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Drop Height and Volume Control the Mobility of Long‐Runout Landslides on the Earth and Mars
Author(s) -
Johnson Brandon C.,
Campbell Charles S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2017gl076113
Subject(s) - landslide , geology , martian , mars exploration program , fluidization , debris , landslide classification , geomorphology , astrobiology , oceanography , physics , fluidized bed , engineering , waste management
Long‐runout landslides are landslides with volumes of 10 5 m 3 or more, which move much farther from their source than expected. The observation that Martian landslides are generally less mobile than terrestrial landslides offers important evidence regarding the mechanism responsible for the high mobility of long‐runout landslides. Here we simulate landslides as granular flow using a soft‐particle discrete element model. We show that while surface gravity plays a negligible role, observed differences in fall height naturally reproduce the observed differences in mobility of Martian and terrestrial landslides. We also demonstrate that landslides on Iapetus may fit this trend. Our simulations do not include any fluid and indicate that a mechanism similar to acoustic fluidization can explain the high mobility of long‐runout landslides. This implies that long‐runout landslides on Mars should not be considered as evidence for ice, saturated clays, or liquid water.