Data from in-situ landslide monitoring, Trinity County, California

We performed hourly monitoring of conditions at the Two Towers landslide located in northern California near the town of Zenia. Monitored conditions included rainfall, groundwater head, horizontal total stress, horizontal effective stress, vertical soil deformation, and subsurface displacement. Data were acquired November 11, 2014–July 22, 2017, except for times during which power failure occurred; data for these times are given as “NAN” (not a number). Rainfall data are provided in millimeters during the past hour (mm/hr). Groundwater heads are provided in meters (m) above the landslide base. Horizontal stresses are provided in kilopascals (kPa). Vertical soil deformation data are provided in terms of length (centimeters, cm) of the sensor. Cumulative landslide displacement is provided in millimeters (mm). 
Rainfall was measured at the landslide middle monitoring location using a tipping-bucket rain gauge with resolution of 0.254 mm and accuracy of ±2% to 250 mm/hr (resolutions and accuracies stated herein are as specified by sensor manufacturers and accounting for datalogger resolution). A vibrating-wire total-stress plate sensor was installed with near-vertical orientation in the floor of an excavated pit at the middle monitoring location. This sensor measured total horizontal stress applied to its 230-mm-diameter surface with resolution of 0.014 kPa and accuracy of ±0.069 kPa. The sensor was installed within a slot slightly wider than the plate itself with its center at a depth of 1.83 m, and a vibrating-wire fluid pressure transducer with the same resolution and accuracy as the total stress sensor was installed adjacent to the cell to measure fluid pressure and therefore provide a means of calculating horizontal effective stress. The pit was backfilled after sensor installation with material removed during its excavation. The remaining sensors were installed within 6.35-cm-diameter holes bored using hand equipment. These included electronic, vibrating-wire fluid pressure transducers (piezometers) with resolutions of 0.014 kPa and 0.086 kPa, and respective accuracies of ±0.069 kPa and ±0.344 kPa. Boreholes were backfilled above transducers first with ~0.3 m of material obtained during boring followed by bentonite granules to the ground surface. Piezometers were installed at depths of 3.66 m and 6.07 m at the upper monitoring location, 3.95 m and 5.69 m at the middle monitoring location, and 2.62 and 3.66 m at the lower monitoring location. Landslide basal depths were identified at approximately 6.3 m, 7.9 m, and 3.6 m at the upper, middle, and lower monitoring locations, respectively. A 30.48-cm-long biaxial tilt sensor installed within PVC casing (slope inclinometer) was used to monitor landslide displacement at the lower monitoring location. The slope inclinometer has 0.003 mm displacement resolution and long-term displacement accuracy of ±0.23 mm. A vibrating-wire length sensor was installed in a borehole to measure near-surface vertical deformation at the middle monitoring location. This sensor measured length with 0.0375 mm resolution and ±0.15 mm accuracy. The sensor’s upper and lower ends were anchored within cement grout such that its length was measured over a depth range (at installation) of 0.20-1.72 m. All sensors contain thermistors and readings are temperature compensated, with the exception of the rain gauge. 
These data support a study described in Schulz, W.H., Smith, J.B., Wang, G., Jiang, Y., and Roering, J.J., 2018, Clayey landslide initiation and acceleration strongly modulated by soil swelling: Geophysical Research Letters, DOI:10.1002/2017GL076807.

Tags: california, engineering-geology, trinity-county, usgs-59767913e4b0ec1a4887871b
Organization: Department of the Interior