14 December 2016

Progressive Rock Failure – a meeting in Switzerland in June 2017

Posted by Dave Petley

Progressive Rock Failure

The flyer for the Progressive Rock Failure symposium in June 2017

Progressive Rock Failure – a meeting in Switzerland in June 2017

One of the most interesting types of landslide are those driven by progressive rock failure. These landslides tend to show long periods of creep deformation that, in some cases, transitions into a paid failure event.  Not all landslides go through this transition though, which means that hazard analysis for these failures is a problem.  It is also clear that these failures may occur (and indeed often do occur) without a trigger, meaning that their behaviour can be quite hard to manage.  However, there is also some evidence that at least some show characteristic patterns of acceleration before final collapse, which can be used to predict failure.  Opinions differ as to the drivers for these processes.  There are also uncertainties as to what underpins the changes in behaviour that these landslides exhibit – is there for example a critical strain at which failure begins?  and if so, what determines this parameter?

These issues are important not just for landslides.  Progressive rock failure may be a key issue in tunnels, boreholes and mines.  Thus there is a great deal to learn from getting together a diverse range of people interested in progressive rock failure, from both the academic and the applied field.

ETH Zurich has decided to arrange such a meeting, which will be held from 5th to 8th June 2017.  Pre-registration for this meeting is currently open.  Details of this meeting are available at the Symposium Website.  In my view this is likely to be a great meeting – highly focused with a group of really top people in the field.  This sort of meeting is the perfect complement to the mighty AGU Fall Meeting.  I fully intend to be there.

Oh, and the setting looks rather cool too!

Progressive Rock Failure

The setting of the Progressive Rock Failure seminar in June 2017.