Rockfall Activity Rates Before, During and After the 2010/2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence

The effects of strong ground shaking on hillslope stability can persist for many years after a large earthquake, leading to an increase in the rates of post earthquake land sliding. The factors that control the rate of post-earthquake land sliding are poorly constrained, hindering our ability to reliably forecast how landscapes and landslide hazards and risk evolve. To address this, we use a unique data set comprising high-resolution terrestrial laser scans and airborne lidar captured during and after the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, New Zealand. This earthquake sequence triggered thousands of rock falls, and rock and debris avalanches (collectively referred to as rockfall), resulting in loss-of-life and damage to residential dwellings, commercial buildings and other infrastructure in the Port Hills of Christchurch, New Zealand. This unique data set spans 5 years and includes five significant earthquakes. We used these data to (a) quantify the regional-scale rockfall rates in response to these earthquakes and the postearthquake decay in rockfall rates with time; and (b) investigate the site-specific factors controlling the location of seismic and nonseismic rockfalls using frequency ratios and logistic regression techniques. We found that rockfall rates increased significantly in response to the initial earthquake that generated the strongest shaking in the sequence-The M-W 6.2 22 February 2011 event-Compared to the long-term background rates derived from the dating of pre-2010 talus piles at the toe of the slopes. Non seismic rockfall rates also increased immediately after the 22 February 2011 earthquake and decayed with time following a power-law trend. About 50% of the decay back to the pre-earthquake rockfall rates occurred within 1-5 years after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Our results show that the short-term decay in rockfall rates over time, after the initial earthquake, was attributed to the subsequent erosion of seismically damaged rock mass materials caused by environmental processes such as rain. For earthquake-induced rockfall at the regional-scale, the peak ground accelerations is the most significant variable in forecasting rockfall volume, followed by the relative height above the base of the slope. For both earthquake and non-seismic conditions at the site-specific scale, the probability of rockfall increases when the adjacent areas have failed previously, indicating that accrued damage preconditions localized areas of the slope for subsequent failure. Such preconditioning is a crucial factor driving subsequent rockfalls; that is, future rockfalls are likely to cluster near areas that failed in the past.

Automated summary

The effects of strong ground shaking on hillslope stability can persist for many years after a large earthquake, leading to an increase in post-earthquake land sliding rates. The factors controlling these rates are poorly understood, making it difficult to forecast landslide hazards and risk. This study used a unique data set from the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence in New Zealand to analyze the rates and factors affecting post-earthquake rockfall. The results show that rockfall rates increased significantly after the strongest earthquake in the sequence and decayed over time. Peak ground accelerations and relative height were found to be important variables for forecasting rockfall volume. The study also revealed that previous failures in adjacent areas preconditioned localized slopes for subsequent rockfall.