Articles | Volume 6, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-6-529-2006
© Author(s) 2006. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
14 Jun 2006
Softening and instability of natural slopes in highly fissured plastic clay shales
Abstract. Softening is often considered to be the main cause of first-time slides in OC clay, but so far the mechanics of softening has not been satisfactorily explained. Bearing on laboratory data and field observations about landslides in tectonized highly plastic clay shales of Italian Apennines, the paper describes a process of soil weakening that could explain some failures of natural slopes.
