What Factors Contribute To Mass Wasting?

Factors that change the potential of mass wasting include:

change in slope angle, weakening of material by weathering

, increased water content; changes in vegetation cover, and overloading. Volcano flanks can become over-steep resulting in instability and mass wasting.

What are the main factors that contribute to mass wasting?

Mass wasting is influenced by

slope, material strength, water content, and amount of vegetation

. Mass wasting can be triggered by storms, earthquakes, eruptions, and human activity. Fall, slide, flow, and creep are the main categories of mass wasting mechanisms.

What factors contribute to mass wasting quizlet?

What types of events may trigger mass wasting events?

heavy rain, human activity, earthquakes, volcanic activity, long periods of drought

, with heavy sediment buildup on slopes and rare episodes of heavy precipitation.

What are two main sources of mass wasting?

• Intense rainfall.
• Rapid snowmelt.
• Earthquake.
• Volcanic eruption.
• Stream or coastal erosion.

How can we prevent mass wasting?

Engineering solutions include

barriers and retaining walls, drainage pipes

, terracing the slope to reduce the steepness of the cuts, and immediate revegetation. Rockfalls can be controlled or eliminated by the use of rock bolts, cables, and screens and by cutting back slopes to lesser gradients.

How does deforestation contribute to mass wasting?

Deforestation can cause mass

wasting through erosion after trees are removed

. This is particularly bad in the tropical rain forest as the top soil washed away quickly and takes a long time to re-grow. The impact of mass movements increases as populations grow and cities expand into unstable areas.

What are the 4 factors that influence mass movements?

Factors that change the potential of mass wasting include:

change in slope angle, weakening of material by weathering, increased water content

; changes in vegetation cover, and overloading.

What are the two important characteristics of a mass wasting event?

Mass wasting occurs when a slope fails. A slope fails when it is too steep and unstable for existing materials and conditions. Slope stability is ultimately determined by two principal factors:

the slope angle and the strength of the underlying material

.

Which load is responsible for the most stream erosion?

Most of the sediment in a stream is carried as

suspended load

. It does not contribute greatly to stream erosion, since it is not in frictional contact with the stream bed. Bed load. The heavier, coarser‐grained earth material that travels along the bottom of the stream is the bed load.

What is the fastest type of mass wasting process?

A rock fall

are the fastest of all landslide types and occurs when a rock falls through the air until it comes to rest on the ground—not too complicated.

What are some ways in which climate influences mass wasting?

Climate is based on temperature and precipitation. Mass wasting is prone in the spring-time when

snow melt, water saturation, and runoff

is greatest. Also the type of climate will help determine the type of mass wasting. Humid climates tend to have slides, where water-saturated slopes fail and fall.

What are four ways to prevent mass movements?

Mass movement control must be primarily preventive: e.g., mapping vulnerable zones, drawing up a land use plan,

banning building work or any modification of slopes

, and protection in the form of coppice forests.

Can mass wasting be reduced or prevented?

Ultimately preventing mass wasting is impossible

because gravity will always exist, but smarter development can help minimize the risk and hazards. One component in landslide mitigation is basic drainage control of water.

What are the negative effects of mass wasting?

Large amounts of geologic materials enter streams as sediment as a result of this landslide and erosion activity, thus

reducing the potability of the water and quality of habitat for fish and wildlife

.

Which of the following is a natural cause of deforestation?

Among direct causes are: Natural causes as

hurricanes

, fires, parasites and floods. Human activities as agricultural expansion, cattle breeding, timber extraction, mining, oil extraction, dam construction and infrastructure development.

Which statement best describes slumping a mass wasting process?