A debris flow is a type of sediment gravity flow. It is a rapid mass movement of a concentrated mixture of sediment, organic matter, and water that can flow like a liquid yet can stop on sloping surfaces and form a nearly rigid deposit. Observed debris flows commonly have been likened to flowing masses of wet concrete. Generically, debris flow includes mudflow (debris containing mostly sand, silt, and clay), lahar (volcanic debris flows), and till flow (debris flow from active or stagnant ice).
Debris flows are a significant geomorphological and sedimentological agent in a wide range of geologic and climatic settings. Subaerial debris flows pose a natural hazard than can cause fatalities, damage structures, and diminish land productivity. Subaqueous debris flows can produce turbidity currents, and they can transport sand from continental slopes to abyssal plains, threatening underwater infrastructures and creating important hydrocarbon reservoirs. Modern debris-flow deposits that line...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Iverson, R.M., 1997. The physics of debris flows. Reviews of Geophysics, 35: 245–296.
Iverson, R.M., and Denlinger, R.P., 2001. Flow of variably fluidized granular masses across three-dimensional terrain: 1. Coulomb mixture theory. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106(B1): 537–552.
Iverson, R.M., and Vallance, J.W., 2001. New views of granular mass flows. Geology, 29: 115–118.
Johnson, A.M., 1970. Physical Processes in Geology. San Francisco: Freeman, Cooper, and Co.
Johnson, A.M., 1984. Debris flow. In Brunsden, D., and Prior, D.B. (eds.), Slope Instability. New York: Wiley and Sons, pp. 257–361.
Major, J.J., 1997. Depositional processes in large-scale debris-flow experiments. Journal of Geology, 105: 345–366.
Major, J.J., 1998. Pebble orientation on large experimental debris-flow deposits. Sedimentary Geology, 117: 151–164.
Major, J.J., 2000. Gravity-driven consolidation of granular slurries: implications for debris-flow deposition and deposit characteristics. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 70: 64–83.
Major, J.J., and Iverson, R.M., 1999. Debris-flow deposition: effects of pore-fluid pressure and friction concentrated at flow margins. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 111: 1424–1434.
Mohrig, D., Whipple, K.X., Hondzo, M., Ellis, C., and Parker, G., 1998. Hydroplaning of subaqueous debris flows. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 110: 387–394.
Mohrig, D., Elverhøi, A., and Parker, G., 1999. Experiments on the relative mobility of muddy subaqueous and subaerial debris flows, and their capacity to remobilize antecedent deposits. Marine Geology, 154: 117–129.
Pierson, T.C., and Scott, K.M., 1985. Downstream dilution of a lahar: transition from debris flow to hyperconcentrated streamflow. Water Resources Research, 21: 1511–1524.
Scott, K.M., 1988. Origins, Behavior, and Sedimentology of Lahars and Lahar-runout Flows in the Toutle-Cowlitz River system. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1447-A.
Sharp, R.P., and Nobles, L.H., 1953. Mudflow of 1941 at Wrightwood, southern California. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 64: 547–560.
Takahashi, T., 1978. Mechanical aspects of debris flow. American Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 104: 1153–1169.
Takahashi, T., 1991. Debris Flow. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
Vallance, J.W., 2000. Lahars. In Sigurdsson, H., Houghton, B., McNutt, S.R., Rymer, H., and Stix, J. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 601–616.
Vallance, J.W., and Scott, K.M., 1997. The Osceola mudflow from Mount Rainier: sedimentology and hazards implications of a huge clay-rich debris flow. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 109: 143–163.
Cross-references
Alluvial Fans Avalanche and Rock Fall Earth Flows Fabric, Porosity, and Permeability Flume Grading, Graded Bedding Grain Flow Grain Size and Shape Gravity-Driven Mass Flows Hindered Settling Imbrication and Flow-Oriented Clasts Liquefaction and Fluidization Mass Movement Slope Sediments Slurry Submarine Fans and Channels Tills and Tillites
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1978 Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Major, J.J. (1978). Debris flow. In: Middleton, G.V., Church, M.J., Coniglio, M., Hardie, L.A., Longstaffe, F.J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3609-5_58
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3609-5_58
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-0872-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-3609-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive