The role of earthquake-induced landslides in erosion and weathering from active mountain ranges: Progress and perspectives

Abstract

Earthquakes play a fundamental role in the evolution of Earth's topography through co-seismic uplift and subsidence, as well as erosion through widespread landslides induced by ground motion. Earthquake-induced landslides can result in exceptional increases in the transfer of mass from landscapes, supplying sediment to rivers where impacts can last for decades or longer. Landslides can also erode vegetation and soils, in addition to exposing freshly ground rock mass, which can both result in regionally significant carbon transfers. Recent work has sought to quantify the fluxes, rates, and temporal patterns of the impacts on earth surface processes generated by these tectonic events. In this review, we focus on the impacts of earthquake-induced landslides on erosion and sediment flux, river water chemistry, and carbon export through the lens of the well-studied 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. We then discuss these themes in the context of works from the 1999 Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake, 2015 Nepalese Gorkha earthquake, and New Zealand historical earthquakes, altogether highlighting an important role of earthquake-induced landslides in erosion and weathering along tectonically active mountain ranges. We suggest that more monitoring, geochemical tracing, paleo-records, and/or modelling studies are needed to compare the processes and fluxes of catchment erosion and weathering before and after earthquake events, which will help to deepen our understanding not only of the impacts of earthquake-induced landslides on earth surface processes, but also the linkage among high magnitude events, continental erosion and weathering, and the long-term global carbon cycle.

Additional details