Anthropogenic landslides at transportation infrastructure ; Comprehensive analysis of susceptibility, vulnerability, triggers and risk perception for a better understanding of the anthropogenic role in natural hazards in Lower Saxony, Central Germany

The advancing industrialization in Central Europe in the 19th resulted in growing populations and growing demands for transportation infrastructure. Since 1890, the road network of interregional roads almost doubled until today. To minimize construction efforts in regions of high relief, roads were constructed and broadened tracing river valleys. Road cuts have been created by rock blasting or material removal by hand. Then, the removed material was used to broaden the exterior slope in order to create a leveled road surface. Simultaneously with the establishment of modern road construction in the middle of the 18th century, the first landslides were reported at road infrastructure which are closely linked to the road construction practices. In addition, the flourishing industrialization in Central Europe resulted in the realization of artificial waterways like the Mittelland canal connecting the Rhine trading area with the Elbe trading area. While the construction of the western canal branch remained unproblematic, the continuation of the canal between Hanover in the west and the Elbe River in the east resulted in construction-related landslides, especially in the first half of the 20th century. Until today, at least 30% of the registered landslides in southern Lower Saxony are linked to anthropogenic influences. With an ongoing growth of local urban centers and increasing percentages of impervious surfaces, the number of anthropogenic landslides tends to increase, regardless of future climate trends. Based on historical landslide data, several aspects of anthropogenic interactions considering landslides at transportation infrastructure were analyzed implying different approaches (i.e., descriptive and bivariate statistics as well as empirical analysis). The results have been published as three separate contributions in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The articles are entitled "Case histories for the investigation of landslide repair and mitigation measures in NW Germany", "Analysis of historical data for a ...