IANIGLA   20881
INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE NIVOLOGIA, GLACIOLOGIA Y CIENCIAS AMBIENTALES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
capítulos de libros
Título:
Landslide processes in Argentina
Autor/es:
MOREIRAS S.M., CORONATO A.
Libro:
Natural Hazards and Human-Exacerbated Disasters In Latin-America. Special volume of geomorphology: Developments in Earth surface processes.
Editorial:
Elsevier
Referencias:
Año: 2010; p. 301 - 331
Resumen:
During the early XX century, landslides in Argentina were vaguely mentioned  in technician reports on the main earthquakes as “secondary effects” (Forbes, 1861; Bodenbender, 1894; Loos, 1926, 1928; Lünkenheimer, 1929; Harrington, 1944) or by railway workers when railway lines were affected (Coleman, 1949 in González Díaz et al., 2001). Kilt (1939) was a pioneer in this matter, his work led the way by reporting landslides affecting mountain roads independently of their triggering mechanisms. Later, Polanski (1966) studied these processes in arid regions proposing a classification for debris flows and floods based on their deposit characteristics. Geomorphological studies describing pre-historic landslides boosted in Argentina ten years ago, however they misjudged current events. At present, landslide research aims to understand probable causes and chronology of these paleo-landslides, but actual landslide hazard and risk assessment studies are starting to be included in land use planning of government offices. The aim of this chapter is to review knowledge about landslides in Argentina to understand their behaviour and their implications on landscape evolution. This basic understanding would later allow analysing, both, the vulnerability of mountain communities and the potential risk for regional society and economies. Earlier works addressing this matter can be found in Schuster and Highland (2001) and the Special Issue of Argentinean Association of Applied Geology and Engineering (ASAGAI, 2004).