Forecasting of the Development of a Landslide by Studying Its Fracture System

Summary The fracture system of a slowly moving loess landslide was studied by the well-known ERT method and by Pressure-Probe which is a simple geotechnical tool. Its application was possible because the fractures were hidden only by a few cm thick soil. Results of both methods were compared with each other and also with the reality, because exploration of the fractures was easily possible. The largest fractures which were detected by these methods served later on as sliding surfaces verifying perfectly the results of these techniques. With these methods the fracture system can be described and thus the endangered area can be delineated. They enable also prediction of future rupture surfaces and better understanding the inner structure of a landslide and thus its development.