Scaling properties of landslides in the Rif mountains of Morocco

Landslides in the central Rif mountains (Morocco) were analyzed by multifractal analysis. Our results suggest that spatial distribution of landslides in the region is not a homogeneous fractal structure but a heterogeneous one with generalized dimensions D(1)= 1.713>D(2)>... >D(12) = 1.325. The value of D(12) = D(infinity) is the fractal dimension of the most intensive clustering in the heterogeneous fractal set. It is worthwhile to note that we found D(0) < D(I1). The analysis of areas affected by 1.57 sliding from the geological map of Beni Ahmed at a scale 1:50000 shows the power law size distribution: N(A>a) alphaa(-1.57). This confirms the scale invariance of sliding and suggests that real landslides may exhibit a Self-Organized Criticality (SOC) behaviour. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.