Failure of landslide stabilization measures : the Sidi Rached viaduct case (Constantine, Algeria)

The goal of this paper is to document causes of the failure of stabilization measures undertaken for stabilizing a complex landslide threatening the Sidi Rached viaduct in Constantine, Algeria. Since the first instabilities, documented in 1910 during its construction, significant disturbances have been regularly observed on its eastern part and reinforcements carried out were only temporarily effective. Observed disturbances are inherently related to the fact that the eastern abutment and the three subsequent piers are built on unstable Maastrichtian marls whereas the remainder of the viaduct rests on stable Turonian limestone. The five main factors controlling the activation of the failure process are reviewed: (1) geomorphology, (2) geology, (3) human activities, (4) climate, and (5) seismicity. Data interpretation of two inclinometer surveys carried out close to the eastern abutment shows that the unstable mass moves westward, towards the Rhumel gorges. The main slip surface is located in the Maastrichtian schistose marl, at a depth ranging from about 8 m (west) to about 30 m (east). This translational slide is associated with a settling phenomenon due to the petrophysical properties of the unstable marl

Examples of geomorphologic and geological hazards in Algeria

We present three geomorphologic and geological phenomena that have occurred in Algeria in recent years: (i) the Bab El Oued mudflow on 11 November 2001, which claimed several hundred lives, (ii) a soil collapse induced by sand liquefaction triggered by the Boumerdes earthquake (M-w = 6.8) on 21 May 2003, and (iii) landslides that are threatening Constantine city, for which a hazard map is presented using a qualitative approach. We briefly describe and analyze these natural disasters, and in the first two cases propose the application of geophysical techniques such as ambient noise recordings and electrical imagery to help evaluate their extent and potential threat. Finally a landslide hazard map of Constantine is proposed

Evidence for an underground runoff and soil permeability at the Ouled Fayet (Algiers, Algeria) subsurface landfill pilot project from geophysical investigations

International audienceResults from geophysical investigations (electrical resistivity, electromagnetic mapping and seismic refraction) on an excavated cell of the Ouled Fayet (Algiers, Algeria) pilot landfill indicated the presence of an underground runoff and permeable soil underneath the cell. These results contradict those obtained by a feasibility study, based, however, only on the analysis of seventy-six 10-m drilling cores. The 1D boreholes information has been proven to be insufficient and to give biased results. The presence of water at depth is evidenced by lower resistivity, high conductivity anomalies and increase of P-wave velocity. Thus, to the contrary of what is claimed in the feasibility study, a threat of leachate pollution is real. This study shows that landfill construction studies cannot give trustful results without geophysical investigations. More specifically, in Algeria, it is imperative to elaborate a landfill construction code, which should include mandatory geophysical prospecting and deeper drilling cores

Smooth bumps in H/V curves over a broad area from single-station ambient noise recordings are meaningful and reveal the importance of Q in array processing: The Boumerdes (Algeria) case

International audienceSingle-station H/V curves from ambient noise recordings in Boumerdes (Algeria) show smooth bumps around 1 and 3 Hz. A complementary microtremor study, based on two 34 and 134-meter aperture arrays, evidences that these bumps are indeed real peaks produced by two strong VS contrasts at 37 and 118 meters depth, strongly smoothed by very high S-wave attenuation in the two sedimentary layers. These two H/V bumps, observed over a broad area, are meaningful and reveal the importance of Q in S-wave velocity modeling from microtremor array data processing. It also appears that Tertiary rocks should be, at least in some cases, taken into account, together with the Quaternary sediments, to explain single-station H/V frequency peaks, and therefore that considering only the first 30 m of soil for VS amplification evaluation, as usually recommended, sometimes leads to flaky results by artificially eliminating non-explained low-frequency peaks from the analysis

Mediterranean Sea and anthropogenic influences on ambient vibration amplitudes in the low-frequency and high-frequency domains in the Algiers region

Ambient vibrations have been continuously recorded at Dar El Beida, about 20 km from Algiers (Algeria). This data set allows determining that, in the low-frequency domain (<1 Hz), ambient vibration sources are mainly linked to Mediterranean Sea effects, while in the high-frequency domain, they are closely related to anthropogenic activity. Climatic conditions have an influence on the ambient vibration spectral amplitudes in the low-frequency domain, which is not the case in the high-frequency domain. The limit between the low-frequency and high-frequency domain, based on natural versus anthropogenic activity, is not clear cut and lies between 1.25 and 1.50 Hz. Variations of H/V peak amplitudes in the low-frequency domain are clearly linked to the climatic conditions. In the high-frequency domain, H/V peaks are not related to climatic conditions and cannot be clearly related to anthropogenic source changes