@misc{10481/64816,
year = {2020},
month = {9},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/64816},
abstract = {Some landslides around the world that have low-angle failure planes show exceptionally
poor mechanical properties. In some cases, an extraordinarily pure clay layer has been detected on
the rupture surface. In this work, a complex landslide, the so-called Diezma landslide, is investigated
in a low- to moderate-relief region of Southeast Spain. In this landslide, movement was concentrated
on several surfaces that developed on a centimeter-thick layer of smectite (montmorillonite-beidellite)
clay-rich level. Since these clayey levels have a very low permeability, high plasticity, and low friction
angle, they control the stability of the entire slide mass. Specifically, the triggering factor of this
landslide seems to be linked to the infiltration of water from a karstic aquifer located in the head
area. The circulation of water through old failure planes could have promoted the active hydrolysis
of marly soils to produce new smectite clay minerals. Here, by using geophysical, mineralogical,
and geochemical modelling methods, we reveal that the formation and dissolution of carbonates,
sulfates, and clay minerals in the Diezma landslide could explain the elevated concentrations of highly
plastic secondary clays in its slip surface. This study may help in the understanding of landslides that
show secondary clay layers coinciding to their low-angle failure planes.},
organization = {Spanish Government

PID2019-107138RB-I00},
organization = {Junta de Andalucía

P18-RT-3632},
publisher = {Mdpi},
keywords = {Landslide},
keywords = {Slip surface},
keywords = {Rock-groundwater interaction},
keywords = {Smectite},
title = {Formation of Clay-Rich Layers at The Slip Surface of Slope Instabilities: The Role of Groundwater},
doi = {10.3390/w12092639},
author = {Castro, Julia and P. Asta, María and P. Galve, Jorge and Azañón Hernández, José Miguel},
}