What causes mass wasting?

Asked by: Joseph Fulce

Mass-wasting events are triggered by changes that oversteepen slope angles and weaken slope stability, such as rapid snow melt, intense rainfall, earthquake shaking, volcanic eruption, storm waves, stream erosion, and human activities. Excessive precipitation is the most common trigger.

What triggers mass wasting?

Mass-wasting events often have a trigger: something changes that causes a landslide to occur at a specific time. It could be rapid snowmelt, intense rainfall, earthquake shaking, volcanic eruption, storm waves, rapid-stream erosion, or human activities, such as grading a new road.

What causes mass wasting quizlet?

mass wasting erosion can be triggered when heavy rains or snow-melt saturate the surface. when pore spaces become filled with water (saturated) the cohesion between grains is destroyed allowing them to slide past one another.

What human activities can influence mass wasting?

Human activities such as undercutting the base of the slope, adding weight to the upper part of the slope by building large structures, removing vegetation, and saturating the ground with water increase the risks of mass wasting.

What are the 4 factors that influence mass movements?

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 is mass wasting quizlet?

What is mass wasting? Downhill movement of masses of bedrock, rock debris or soil, driven by the pull of gravity.

Which factor is important in initiating mass wasting events?

Increased Water. Of all of the factors that play a role in erosion and therefore trigger mass wasting, water may be the most important. Water can both increase the risk of mass wasting and decrease the risk, depending on how much water is present.

How are mass wasting movements classified?

If the material drops through the air, vertically or nearly vertically, it’s known as a fall. If the material moves as a mass along a sloping surface (without internal motion within the mass), it’s a slide. If the material has internal motion, like a fluid, it’s a flow.

How does water contribute to mass wasting?

Adding water increases slope instability. It lubricates rock fragments so that they slide down slope more easily. Mass wasting occurs more readily in rainy seasons for this reason.

How do human activities cause landslides?

They are commonly a result of building roads and structures without adequate grading of slopes, poorly planned alteration of drainage patterns, and disturbing old landslides.

What human activities contribute to mass wasting quizlet?

Which of the following human activities can contribute to mass movement? any human disturbance of a slop, including roadcuts, surface mining, and development.

What would be an example of mass wasting?

Rock falls, slumps, and debris flows are all examples of mass wasting. Often lubricated by rainfall or agitated by seismic activity, these events may occur very rapidly and move as a flow.

What type of mass wasting event tends to be the most destructive for people?

There are four main types of mass wasting which are slumps, rockslides, debris flow, and earthflow. Slumps are a downslope movement of semi-consolidated material along curved or planar surfaces. Slump happens slow and in a short distance. Rockslides are the most destructive mass wastings.

How might a forest fire influence mass wasting?

What is Mass Wasting? | Geography | iKen | iKenEdu | iKenApp

Which situation is most likely to undergo mass wasting?

Occurrences. On Earth, mass wasting occurs on both terrestrial and submarine slopes. Submarine mass wasting is particularly common along glaciated coastlines where glaciers are retreating and great quantities of sediments are being released.

Which of these are potential triggers for mass wasting events 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’s the most common cause of mass wasting events quizlet?

Gravity is the main driving force behind mass-wasting processes, as it is constantly attempting to force material downhill.

How is it possible for a mass wasting event to occur without a trigger?

10. How might an event of mass wasting occur without a triggering cause? Slope materials suddenly give way without warning due to the rapid influx of water. Slope materials gradually strengthen over time under the influence of gravity settling, and suddenly give way due to increased density.

What is the fastest form of mass wasting?

Rock falls

Answer and Explanation: Rock falls are the fastest form of mass wasting. This is because falling rocks can attain speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour. Falling rocks can attain these speeds because they experience relatively little air resistance.

Can earthquakes cause mass wasting?

Earthquakes are another factor that can play a role in mass wasting. Earthquakes cause violent shaking over a large area. If this agitation affects an area with already unstable mountain slopes, the vigorous shaking may cause the slope to fail, sending rock, soil and debris down the slope.