Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This manuscript requires a much better organization of the ideas as well as of the connection among the paragraphs. see for example the last paragraph in the first Section: In this paper, tianjiaba landslide in the north of Sinan County, Tongren City, Guizhou 54 Province was taken as the research object. According to the field geological survey, 55 ground displacement observation points and inclinometer tube displacement data, the 56 deformation characteristics of the landslide were studied. This study deeply analyzes the 57 displacement characteristics of landslide mass and sliding surface, and the research re-58 sults can provide guidance for landslide disaster prevention.... As you can see, this paragraph begins with In this paper... but you previously described the state of the art on this topic for research and you provided references to support the relted works. This reviewer recommends that you can discuss the organization of the paper, as the majority of works, and also to begin this paragraph as for example: Considering the discusion given above, and according to the works provided by authors in [...] this paper introduces....

 

Section 2. General Situation of Engineering Geology in Landslide Area 60
2.1. Landslide Background is appropriately addresses and it is a good way to provide eviednce of the problem formulation.

The simulated dat given in Figure 5. Deformation value of inclined hole in fracture group-1. need more description to appreciate the information. The same is required for the following figures, as Figure 6. Deformation value of inclined hole in fracture group-2, and Figure 7. Deformation value of inclinometer hole in fracture group-3.

You may add a kind of Table to appreciate the main points given in subsection 4.2. Landslide Prevention

The cocnlusions are quite qualitaty, you may try to provide some quantitative data.

 

 

 

Author Response

Dear Editors and Reviewers:

Thank you for your letter and for the reviewers’ comments concerning our manuscript " Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. The main corrections in the paper and the responds to the reviewers’ comments are as following:

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript requires a much better organization of the ideas as well as of the connection among the paragraphs. see for example the last paragraph in the first Section: In this paper, tianjiaba landslide in the north of Sinan County, Tongren City, Guizhou 54 Province was taken as the research object. According to the field geological survey, 55 ground displacement observation points and inclinometer tube displacement data, the 56 deformation characteristics of the landslide were studied. This study deeply analyzes the 57 displacement characteristics of landslide mass and sliding surface, and the research re-58 sults can provide guidance for landslide disaster prevention.... As you can see, this paragraph begins with In this paper... but you previously described the state of the art on this topic for research and you provided references to support the relted works. This reviewer recommends that you can discuss the organization of the paper, as the majority of works, and also to begin this paragraph as for example: Considering the discusion given above, and according to the works provided by authors in [...] this paper introduces....

 Answer: In order to connect smoothly, the following contents are added in the introduction：

Many scholars evaluate the stability of landslides based on the width of cracks and sliding rate. They divided the development of landslide cracks into initial deformation stage, constant velocity deformation stage and accelerated deformation stage [26]. Although the cracks of some landslides are very wide, the sliding rate is stable and the landslides are still in a stable stage.

 

Section 2. General Situation of Engineering Geology in Landslide Area 60
2.1. Landslide Background is appropriately addresses and it is a good way to provide eviednce of the problem formulation.

The simulated dat given in Figure 5. Deformation value of inclined hole in fracture group-1. need more description to appreciate the information. The same is required for the following figures, as Figure 6. Deformation value of inclined hole in fracture group-2, and Figure 7. Deformation value of inclinometer hole in fracture group-3.

You may add a kind of Table to appreciate the main points given in subsection 4.2. Landslide Prevention

The cocnlusions are quite qualitaty, you may try to provide some quantitative data.

Answer: 1. The scope and boundary of landslide are shown in Fig1.

2.The following deformation information is added:The deformation law of inclinometer hole jck-8 was obvious, while the deformation of inclinometer hole jck-9 was chaotic.

The deformation law of inclinometer hole jck6 was obvious, while the deformation of inclinometer holes jck7 and jck4 above the sliding surface first decreased and then increased.

3.Table 2 is a summary of anti slide piles at different crack groups.

Table 2 Parameters of anti slide pile

Fracture group	Pile size	Pile length	Number of piles	Location of piles
Fracture group 1	2×3m	24~28m	11	Middle part of fracture group 1
Fracture group 2	2.2×3.2m	26~30m	26	Below the management platform in the middle of zone 2 of fracture group
Fracture group 3	1.8×2.7m	18~20m	30	Middle part of fracture group 3
Fracture group 3	1.8×2.7m	22~26m	25	In front of zone 3 of fracture group

4. The following contents are added to the conclusion:
5. the dip angles of sliding surfaces in three fracture areas are added in the model,
6. The depth of displacement surface in zone 1 of fracture group was 14m-19m, and the slope of sliding surface (jck9-jck8) was 12.25 °. The reason for the formation of this group of cracks was that the excavation of LK0 + 805 culvert foundation of the connecting line caused the formation of tension cracks in zone 1 of the landslide crack group.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

 

ijgi-1122906

 

The manuscript “Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge” addresses an interesting and up-to-date subject, which adhere to IJGI journal policies.

 

In this research there was evaluated the displacements and deformation of a terrain subjected to a landslide in 2011, with interesting results useful in the current context of complex natural hazard process. Although the manuscript does not have high novelty, it presents a good case study with publishing potential after major revisions.

 

The current draft has many problems that need to be addressed, but the genuine field work and measurements are commendable and I want to congratulate the team of authors. The following aspects must be addressed and improved:

 

• An extensive English check, as well formatting using Mdpi templates, as there are many mistakes (too many to highlight)
• Structure improvement and subchapter creation, you must structure you paper with M&M, Results, Discussions
• There are many articles regarding landslide monitoring, you must include more than 20 citations and add more relevant ones
• The abstract must be improved, and must include Results with values obtained
• The Introduction chapter is weak and must be improved
• After you make chapter 2 M&M, present and describe the instrumentation used for your research (inclinometer, total station etc), as well as the methods of measurement
• Create a study area figure
• Improve Fig 3, it can not be understood the symbols and text
• At row 162 you say that the maximum horizontal displacement was 242.68 mm, it is impossible to obtain such a submillimetre value (only with precise sensors). Is this a mean of more values?
• A discussion chapter is mandatory, with citations and comparison to other relevant researches

 

Author Response

Dear Editors and Reviewers:

Thank you for your letter and for the reviewers’ comments concerning our manuscript " Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. The main corrections in the paper and the responds to the reviewers’ comments are as following:

• An extensive English check, as well formatting using Mdpi templates, as there are many mistakes (too many to highlight)

Answer: The format of Mdpi and the language of English have been revised.

• Structure improvement and subchapter creation, you must structure you paper with M&M, Results, Discussions

Answer: Section 3.1.1 is deleted and section 5. discussion is added. The structure of the paper is revised as follows:

1. Introduction
2. General Situation of Engineering Geology in Landslide Area

2.1. Landslide Background

2.2. Topography and Geomorphology

2.3. Formation Lithology

2.4. Meteorological and Hydrological Conditions

3. Deformation Characteristics of Landslide

3.1. Outline of Landslide

3.2. Deformation Characteristics of Surface Fractures

3.3. Deformation Characteristics of Sliding Surface

3.3.1. Deformation characteristics of sliding surface of fracture group 1

3.3.2. Deformation Characteristics of Sliding Surface of Fracture Group 2

3.3.3. Deformation Characteristics of Sliding Surface of Fracture Group 3

4. Cause analysis and prevention of landslide

4.1. Analysis on the Cause of the Landslide

4.2. Landslide Prevention

5.Discussion

6.Conclusion

• There are many articles regarding landslide monitoring, you must include more than 20 citations and add more relevant ones

Answer: Some references about the deformation characteristics of landslide are added in this paper.

• The abstract must be improved, and must include Results with values obtained

Answer: Added the following to the summary:

 1.In this study, the landslide was divided into three areas, in which the fracture group 3 was the most serious. Among the 10 inclinometer holes, the sliding surface displacement of jck-8 was the largest, which was 25 mm. The slope of sliding surface of fracture group 1, 2 and 3 was small, which was 12.25 °, 4.97 ° and 6.62 ° to 4.64 ° respectively.

2.The maximum displacement of the ground was 242.68mm, which is much larger than the maximum displacement of the inclinometer hole.

• The Introduction chapter is weak and must be improved

Answer: The following contents are added to the introduction: Many scholars evaluate the stability of landslides based on the width of cracks and sliding rate. They divided the development of landslide cracks into initial deformation stage, constant velocity deformation stage and accelerated deformation stage [26]. Although the cracks of some landslides are very wide, the sliding rate is stable and the landslides are still in a stable stage.

• After you make chapter 2 M&M, present and describe the instrumentation used for your research (inclinometer, total station etc), as well as the methods of measurement

Answer: The deflectometer with guide wheel was used for the deformation measurement of inclinometer. The total station equipment is Lycra TCRP1201+R1000, with an accuracy of 1mm.

Create a study area figure

Answer: The landslide boundary and management area platform were added in Fig 1.

• Improve Fig 3, it can not be understood the symbols and text

Answer: Fig 3. has been modified. 

Fig 3. Distribution map of surface displacement observation points and inclinometer holes

• At row 162 you say that the maximum horizontal displacement was 242.68 mm, it is impossible to obtain such a submillimetre value (only with precise sensors). Is this a mean of more values?

Answer: The ground displacement monitoring is tested by the total station, the data is derived from the instrument, and two digits are reserved after the decimal point.

• A discussion chapter is mandatory, with citations and comparison to other relevant researches

Answer: The fifth part: discussion is added to the paper. It is judged that the landslide is in the initial sliding stage.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

The manuscript, entitled "Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge" (by Zhang, L., et al.) focuses on the recognition of the deformation characteristics and causes of Tianjiaba landslide (Sinan County, Tongren City, Guizhou Province) based on field geological surveys and ground-based measurement data analysis. Furthermore, relevant prevention measures are presented.

General remarks

The manuscript deals with a topic of high interest which makes it suitable for publication. The research effort and its output results are certainly valuable.

However, I must note my doubts about the relevancy between the content of the manuscript and the scope of “International Journal of Geo-Information” journal. I think that the content would be more appropriate for a journal with geotechnical and/or engineering geology-related objectives.

Despite the above and recognizing your total effort, I can mention that I generally found some minor issues that must be solved in order to be acceptable for publication in this (or in any) journal. Below I report some of them so that the authors take them under consideration.

Minor suggestions

Line 22: Correct “form” with “formed”.

Line 24: Correct “caused” with “cause”.

Line 24: I find the use together of the terms of “landslide” and “sliding” as necessary. I would propose to keep only the “landslide”. Care about it in the extent of manuscript.

Line 39: Rephrase the part of “landslide sliding downward”.

Lines 65-68: A long sentence that it’s difficult to make sense. Split it into shorter sentences or rephrase it.

Line 76: Provide altitude value(s) to clarify the mention “the terrain is relatively high”.

Line 78: Similar to the previous comment for the mention “the terrain is relatively low”.

Line 98: It is not clear the value type of the mentioned annual rainfall range. The “annual rainfall of 1100-1400mm” constitutes an approximate value of mean or accumulated rainfall, or just a range (i.e. lower and upper rainfall values)?  Clarify it.

Line 114: It is mentioned that “…the landslide was divided into three areas”. Clarify if these areas/zones correspond to the three fracture groups in Figure 3.

Line 126: It is mentioned that “10 inclinometer holes, numbered jk1 ~ jk10, were set up”, but in Figure 3 they are probably presented as “JKC[No]” labels. Match them by keeping the similar labeling.

Lines 127-128: The test pits (WT1 ~ WT21) and boreholes (ZK1 ~ ZK8) are not presented in Figure 3. Why?

Line 251: Correct “the” with “The”.

Line 271: “.” Instead of “,” in the end of the sentence.

Author Response

Dear Editors and Reviewers:

Thank you for your letter and for the reviewers’ comments concerning our manuscript " Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. The main corrections in the paper and the responds to the reviewers’ comments are as following:

 Answer:

Journal of “International Journal of Geo-Information” has a column on landslide management and prevention, and the paper matches the column very well.

   1."Form" has been changed to "formed"

2. “caused” has been changed to “cause”
3. The word sliding was deleted
4. “In the process of landslide sliding downward” has been changed to “In the course of landslide”
5. Lines 65-68 has been changed to“To meet the needs of the project, a management area platform with a length of 220 meters, a width of 120 meters and a height of 13-17 meters was built in the middle of the depression. Due to the platform in the filling management area and the excavation of a ramp and connecting line embankment on the north and south sides of the platform, the slope sliding occurred.”
6. Line 76 added "and altitude values is about 491m."
7. Line 78 added "and altitude values is about 463m."
8. The annual rainfall is 1100-1400 mm, which is a range value. I have changed this sentence to“The site has a subtropical monsoon climate with annual rainfall ranging from 1100 mm to 1400mm.”
9. Line 114: has been changed to “Through field geological survey and surface displacement observation, the landslide is divided into three zones according to the extension direction of the fracture group.”
10. Line 126: Jk1 ~ jk10 has been changed to jck1 ~ jck10
11. If exploratory holes (WT1 ~ WT21) and boreholes (ZK1 ~ zk8) are added to the figure, figure 3 will become very messy. Therefore, I deleted these two layers.
12. “the” has been changed to“The”.
13. Line 271: “,” has been changed to “.”

 

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

this updated version of the manuscript can be accepted as it is

Author Response

English related issues have been revised.

Reviewer 2 Report

ijgi-1122906-v2

 

The manuscript “Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge” was improved by the authors, thus obtaining a more cohesive and interesting article.

 

The overall manuscript was increased with additional information and citations, but it still needs further improvements in my opinion.

 

            Although you added a Discussion chapter, change the other ones after the journal instructions, add Results chapter. It is inappropriate to have chapters such as “3. Deformation Characteristics of Landslide” and “4. Cause analysis and prevention of landslide”. Respect the general academia rules of structure! Introduction, M&M, Results, Discussion, Conclusion.

 

            You answered some of my questions regarding what instrumentation you used, but that information should be in the manuscript at M&M.

 

            You still did not add a figure with the study area. This is an article about geo-information, so a figure for localization is mandatory.

 

           I recommend you add more relevant citations regarding landslide research with similar methodology and instrumentation, such as:

 

Tsaia, Z.; Youa, G.J.Y.; Leea, H.Y.; Chiub, Y.J. Use of a total station to monitor post-failure sediment yields in landslide sites of the Shihmen reservoir watershed. Geomorphology 2012, 139–140, 438–451.

 

Sestras, P.; Bilașco, Ș.; Roșca, S.; Dudic, B.; Hysa, A.; Spalević, V. Geodetic and UAV Monitoring in the Sustainable Management of Shallow Landslides and Erosion of a Susceptible Urban Environment. Remote Sens. 2021, 13, 385.

 

Artese, S.; Perrelli, M. Monitoring a Landslide with High Accuracy by Total Station: A DTM-Based Model to Correct for the Atmospheric Effects. Geosciences 2018, 8, 46.

 

Afeni, T.B.; Cawood, F.T. Slope Monitoring using Total Station: What are the Challenges and How Should These be Mitigated? S. Afr. J. Geomat. 2013, 2, 41–53.

Author Response

Dear Editors and Reviewers:

Thank you for your letter and for the reviewers’ comments concerning our manuscript " Deformation Characteristics of Tianjiaba Landslide Induced by Surcharge”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. The main corrections in the paper and the responds to the reviewers’ comments are as following:

English language problems.

Answer：The English language problem has been revised.

Although you added a Discussion chapter, change the other ones after the journal instructions, add Results chapter. It is inappropriate to have chapters such as “3. Deformation Characteristics of Landslide” and “4. Cause analysis and prevention of landslide”. Respect the general academia rules of structure! Introduction, M&M, Results, Discussion, Conclusion.

Answer：The general structure of the paper is: introduction, M & M, results, discussions and conclusions. Referring to the related landslide papers, the author thinks that the following paper structure is more reasonable.

1. Introduction
2. General Situation of Engineering Geology in Landslide Area

2.1. Landslide Background

2.2. Topography and Geomorphology

2.3. Formation Lithology

2.4. Meteorological and Hydrological Conditions

3. Deformation Characteristics of Landslide

3.1. Outline of Landslide

3.2. Deformation Characteristics of Surface Fractures

3.3. Deformation Characteristics of Sliding Surface

3.3.1. Deformation characteristics of sliding surface of fracture group 1

3.3.2. Deformation Characteristics of Sliding Surface of Fracture Group 2

3.3.3. Deformation Characteristics of Sliding Surface of Fracture Group 3

4. Cause analysis and prevention of landslide

4.1. Analysis on the Cause of the Landslide

4.2. Landslide Prevention

5.Discussion

6. Conclusion

You answered some of my questions regarding what instrumentation you used, but that information should be in the manuscript at M&M.

Answer：Landslide inclinometer and ground displacement observation equipment have been added to section 3.1.

 You still did not add a figure with the study area. This is an article about geo-information, so a figure for localization is mandatory.

Answer：The modified location of the study area is shown in Fig 1.

   I recommend you add more relevant citations regarding landslide research with similar methodology and instrumentation, such as:

Answer：These references you have given are very helpful and I have included them in the references.