Slope processes and strength of material in silt rich ravines in Säterdalen, Sweden

Abstract: Slope processes are important to understand if we are to protect fragile environments. Every year slope development in weak soils put nearby infrastructure in risk zones of sliding and ravine erosion takes away field areal from farmers as they grow even larger. Many methods for doing a risk analysis of a slope and its soil are complicated and require a lot of equipment. A simple way to do a slope investigation is explained in this report, along with its advantages and disadvantages. The authors construct a shear ring, an apparatus to measure peak shear stress of soils before fracturing. LIDAR scanning of two small ravines are also made to illustrate how laser scanning can be used to accurately measure denudation in slopes. The results vary, the shear ring is mostly a success aside from errors caused by difficulty in taking representative samples and disturbance. Some of the laboratory work made to determine material properties fail at giving good results, often a result of bad samples or disturbance in the tests. The LIDAR is determined to be a good instrument when working with slope development.