• Water for future
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.56-66
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• 2019

Nepal is bestowed with abundant water. With more than 1500 mm average annual rainfall in the country, a vast quantity of underutilized groundwater in the Terai belt, and the water stored in snowcaps in the Himalayas, aquifers in the mountains and glacial lakes, Nepal is potentially in an advantageous position in terms of per capita availability. However, low emphasis in management aspect of water and high emphasis in infrastructural developments related to water resources management has resulted in conversion of water in Nepal from a resource to a burden. The global climate change, reduction in number of rainy days, increase in intensity of rainfall during wet monsoon season, encroachment of river banks for settlement, inadequate release of environmental flows from hydropower plants, and attempt to tame the mighty and high velocity rivers of Nepal have resulted in increasing number of water induced disasters (flood and landslide), rise in conflict between local residents and hydropower developers, higher number of devastating landslides, and in some extreme cases mass migration of residents resulting in climate refugees. There is a ray of hope; the awareness level of the people regarding sustainable use of water resources is increasing, the benefit sharing mechanism is gradually being implemented, the role of interdisciplinary and integrated water resources management is appreciated at a higher level and the level of preparedness against flood and landslides is at a higher degree compared to a couple of decades ago. With the use of renewable energy sources, the possibilities for sustainable and productive use of water are on the rise in Nepal.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.245-245
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• 2015

In the recent years, due to long-lasting heavy rainfall events, a large number of landslides have been observed in the mountainous area of the world. Such landslides can also form a dam as it blocks the course of a river, which may burst and cause a catastrophic flood. Numerical analysis of landslide dam formation is rarely available, while laboratory experimental studies often use assumed shape to analyze the landslide dam failure and flood hydraulics in downstream. In this study, both experimental and numerical studies have been carried out to investigate the formation of landslide dam. Two case laboratory experiments were conducted in two flumes simultaneously. The first flume (2.0 m 0.6 m 0.5 m) was set at $22^{\circ}$ and $27^{\circ}$ slope to generate the landslide using rainfall intensity of 70.0 mm/hr. On the other hand, the second flume (1.5 m 0.25 m 0.3 m) was set perpendicularly at the downstream end of the first flume to receive the landslide mass forming landslide dam. The formation of landslide dam was observed at $15^{\circ}$ slope of the second flume. The whole processes including the landslide initiation and movement of the landslide mass into the second channel was captured by three digital cameras. In numerical analysis, a two-dimensional (2D) seepage flow model, a 2D slope stability model (Spencer method) and a 2D landslide dam-geometry evaluation model were coupled as a single unit. This developed model can determine the landslide occurrence time, the failure mass and the geometry of landslide dam deposited in the second channel. The data obtained from numerical simulation results has good agreement with the experimental measurements.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.71-79
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• 2006

In Korea, most landslides occurred during the rainy season and had a shallow failure plane parallel to the slope. For these types of rainfall-induced failures, the most important factor triggering slope unstability is decrease in the matric suction of unsaturated soils with increasing saturation depth by rainfall infiltration. The saturation depth was readily estimated using modified Green-Ampt model proposed by Chu et al. (Chu Model) at present. But Chu Model involves some problems for application, because water-redistribution phenomena were not effected. So the modified Chu Model (MCGAM) which reflect water redistribution phono mens was developed. The results showed that the MCGAM had a better agreement with measured volumetric water contents than existing Chu Model.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2014

Rainfall-induced landslides are caused by reduction of effective stress and shear strength due to rainfall infiltration. In order to analyze the susceptibility of landslides, the statistical analysis approach has been used widely but this approach has the limitation which cannot take into account of landslide triggering mechanism. Therefore, the physically based model which can consider the process of landslide occurrence was proposed and commonly used. However, the most previous physically based model analyses evaluate and consider the strength characteristics for saturated soil only in the susceptibility analysis. But the strength parameters for unsaturated soil such as matric suction should be considered with the strength parameters for saturated soil since the shear strength in unsaturated soil also plays important role in the stability of slope. Consequently this study suggested the modified physically based slope model which can evaluate strength characteristics for both of saturated and unsaturated soils. In addition, this study evaluated the thickness of saturated part in slope with rainfall intensity and hydraulic characteristics of slope on the basis of physically based model. In order to evaluate the feasibility, the proposed model was applied to practical example in Jinbu area, Gangwon-do, which was experienced large amount of landslides in July 2006. The ROC graph analysis was used to evaluate the validation of the model, and the analysis results were compared with the results of the previous analysis approach.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.475-487
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• 2017

We performed landslide flume tests to analyze characteristics of landslide occurrence and change in the ground materials due to rainfall infiltration. The test apparatus is composed of flume, rainfall simulator, and measurement sensors and landslides were triggered by heavy rainfall (Intensity=200 mm/hr) sprinkled at the above of an artificial slope. The measurement sensors for matric suction and volumetric water content were installed with 3 sets at shallow (GL-0.2 m), middle (GL-0.4 m), and deep depth (GL-0.6 m) in the slope and the tests were performed with in-situ, loose, and dense condition of each weathered soils of granite, gneiss, and mudstone. The analyses show that surface erosion was dominant in initial time of the test due to heavy rainfall and then landslides occur following locally happened transverse tension cracks. The characteristics of landslide were both shallow failure because of a spread of wetting front induced by the rainfall infiltration and retrogressive failure. While the matric suction was decreased rapidly without any precursor in the soil saturation, the volumetric water content was increased gradually, reached its maximum value, and then decreased rapidly with landslide.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2019

The rainfall intensity-duration curve (I-D curve) was used for selecting the dredging time of sediments behind a debris barrier which is located at the study area in Inje-gun, Kangwon Province. The I-D curve was newly suggested by using the data of rainfall-induced landslides for about 30 years from June to September in Kangwon Province. According to the monitoring results, the landslides have been not occurred during the monitoring period of the dredged sediments management system at the study area, and also all of the rainfall events were located below the I-D curve. The weight of the dredged sediments measured at the management system in the field was increased but the weight increment was small. It means that the increase of the dredged sediments was not the effect of landslide but the effect of soil erosion at the ground surface due to heavy rainfall. The weight of the dredged sediments behind a debris barrier could be known in real time using the rainfall data measured at the management system. Also, when the I-D curve is used with the management system, it is possible to select the optimum dredging time for sediments behind debris barrier.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2009

In this study, some changes of soil characteristics in a field were analyzed to investigate the effect of heavy rainfall during rainy season. The heavy rainfalls were often induced geohazards like landslides. To do this, the reaching rainfall in the ground surface was investigated according to a condition of vegetation, and the change of soil characteristics induced by infiltrating rainfall was analyzed. The study site is a natural terrain located in Daedeok Science Complex. This site has same geology and soil condition whereas it has different vegetable condition. The rainfall records during the rainy season of 2006 and 2007 were selected. The rainfall records are based on the measuring date from Daejeon Regional Meteorological Administration adjacent to the study site. Also, the rainfall records according to the condition of vegetation were measured using rainfall measuring device made by ourselves. The soil tests were carried out about soil specimen sampled before and after rainfall, and then the change of soil characteristics related to rainfall and vegetation were analyzed. As the result, the density of vegetation was influenced by reaching rainfall quantity in the ground surface, and its influence intensity was decreased with rainfall intensity and rainfall duration. Also, it shows that degree of saturations, water contents, liquidities and shear resistances are directly influenced by heavy rainfalls.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.509-516
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• 2002

Rainfall-induced landslides in a weathered granite soil slope have mostly relative shallow slip surfaces above the groundwater table The pore-water pressure of soil above the groundwater table is usually negative. This negative pore-water pressure(or matric suction) has been found to make a large contribution to the slope stability. Therefore, the variation of in-situ matric suction profiles with time in a soil slope should be understood. In this study, a field measurement program was carried out from June to August, 2001 to monitor in-situ matric suctions and volumetric water contents in a weathered granite soil slope. The influence of climatic conditions on the variation of in-situ matric suctions could be found to decrease rapidly with depth. It could be found that decrement of matric suction induced by precipitation is affected not only by the amount and duration of rainfalls but also by the initial matric suction just prior to rainstorms. The soil-water characteristic from the field monitoring tends toward the wetting path of SWCC obtained from the laboratory test.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.291-298
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• 2015

There are many landslides occurred by typhoons and intense rainfall during the summer seasons in Korea. To predict a landslide triggering it is important to understand mechanisms and potential areas of landslides by the geological approaches. However, recent climate changes make difficult to predict landslide based on only conventional prediction methods. Therefore, the importance of a real-time monitoring of landslide using various sensors is emphasized in recent. Many researchers have studied monitoring techniques of landslides and suggested several monitoring systems which can be applicable to the natural terrain. Most sensors of landslide monitoring measure slope displacement, hydrogeologic properties of soils and rocks, changes of stress in soil and rock fractures, and rainfall amount and intensity. The measured values of each sensor are transmitted to a monitoring server in real-time. The ultimate goal of landslide monitoring is to warn landslide occurrence in advance and to reduce damages induced by landslides. This study introduces the current situation of landslide monitoring techniques in each country.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.51-59
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• 2014

Shallow landslides and debris flows are a common form of soil slope instability in South Korea. These events may be generally initiated as a result of intense rainfall or lengthening rainfall duration because of the effects of climate change. This paper presents the evaluation of rainfall-induced natural soil slope stability and reinforced soil slope instability under vertical load (railway or highway load) throughout South Korea based on quantitative analysis obtained from 58 sites rainfall observatories for 38 years. The slope stability was performed for infinite and geogrid-reinforced soil slopes by taking an average of maximum rainfall every ten years from 1973 to 2010. Seepage analysis is carried out on unsaturated soil slope using the maximum rainfall at each site, and then the factor of safety was calculated by coupled analysis using saturated and unsaturated strength parameters. The contour map of South Korea shows four stages in 10-year-time for the degree of landslide hazard. The safety factor map based on long term observational data will help prevent rainfall-induced soil slope instability for appropriate design of geotechnical structures regarding disaster protection.