discussions assume.
Key Papers Explained
A practical pathway is classification → hazard evaluation → process mechanics. "The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update" (Hungr et al., 2013) standardizes what is being mapped and compared. "Landslide hazard evaluation: a review of current techniques and their application in a multi-scale study, Central Italy" (Guzzetti et al., 1999) then organizes how those mapped phenomena are translated into hazard evaluation across scales. For fast, flow-like hazards, "The physics of debris flows" (Iverson, 1997) provides the process mechanics that complement mapping-based approaches; for rock-slope problems, "A bonded-particle model for rock" (Potyondy and Cundall, 2004) and "The shear strength of rock joints in theory and practice" (Barton and Choubey, 1977) supply modeling and strength concepts often used to interpret instability in jointed rock.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Applied frontiers emphasized by the provided materials include institutionalization of landslide risk reduction and sustained monitoring capacity, reflected in "National Landslide Preparedness Act and the Status of Landslide Risk Reduction" (2025) and its multi-agency funding allocations ($25 million USGS NLHRP annually for FY2021–FY2024; $11 million NSF; $1 million NOAA). Research directions consistent with the top-cited foundations include tighter coupling of hydrologic state variables (Fredlund and Xing, 1994) with multi-scale hazard evaluation (Guzzetti et al., 1999) and more explicit links between rock-mass discontinuity strength (Barton and Choubey, 1977) and emergent failure in numerical rock models (Potyondy and Cundall, 2004).
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfi... | 2006 | Science | 5.2K | ✓ |
| 2 | A bonded-particle model for rock | 2004 | International Journal ... | 4.6K | ✕ |
| 3 | The Physics of Glaciers | 1969 | — | 3.4K | ✕ |
| 4 | Fluid flow through granular beds | 1997 | Process Safety and Env... | 3.2K | ✕ |
| 5 | The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update | 2013 | Landslides | 3.1K | ✕ |
| 6 | Equations for the soil-water characteristic curve | 1994 | Canadian Geotechnical ... | 3.0K | ✕ |
| 7 | Kinetic theories for granular flow: inelastic particles in Cou... | 1984 | Journal of Fluid Mecha... | 3.0K | ✕ |
| 8 | The physics of debris flows | 1997 | Reviews of Geophysics | 2.9K | ✓ |
| 9 | The shear strength of rock joints in theory and practice | 1977 | Rock Mechanics and Roc... | 2.8K | ✕ |
| 10 | Landslide hazard evaluation: a review of current techniques an... | 1999 | Geomorphology | 2.6K | ✕ |
In the News
Amendment 34: A.6 Landslide Change Characterization Experiment Science Team Final Text and Due Dates
measurements, data processing and analysis, and modeling and laboratory capabilities. The LACCE Science Team will investigate slow-moving, deep-seated landslides where motion is controlled by seaso...
U-M awarded $15 million NSF grant to transform the ...
## U-M awarded $15 million NSF grant to transform the science of natural hazards Published On:September 4, 2025Contact: - Morgan Sherburne
USGS Awards a Dozen Landslide Risk Reduction Grants ...
## USGS Awards a Dozen Landslide Risk Reduction Grants to Enhance Public Safety and Hazard Preparedness Nationwide ### Grants Were Awarded to Multiple State Agencies Across the United States
Mendenhall Program: Landslide-related opportunities
By Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program Mendenhall opportunities associated with landslides are now available! Please see individual opportunity information for closing dates. Pay and Benefits
National Landslide Preparedness Act and the Status of Landslide Risk Reduction
annual funding for FY2021 to FY2024 of $25 million for the USGS to carry out NLHRP; $11 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for landslide research grants; and $1 million for the Natio...
Code & Tools
## Repository files navigation # PyLandslide PyLandslide is a machine learning-assisted open-source Python tool for landslide susceptibility mapp...
> *> Landslides are one of the most serious natural hazards along the Sichuan-Tibet transportation corridor, which crosses the most complicated reg...
r.landslide is a free and open source add-on to the open source Geographic Information System (GIS) GRASS software for the mapping of landslide sus...
including the whole process of LSM: **SVM-LSM toolbox**.
LHASA version 2 adopts machine learning to estimate the probability of landslide occurrence at a 30-arcsecond (\~1 km) daily resolution. In additio...
Recent Preprints
Landslides | Springer Nature Link
EBSCO EI Compendex Engineering Village – GEOBASE GeoRef Google Scholar INSPEC Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) Naver Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals and Serie...
Conventional and advanced geospatial techniques for landslide detection and modeling: a comprehensive overview
Landslides represent a significant natural hazard, causing widespread human, infrastructure, and environmental losses. Geospatial technologies have become essential for monitoring, detection, and r...
assessment of landslide factors and impacts on community ...
The study investigated the root causes and contributing factors to landslides in the Gakenke District to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue. Factors such as deforestation and unsusta...
Disastrous landslide events in the Sikkim Himalaya ...
The Sikkim is a hotspot of landslides, particularly along the cut slopes of road corridor. Recently during the 29th May to 3rd June, Sikkim witnessed extreme rainfall mainly in the Mangan district ...
Landslide Susceptibility Mapping Optimization for ...
Landslides represent one of the most devastating natural hazards globally, causing significant human casualties, economic losses, and environmental degradation each year [1,2]. In mountainous regio...
Latest Developments
Recent research indicates that climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of destructive landslides, particularly in Alaska, due to more extreme atmospheric rivers (KTOO). Additionally, advancements in technologies such as remote sensing, AI, and digital modeling are transforming hazard detection, risk assessment, and understanding of landslide mechanisms, including submarine landslides and slow-to-fast sliding transitions (Nature, Scientific Reports, From observation to understanding).
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
What are “landslides and related hazards” in research and practice?
Landslides and related hazards refer to slope failures and mass movements (including flow-like processes such as debris flows) and the associated risks that are assessed through mapping, classification, and hazard evaluation. "The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update" (Hungr et al., 2013) provides a widely cited framework for defining and distinguishing landslide types used in reporting and analysis.
How are landslide types classified in a way that supports hazard mapping and communication?
"The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update" (Hungr et al., 2013) updates a standardized classification that separates landslides by movement style and material, enabling consistent inventories and comparable susceptibility maps. A consistent classification reduces ambiguity when linking observed failures to triggering conditions and selecting mitigation approaches.
How do researchers evaluate landslide hazard across different spatial scales?
Guzzetti et al. (1999) in "Landslide hazard evaluation: a review of current techniques and their application in a multi-scale study, Central Italy" reviewed hazard evaluation techniques and demonstrated their use in a multi-scale setting. The key practical point is that methods and data requirements differ between local site assessment and regional screening, so scale must be explicit in study design and interpretation.
How are debris flows treated within “landslides and related hazards,” and what models guide understanding?
Iverson (1997) in "The physics of debris flows" treated debris flows as solid–fluid mixtures whose dynamics can be analyzed using theory and experiments, providing a basis for interpreting mobility and impacts. This framing helps distinguish debris-flow hazards from slower, slide-dominated failures when estimating runout and designing protections.
Which foundational mechanics papers are commonly used to model slope materials and failure processes?
Potyondy and Cundall (2004) in "A bonded-particle model for rock" provides a numerical approach for representing rock as bonded particles, supporting simulation of fracturing and rock-slope instability. Barton and Choubey (1977) in "The shear strength of rock joints in theory and practice" is frequently used to reason about joint-controlled rock mass behavior relevant to rockslides and rockfalls.
What is the current policy and funding context for landslide risk reduction in the United States?
"National Landslide Preparedness Act and the Status of Landslide Risk Reduction" (2025) reports annual funding for FY2021–FY2024 of $25 million for the USGS to carry out NLHRP, $11 million for NSF landslide research grants, and $1 million for NOAA. These figures indicate sustained, multi-agency investment in monitoring, preparedness, and applied research rather than one-off response spending.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can the standardized movement-and-material distinctions in "The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update" (Hungr et al., 2013) be operationalized to improve cross-region comparability of landslide inventories used in susceptibility mapping?
- ? What model structures best reconcile the process-based insights in "The physics of debris flows" (Iverson, 1997) with multi-scale hazard evaluation workflows described in "Landslide hazard evaluation: a review of current techniques and their application in a multi-scale study, Central Italy" (Guzzetti et al., 1999)?
- ? How can bonded-particle approaches from "A bonded-particle model for rock" (Potyondy and Cundall, 2004) be validated against field-observed failure modes in jointed rock slopes characterized using "The shear strength of rock joints in theory and practice" (Barton and Choubey, 1977)?
- ? Which hydromechanical parameterizations derived from "Equations for the soil-water characteristic curve" (Fredlund and Xing, 1994) most strongly control the timing and likelihood of rainfall-triggered slope failures in operational hazard assessments?
- ? How should granular-flow theory from "Kinetic theories for granular flow: inelastic particles in Couette flow and slightly inelastic particles in a general flowfield" (Lun et al., 1984) be incorporated into debris-flow or dry granular runout modeling without overfitting beyond available observations?
Recent Trends
The provided topic data indicate a very large literature base (144,731 works; 5-year growth rate: N/A) anchored by highly cited syntheses and foundational mechanics, including "The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update" (Hungr et al., 2013; 3150 citations), "Landslide hazard evaluation: a review of current techniques and their application in a multi-scale study, Central Italy" (Guzzetti et al., 1999; 2552 citations), and "The physics of debris flows" (Iverson, 1997; 2869 citations).
A notable recent shift in emphasis in the provided materials is toward formalized national risk-reduction programs and funding commitments: "National Landslide Preparedness Act and the Status of Landslide Risk Reduction" reports annual funding for FY2021–FY2024 of $25 million for USGS NLHRP, alongside $11 million for NSF landslide research grants and $1 million for NOAA. This policy signal implies increased demand for methods that are not only scientifically defensible but also operationally deployable, traceable to standardized classification (Hungr et al., 2013) and scalable hazard evaluation workflows (Guzzetti et al., 1999).
2025Research Landslides and related hazards with AI
PapersFlow provides specialized AI tools for Environmental Science researchers. Here are the most relevant for this topic:
Systematic Review
AI-powered evidence synthesis with documented search strategies
AI Literature Review
Automate paper discovery and synthesis across 474M+ papers
Deep Research Reports
Multi-source evidence synthesis with counter-evidence
See how researchers in Earth & Environmental Sciences use PapersFlow
Field-specific workflows, example queries, and use cases.
Start Researching Landslides and related hazards with AI
Search 474M+ papers, run AI-powered literature reviews, and write with integrated citations — all in one workspace.
See how PapersFlow works for Environmental Science researchers