CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
Search Results
Author : Fabius, K.; Maki, G.; Fabius, M.; Vanapalli, S.K.; Suke, S.
Date : 2004.
Title : Slope hazard management with the cautionary zone approach: a case history.
Publication : Geo-Engineering for the Society and its Environment. 57th Canadian Geotechnical Conference and the 5th joint CGS-IAH Conference. Hilton Quebec Hotel, Old Quebec. October 24-27, 2004.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
This paper documents 20 years of successful hazard management along a 30 m high river bank in an urban environment using the innovative and economical Cautionary Zone Approach (CZA). A major tributary of Lake Superior, the Kaministiquia River has cut deep into deltaic alluvium within the city of Thunder Bay, Canada. The steep banks regress annually at 0.5 m per year, endangering homes and infrastructure. Based on long term observations of the maximum depths of slides, the CZA provides the safe distance between infrastructure and the slope crest that can be tolerated before action is warranted. This permits stabilization costs to be deferred, and to be applied only when and where needed. Hazard zones can readily be mapped and monitored based on very simple techniques. Conventional analyses using primarily the principles of saturated soil mechanics indicate unacceptable safety factors and cannot justify this approach. By studying the slope in terms of unsaturated soil mechanics, however, a theoretical basis for the CZA can be established. Unsaturated slope stability analyses confirm that the CZA provides similar safety factors to a conventional risk management approach, while allowing the stabilization costs to be spread out over decades on an as needed basis.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology