Mass movement
is an erosional process that moves rocks and sediments downslope due to the force of gravity. The material is transported from higher elevations to lower elevations where other transporting agents like streams or glaciers can pick it up and move to even lower elevations.
Is the movement of material on a downslope terrain due to gravity?
mass movement, also called Mass Wasting
, bulk movements of soil and rock debris down slopes in response to the pull of gravity, or the rapid or gradual sinking of the Earth’s ground surface in a predominantly vertical direction.
Which type of movement is caused by gravity moving earth materials?
What Is
Mass Movement
? Gravity can cause erosion and deposition. Gravity makes water and ice move. It also causes rock, soil, snow, or other material to move downhill in a process called mass movement.
What causes materials to move downslope?
Gravity
is the main force responsible for mass movements. Gravity is a force that acts everywhere on the Earth’s surface, pulling everything in a direction toward the center of the Earth. On a flat surface, parallel to the Earth’s surface, the force of gravity acts downward.
What is the downslope movement of material under the influence of gravity?
Mass wasting, also known as slope movement or mass movement
, is the geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope typically as a solid, continuous or discontinuous mass, largely under the force of gravity, frequently with characteristics of a flow as in debris flows and mudflows.
Which mass movement is the fastest?
Landslides and avalanches
can move as fast as 200 to 300 km/hour. Figure 3. (a) Landslides are called rock slides by geologists. (b) A snow avalanche moves quickly down slope, burying everything in its path.
How do humans affect mass movement?
Humans can contribute to mass wasting in a few different ways:
Excavation of slope or its toe
.
Loading of slope
or its crest. Drawdown (of reservoirs)
Which factors can lead to mass movement?
The factors that cause most mass movement events are
the undercutting of steep slopes, the removal of vegetation, earthquakes, and heavy prolonged rainfall
. Many mass movement disasters are preceded by development, deforestation, and slope steepening, which weakens the slopes.
What are 4 types of landslides?
They are classified into four main types:
fall and toppling, slides (rotational and translational), flows and creep
.
What is the slowest type of mass movement?
The slowest and least noticeable, but most widespread of the slow mass wasting categories is
creep
. Creep involves the entire hillside, and is characterized by very slow movement of soil or rock material over a period of several years.
What are 2 types of erosion?
- surface erosion.
- fluvial erosion.
- mass-movement erosion.
- streambank erosion.
What is the strongest agent of erosion?
Liquid water
is the major agent of erosion on Earth.
What increases the size of particles carried increases?
The average velocity (speed) of a stream depends on its slope and discharge, which in turn can explain the carrying power of a stream. o
As velocity of the stream water
increases, size of the particles carried in the stream also increases, a direct relationship.
What is the most common mass wasting trigger?
Increased water content within the slope
is the most common mass-wasting trigger. Water content can increase due to rapidly melting snow or ice or an intense rain event.
What is the downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity?
Mass movement
is an erosional process that moves rocks and sediments downslope due to the force of gravity. The material is transported from higher elevations to lower elevations where other transporting agents like streams or glaciers can pick it up and move to even lower elevations.
What is refers to a slow or gradual movement of soil?
Creep
is the slow downslope movement of material under gravity. It generally occurs over large areas. Three types of creep occur: seasonal movement or creep within the soil – due to seasonal changes in soil moisture and temperature, e.g. frost heave processes.
