Evaluation of the Effects of Rainwater Infiltration on Slope Instability Mechanisms

Bruna Silveira Lira (), Olavo Francisco dos Santos Junior, Osvaldo de Freitas Neto and Maria Natália de Melo Sousa
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Bruna Silveira Lira: Department of Water Resources, Geotechnics and Environmental Sanitation, Technology Center, Federal University of Piauí, Campus Universitário Ministro Petrônio Portella, Av. Universitária, Teresina 64049-550, PI, Brazil
Olavo Francisco dos Santos Junior: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Center for Technology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, 300, Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Osvaldo de Freitas Neto: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Center for Technology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, 300, Natal 59078-970, RN, Brazil
Maria Natália de Melo Sousa: School of Engineering, Maringa Higher Education Center (UniCesumar), Av. Pernambuco, 146, Petrolina 56306-425, PE, Brazil

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: Mass movements can be caused by factors from different categories, such as geological factors and climate change. From a geological point of view, the soil profile and the geotechnical properties of the materials are crucial in influencing slope instability. From a climate change perspective, rainfall intensity is one of the main triggers of mass movements. Studies related to rainfall infiltration focus on saturated slope zones; therefore, areas of slope stability with infiltration in the unsaturated zone present large gaps. The Brazilian government environmental diagnostics company, the Mineral Resources Research Company (CPRM), identified the municipality of Areia/PB as a danger zone. The region has landslides that occur mostly during the rainy season. Such events lead to the presumption that rainwater infiltration is responsible for the failure of the municipality’s slopes. Thus, the studies proposed in this research aim to determine the influence of precipitation on the stability of the slopes present in the region. The results show that antecedent precipitation has a greater influence on stability, indicating that daily precipitation alone cannot be used as a determinant for landslides. It was concluded that the role of precipitation in slope stability will vary for different locations, with varying surface conditions, variable tropical rainfall, or different microclimatic conditions.

Keywords: geomorphology; mass movements; unsaturated soils; residual soils; precipitation; stability analysis; slope critical surface (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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