Investigation of range movements in Masoleh River basin

Academic Thesis for Master's Degree Field: Physical Geography, Orientation: Geomorphology in Environmental Planning

Abstract

Nowadays, it is necessary to pay attention to the phenomenon of landslides and to predict, identify, control and reduce the risks and damages caused by it as one of the forms of unexpected events. Landslide is a phenomenon that depends on various factors such as slope, geology, rainfall, vegetation, earthquake, etc. . It depends and like the earthquake and maybe in some countries of the world more than the earthquake phenomenon, it has resulted in a lot of losses in terms of lives, finances and natural resources. In the 1990s to 2000s, it was proposed by UNESCO as the decade to deal with natural disasters, and landslides are considered as one of the forms of natural disasters. Comprehensive study of the landslide phenomenon is one of the main goals of UNESCO programs and this organization has started extensive activities in this regard since 1976. According to the UNESCO report, 84% of the damages and casualties caused by natural disasters are related to earthquakes and 14% are related to landslides. The total damage caused as a result of natural hazards (especially landslides, floods and earthquakes) during the 5-year economic-social development program in Iran has been reported to be more than 1.16 billion dollars. 54 earthquakes and landslides have occurred in Iran in the first half of 2014 alone. During the Khordad earthquake in Gilan in 1369, more than 200 people died due to earthquake-triggered landslides in the entire region. Many roads were destroyed due to the movement of the earth, and the roads of many villages were blocked due to the fall of rocks and landslides. A significant area of ??gardens, fields and vegetation in the region was lost due to the occurrence of landslides.

This thesis, using the descriptive-analytical method and using documentary-library and field studies, the results show that according to the information about range movements and the results obtained from the drawn plots and giving value to all the maps including the slope, vegetation, geology and soil and topography, the drawing of the zoning map In the region, the line of causing more landslides in the areas of Kamadel and Khalsan in the northeast of the basin has been detected a little in the south of the basin and in the northwest and a part in the center. The danger of landslides is more likely in the center towards the southwest, and there is a possibility of landslides in the western parts and a little in the center of the basin. (Land Slide) is considered one of the most important issues in the world today. Every year, huge examples of this phenomenon can be seen in the media. Landslides, both in their large and fast dimensions and in small and crawling dimensions, can cause damage in different ways. Based on this, investigating this phenomenon will reduce the amount of natural and human damages. Understanding the landslide will give us the possibility to know the factors that cause it and to prevent its recurrence either by nature or by humans and their activities, or at least reduce its intensity. Due to its mountainous nature and various ranges, as well as construction activities and its consequences of manipulation in the natural environment, Iran sees many cases of this phenomenon, which doubles its importance. The planning and study of natural environments in order to maintain the balance and stability of the natural environment, especially the slopes, and then carry out construction activities and projects, should be given the attention of officials and users, because the disturbance of the balance of the slopes will lead to a decrease in their stability and eventually slope movements or landslides. Of course, we know that this phenomenon is specific to mountainous areas and slopes, and its different types can be easily observed in these areas. The Masuleh river basin is one of the areas that has experienced range movements.

According to the above, this thesis is divided into the following five chapters:

Chapter one: Research overview

Chapter two: Review of sources and research literature and research background

Chapter three: Research implementation method (materials and methods)

Chapter four: Research findings

Chapter five: Conclusion and response to hypotheses

1-2 Generalities of the research

1-2-1 statement of the problem

Mass movements of materials are natural geomorphic processes based on the special characteristics of these phenomena that are part of the environmental processes of a place. (Glade: 2003 123).

Slope erosion causes the transfer of a large volume of slope materials, such as pebbles, debris, etc., to valleys (Larsen and Paks, 1997: 836). In the country of Iran, due to climate, geological and topographical conditions, the occurrence of mass movements causes significant loss of life and financial and environmental damage, so that in addition to destroying fertile soils, they threaten and destroy human settlements and human infrastructure, cut off communication routes, etc. In different regions of Iran, as of 2013, 3,250 cases of landslides have been recorded and it is estimated that their number is more than twice this number (Faiznia et al., 2080, 208). Also, according to the report of the Natural Disaster Reduction Committee of the Ministry of Interior, the share of annual losses caused by mass movements in Iran has been estimated at billion Rials (Ahmadi and Talebi, 2010, 324: 500. After earthquakes and floods, landslides cause the most damage to humans. Every year, billions of tons of soil and rock are moved due to this phenomenon. In recent decades, due to the rising trend of damages and losses caused by landslides, the problem of predicting and providing solutions and staying away from losses and damages has been seriously discussed in recent years Landslides and flooding have increased in the Masoleh River basin. During this period, Masoleh River has also flooded more than in previous years, and the damage caused by it has also increased in the surrounding villages. The creation of geomorphological changes in some areas by its people has increased by obtaining permission from relevant organizations and institutions to build tourist resorts. Based on this, on the one hand, human activities and the lack of proper planning and management in order to protect the soil of this basin have caused soil erosion and movement and have created all kinds of range movements. In this thesis, it is tried considering that the range movements of the Masuleh River basin can be caused by various factors such as weather conditions, human activities, the amount of vegetation, the topography of the basin, tectonic activities and so on. The exact causes of these range movements in the Masoleh Rudkhan basin should be investigated and suggestions should be made to prevent the range movements of the Masoleh Rudkhan basin.  

1-2-2 Importance and Necessity of Research

   Natural disasters as the biggest natural enemy of humans cause the death and injury of hundreds of thousands of people every year and make millions of people homeless around the world. From this point of view, range movements are of particular importance as one of the global problems facing humans, which always causes thousands of deaths and heavy financial and economic losses to residential areas all over the world. Especially, with the increase in population and settlement in areas that are prone to landslides, the global statistics of casualties and financial losses caused by this phenomenon are continuously increasing. Considering that landslides are compared to other natural disasters such as floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc. They are more manageable and predictable, so understanding this phenomenon is of fundamental importance in dealing with natural disasters in order to prevent damages.

1-2-4 Research question

What factors lead to the creation of range movements in the Masoleh River basin?

1-2-5 Research hypothesis

It seems that the slope factor and the loss of vegetation in the Masoleh River basin is the cause of the range movements.

It seems that human intervention in the basin The Masuleh River catchment has caused the occurrence of range movements.