AUTHOR=Liu Zhuoya , Wen Yi , Mao Xianyin , Lv Qianyong , Zeng Kuisen , Zhang Ming 

TITLE=Faults and stratigraphic boundaries control evolution of the huge debris flows along the Jinjiang River, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Earth Science

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1237404

DOI=10.3389/feart.2023.1237404

ISSN=2296-6463

ABSTRACT=This paper investigates the controlling factors of evolution of debris flows along the Jinjiang River, which is located in an active orogen. The debris flows along the Jinjiang River are threatening the nomads and the pastures, the power station on the river and its workers. Remote sensing images, geological maps and field investigations were conducted to determine the distribution of lithologies, faults, and debris flows. Totally 82.2 km of river bank and 108 debris flows including 22 huge ones were investigated. The results indicate that the distribution of the huge debris flows is primarily controlled by either faults or boundaries between sedimentary rocks and basalt. Both the faults and the stratigraphic boundaries play crucial roles in the evolution of the huge debris flows along the river.The fractured zone of faults and stratigraphic boundaries provides loose resource materials for the debris flows and is a weak strip prone to be incised to be a debris flow valley. However, the lithology has relatively less impact on the evolution of the huge debris flows.