Chapter 3

Geomorphologic Processes, and Geologic

Hazards

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 3.1 Geomorphologic processes
Basic definition in geomorphology
 Geomorphology
Geomorphology:: is the study of earth surface processes,
landforms and physical, morphological and structural
process that influence landform development
development..
 Topography
Topography:: refers to the elevation and relief of the Earth’s
surface.. Topography is measured by the differences in
surface
elevation across the earth’s surface
surface..

 Landforms
Landforms:: are the topographic features on the Earth’s
surface..
surface

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 Elevation: height above sea
level

 Slope: spatial gradients in

elevation; it controls the local
stability of hillsides and
sediment transport

 Relief: the contrast between

minimum and maximum
elevation in a region.
 Landscape: - the combined
effect of numerous landforms
- Mountainous Terrain

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 3.1 Geomorphologic processes

Geomorphic processes can be classified in to two;

1) Exogenic processes: processes that act and affect the external of

(surface) the earth.

1) Endogenic processes: processes that act and affect the interior of

the earth

3.1.1 Exogenic processes

 Exogenic processes :- are process that operate at the surface of the

earth crust due to different agents such as the action of water, wind,
ice, gravity.

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 Earth’s external
(Earth’s )Exogenic
processes include
Weathering,
Erosion,
Mass wasting,
Deposition etc.

Source of energy for exogenic

processes:
 Solar energy
 Gravitational energy
 Water
 Wind
 Ice/glacier.

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 Earth’s external processes

 Weathering – the physical breakdown (disintegration) and

chemical alteration (decomposition) of rock at Earth’s surface.

 Mass wasting – the transfer of rock and soil down slope under the
influence of gravity.

 Erosion – the physical removal of material by mobile agents such

as water, wind, ice, or gravity.

 Deposition - is the accumulation or accretion of weathered and

eroded materials

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 Weathering

Two types of Weathering:

(A) Physical (Mechanical) weathering – breaks down rocks into

smaller pieces.
Types of mechanical weathering:
 Frost wedging
 Unloading
 Thermal expansion
 Biological activity

(B) Chemical weathering - breaks down rock into components

and involves change in mineralogical composition of rocks

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 A) Physical Weathering
a) Frost wedging
wedging::- Water seeps into cracks or joints, freezes, expands, and
eventually splits rock.

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 Shattered rocks are common in cold & alpine
environments where repeated freeze-thaw cycles
gradually opens rocks apart.

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b) Pressure Release/Unloading/

− Erosion strips away overlying

material

− Decrease in overlying
pressure (load) causes
underlying rock to expand
upward

− Leads to pressure release

cracks in the exposed rock

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c) Exfoliation/ (Thermal Expansion)/Fluctuation in temperature:
 When temperature increases>>>>The rock expands
 When temperature decreases>>>>The rock contracts
This non-uniform heating & cooling can lead to weathering of rock and
this process is called Thermal Expansion.

Dome Exfoliation

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d)Salt wedging/Salt Crystallization: Growth of salt crystals
in small rock openings

 Honeycomb weathering is the result of salt crystal growth on

surface of rock, expanding the size of the hollows.
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e) Abrasion by: wind, stream water & glaciers

Wind Abrasion

Stream water Abrasion: Water carry

small particles that can impact bed rock

Glaciers Abrasion: Glacial ice drags rocky

wind Abrasion material that scours the surface it flows over

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 B) Chemical Weathering
 Chemical weathering breaks down rock components and internal
structures of minerals.

 Most important agent is water: responsible for transport of ions and

molecules involved in chemical processes.

Major processes of chemical weathering

1) Oxidation: Any reaction when electrons are lost from one
element .
2) Dissolution: Aided by small amounts of acid in the water.
3) Hydrolysis: The reaction of any substance with water.
– Hydrogen ion attacks and replaces other ions.

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 Chemical Processes -----------decomposition of rocks
a) Oxidation: chemical union of oxygen with iron &water to form iron oxide (RUST)

Iron-containing mineral, pyrite (FeS2) forms

a rusty-colored mineral, limonite (FeO)

Iron oxide :
Mineralization Halos
along Rock Joints

Pyrite Oxidation

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Pyrite (FeS2) Limonite (FeO)
b)Hydration: chemical union of water (H20 ) with a mineral ---- H20 is absorbed
Ex Anhydrite -------------- readily transforms ------------ Gypsum
(CaSO4) by the absorption of H20 to (CaSO4·2H20)
c) Dissolution: Minerals in a rock are dissolved by water (H20 ) ----- H20 dissolves
Ex Halite, Limestone and Gypsum dissolves by WATER

Sinkholes: large depressions on the

Water dissolves calcium carbonate in the surface where limestone bedrock
limestone forms cave has been dissolved resulting in
collapse on the overlying surface
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 C) Rates of weathering
(a) Rock characteristics:
 Silicate minerals weather in the same order as their order of crystallization.
 Ferro-magnesian minerals (olivine, pyroxene, Ca-feldspar) decay first
and followed by amphibole and biotite.
 Quartz is extremely stable, and remains unaltered.

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 Engineering classification of weathering

• Generally, strength of rocks decreases with increasing of degree of

weathering.

• Based on degree of weathering, geological materials mainly rocks

are classified into six broad categories (classes).

1) Grade-I.....Fresh rock
2) Grade-II…Slightly weathered
3) Grade-III…Moderately weathered
4) Grade-IV…Highly weathered
5) Grade-V….Completely weathered
6) Grade-VI…Soil

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Grade Degree of Field Recognition Engineering Properties
Decomposition
VI Soil  No recognizable rock  Unsuitable for important
texture; contains hums foundations and slope
and plant roots.
V Completely  Rock is  Can be excavated by hand
completely
Weathered decomposed but texture method.
is recognizable.  Unsuitable for large structures
 Cannot be recovered such as dams
during drilling.  May be suitable for earth dams.
 Unsuitable in high cuttings
 Requires erosion protection.
IV Highly Weathered  Rocks are so weakened  Unsuitable for foundation of
by weathering. concrete dams
 Some portion of such  Erratic presence of rock also
rocks can be recovered make them unsuitable for
during drilling. foundation of large structures.

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Grade Degree of Field Recognition Engineering Properties
Decomposition
III Moderately  Considerably  Difficult to excavate without use of
weathered weathered explosives
 Cannot be broken by  Mostly crushes under bulldozer
hand. tracks
 Suitable for foundation of small
concrete dams and rock fill dams
 Cutting depends on joint orientation.
II Slightly weathered  Degree of weathering  Requires explosives for excavation.
is very small  Suitable for concrete dam foundation
 Their strength  Highly permeable through open
approaches that of joints
fresh rock
I Fresh  Degree of weathering  Requires explosives for excavation.
is negliable  Suitable for concrete dam foundation

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 3.1.2 Endogenic Process

 Are internal process within the earth that result in uplift and

reconstruction of the landscape, and usually lead to an increase in

elevation and relief
relief..

Three major activities are involved

a) Igneous activity - movement of molten rock or magma,

b) Orogensis
Orogensis/orogeny
/orogeny - mountain building, and

c) Epeirogenesis - is the uplift of usually large area without significant

folding or fracture.

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 Source of energy for Endogenic processes

 Geothermal energy (E.g. Geothermal gradient of the earth),

 Radioactive energy (E.g. U238 and Th232) have the longer half-lives,
so they are presently the principal sources of radiogenic heat, and

 Residual heat of the earth.

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3.3 Geological Hazards

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 The most Common geologic
hazards are:
are:
Mass movement/landslide
 Earthquakes,
Volcanic eruptions
Flooding and tsunamis
Surface subsidence
Expansive soil

With regard to these hazards, the role of engineering geologists is

to understand earth’s process and to alert, warn and predict
locations of these geological hazards to reduce loss of life and
property.
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 a) Mass movement/Land Slide

 Landslides represent the rapid downward and outward movement of

slope-forming materials.

 It can damage any engineering structures those constructed on the moving

mass and/or those constructed on the path of moving mass.

 Therefore, when we construct engineering structures on the hills or at the

foot of the hill we must conduct investigation to determine the stability
condition of the slope.

When Does Landslide Occur?

 Landslide is occur only when the driving force (shear stress) overcome the
resisting force (shear strength) of the slope material

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 How to determine stability of slope?

 To determine the stability condition of the slope material we must

calculate its safety factor (Fs)

What are resistive force?

 Resistive force are force due to friction resistance of soil grains and
cohesion.
What are driving forces?
 Driving forces are forces that are applied to slope material due to
additional loading on the slope and pore water pressure.

 If factor of safety is less than 1, slope failure will occur while slope will
remain stable if factor safety is greater than 1.
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 What are causes of Slope movement?

 There are two causes of slope movements

1) Conditioning or passive Factors

 These are internal factors which are due to intrinsic nature of the slope
such as slope geometry and low shear strength capacity of slope forming
materials

2) Triggering or active factors

 These are external factors such as rainfall which provoke or trigger
instability and are responsible in general for the size and speed of the
movements

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 Classification of mass wasting
Mass movements are classified based on the type of materials involved,
involved,
the type of movement,
movement, and the rate of movement.
movement.

Based on type of material

Slope materials can be divided into bedrock ("rock"), or unconsolidated
materials/soil ("debris", "mud", "earth").

Based on type of movement

 Fall
 Flow
 Sliding
 Toppling and
 Lateral spreading
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Classification of Mass Movement on types of movement
1. Falls
 These can occur in either soil or rock masses, and usually occur on
extremely steep slopes.

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 2. Slides
These can occur over much more shallow /gentle slopes than falls
falls..

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 3. Flows
Flows occur when material moves down slope as a viscous fluid
fluid..

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 4. Lateral Spreads
The dominant mode of movement is lateral or horizontal,
accompanied by shear and/or tensile fractures when tensile and shear
stress is dominated
dominated..

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 5. Toppling
 A topple is a forward rotation out of the slope material about a point
below the center of gravity
gravity..
 Toppling failure is generally associated with steep slopes in which the
jointing is near vertical
vertical..

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 Type of movement Type of material
Bed rock Engineering soils
pred. coarse Pred. fine
Falls Rock fall Debris fall Earth fall
Topples Rock topples Debris topple Earth topple

Slide Rot . Few units Rock slump Debris slump Earth slump

Trans Many Rock block slide Debris block slide Earth block slide
units
Rock slide Debris slide Earth slide

Lateral spreads Rock spread Debris spread Earth spread

Flows Rock flow (deep Debris flow Earth flow

creep (soil creep) (soil creep)

complex Combination of two or more types of movement

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 Landslide Mitigation Methods
The landslide stabilizing measures include
 Modifying the slope geometry
 Providing drainage
 Increasing ground strength by inserting resistant structural elements
 Constructing walls or other retaining elements
Modifying the slope geometry is often done by:
Reducing the slope angle
Reducing the weight at the head of the slope
Increasing weight at the toe (“heels” or rip-rap).
Constructing benches and berms (stepping).

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 B) Earthquake Hazards
 An earthquake is defined as a natural vibration of the ground (or the Earths
crust) produced by forces, called earthquake forces or seismic forces.

Earthquake terminologies
 Seismograph
Seismograph-- instrument
 Hypocenter (focus)
(focus)-- source place of
earthquake
 Epicenter-- point on the surface
Epicenter
 Focal depth
depth-- vertical distance from
epicenter to focus
 Earthquake magnitude
magnitude-- amount of
energy released during shaking
 Earthquake intensity
intensity-- amount of
damages caused by the earthquake
earthquake..
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 Classification of Earthquake
Based on depth of focus
 Shallow <60km
 Medium 60-300km
 Deep >300km

Based on causing factors

 Tectonic - due to internal causes (i.e. due to plate tectonics).They are
more destructive.
 Non tectonic- generally due to external or surface causes. They are more
frequent but less destructive. They mostly occur due to:
 Volcanic eruption
 Tsunamis
 Man made explosions
 Collapse of caves, tunnels etc.
 Dams and reservoirs. 37
 Measuring Earthquakes
1) Intensity measurement

 Intensity is based on the observed effects of ground shaking on people,

buildings, and natural features.
Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale

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 2) Magnitude measurement

 Magnitude (M) of an Earthquake: is a measure of the size of an

earthquake based on the total amount of the energy released by an
earthquake, when the over-strained rocks suddenly rebound to cause
the given earthquake.
 Magnitude is related to the amount of seismic energy released at the
hypocenter of the earthquake.
 It is based on the amplitude of the earthquake waves recorded on
instruments.
 Magnitude is thus represented by a single, instrumentally determined
value. It is a value that tells a reader the amount of seismic energy
released by it.
 The scale which is used to measure magnitude of an earthquake is
called Richter magnitude scale.
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 Earthquake hazards in Ethiopia
 In Ethiopian, earthquakes mainly occur along Main Ethiopian Rift (MER).
 In general, based on occurrence of earthquake Ethiopian is divided into four
distinct zones as shown in figure below.
Zone 4 3 2 1
Bedrock acceleration (g) 0.1 0.07 0.05 0.03

Seismic hazard map of Ethiopia for 100 years return period (EBCS, 1995). 40
 Earthquake hazard mitigation methods

You can't stop an earthquake

earthquake.. But you can reduce the effects of that
earthquake

There are four common mitigation methods:

 Structural-
Structural- by designing seismic absorbing structures/less
susceptible to seismic effects
effects..
 Locational
Locational-- selecting less susceptible area using hazard zonation
map
 Operational
Operational-- making awareness of a communities
 Risk Transfer
Transfer-- preparing for insurance

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 C) Volcanic hazards
What type of hazards can you think of associated with a
volcanic eruption?

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Geological hazards due to volcanic
eruptions occurs due to:
 lava flows
 pyroclastic eruptions
 poisonous gas emissions
 Collapse/ subsidence

Mitigation Measures
 To create awareness
 To relocate settlement and
infrastructures to safer locations

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 D) Ground Subsidence and Collapse

Ground Subsidence and Collapse

occur due to:

 Groundwater depletion
 (Aquifer compaction)
 Underground oil extraction
 Underground mining
 Development of underground
cavity by soluble materials

Mitigation Measures:

 Proper groundwater and oil

management.
 Filling underground cavities
formed due to mining and
soluble minerals 44