Assessment and mapping of slope stability based on slope units: A case study in Yan’an, China

Precipitation frequently triggers shallow landslides in the Loess Plateau of Shaanxi, China, resulting in loss of life, damage to gas and oil routes, and destruction of transport infrastructure and farmland. To assess the possibility of shallow landslides at different precipitation levels, a method to draw slope units and steepest slope profiles based on ARCtools and a new method for calculating slope stability are proposed. The methods were implemented in a case study conducted in Yan’an, north-west China. High resolution DEM (Digital Elevation Model) images, soil parameters from in-situ laboratory measurements and maximum depths of precipitation infiltration were used as input parameters in the method. Next, DEM and reverse DEM were employed to map 2146 slope units in the study area, based on which the steepest profiles of the slope units were constructed. Combining analysis of the water content of loess, strength of the sliding surface, its response to precipitation and the infinite slope stability equation, a new equation to calculate infinite slope stability is proposed to assess shallow landslide stability. The slope unit stability was calculated using the equation at 10-, 20-, 50- and 100-year return periods of antecedent effective precipitation. The number of slope units experiencing failure increased in response to increasing effective antecedent rainfall. These results were validated based on the occurrence of landslides in recent decades. Finally, the applicability and limitations of the model are discussed.Department of Civil and Environmental Engineerin