Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering for Protection and Development of

Environment and Constructions – Silvestri & Moraci (Eds)

© 2019 Associazione Geotecnica Italiana, Rome, Italy, ISBN 978-0-367-14328-2

Characterization of loess deposits relevant to seismic landslides,

liquefaction and seismic subsidence

L. Wang, X. Pu & J. Chen

Lanzhou Institute of Seismology, China Earthquake Administration, Lanzhou, China
Key Lab for Loess Earthquake Engineering, China Earthquake Administration, Lanzhou, China

ABSTRACT: Loess is a kind of special soil with porous structure and weak cohesion,
which widely deposits in China with an area of 640,000 km2. Especially, it deposits in
the Loess Plateau in China with an area of 440,000km2 and a thickness ranging from
tens meters to more than 500 meters, where is a region with the biggest thickness and
the most complicated topography of loess deposit in the globe. On the other hand, the
Loess Plateau is a strong earthquake-prone region, where 20 events of Ms=7.0-7.9 and 7
events of Ms≥8.0 occurred in history. These earthquakes killed more than 1.4 million
people in the region. The field investigation shown that a large scale of landslides, lique-
faction and seismic subsidence should be responsible for so large casualties. In this
paper, the authors characterized loess deposits relevant to seismic landslides, liquefaction
and seismic subsidence with its stratum age, topography, microstructure, gradation,
physical parameters and dynamic parameters.

1 INTRODUCTION

Loess is a kind of porous, weakly cemented Quaternary sediment with a color of grayish
yellow, brownish yellow or even brownish red. Loess is mainly composed of powder particles
and has uniform texture and development vertical joint. It is widely distributed in Asia,
Europe, North America and South America, with an area of about 1.3 × 107 km2, accounting
for 9.8% of the total land area of the Earth. China has the loess region with the widest area,
the thickest soil layer and the most complex topography in the world. There are two main
landforms in China: loess plateau and loess basin, with a total distribution area of 640,000
km2, accounting for about 6.6% of China‘s total land area, and accounting for 4.9% of the
world‘s loess area.
The Loess Plateau is the main loess distribution area of China, and is also the most
developed area of loess in the world. There are different theories about the origin of
loess, such as aeolain deposit theory, water-formed deposit theory and multi-genesis
theory, but it is generally believed that the typical loess is mainly aeolian loess. Since
Quaternary, the dust sedimentation and running water erosion have formed the unique
landform of the Loess Plateau, which major landform types includes loess tableland,
loess ridge, hillock, valley terrace and so on (Figure 1). The Loess Plateau covers an
area of about 440,000 km2, which starts from Taihang mountains in the east to Wush-
aoling mountains in the west, and from Qinling mountains in the south to the Great
Wall in the north, and mainly involves six provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qing-
hai, Ningxia, and Henan. The Loess Plateau is a strong earthquake-prone area due to
the complex regional geological tectonic setting (Zhang,1999). By 2018, a total of 118
earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher were recorded in the history of the region,
including 86 earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 to 6.9, 25 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 to
7.9, and 7 earthquakes of magnitude 8 and above.

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Figure 1. Loess landform (Wang & Zhang, 1980)

The geotechnical disasters induced by earthquakes on the Loess Plateau extremely has
developed due to high dynamic vulnerability of loess and its complicated landforms. The
dynamic vulnerability of loess makes loess deposit to easily damage under dynamic load-
ing due to its porous microstructures and weak cohesion among soil particles. The com-
plicated landforms compose of slopes, stiff edges and thick deposit of tableland, high
terraces, hillocks and valleys, which easily lose its stability to develop landslides, seismic
subsidence and liquefaction-triggered soil flow under the effect of earthquakes. When
moderate or strong earthquakes occurred in the Loess Plateau and its surrounding
areas, extremely severe regional geotechnical hazards were induced, such as loess land-
slides, liquefaction, seismic subsidence, etc. According to statistics, these three kinds of
geotechnical hazards caused 1/3 to 1/2 of earthquake deaths toll. The characteristics of
loess deposits (topography, thickness, structure and mechanical properties, etc.) play an
important role in the scale, the type, and the degree of geotechnical hazards. However,
the characteristics of loess deposit not only have regional differences in spatial distribu-
tion, but also changes with depth at the same location due to its aeolian origin, particle
composition and the differences of loess sedimentary environment. Therefore, systematic-
ally studying the characteristics of loess deposits related to geotechnical earthquake dis-
asters is of great significance for predicting all kinds of geotechnical earthquake
disasters and then taking targeted seismic measures.

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Figure 2. Active tectonics and epicenter distribution on the Loess Plateau

2 BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF LOESS DEPOSITS

2.1 Age of loess deposit

According to the age of formation, loess deposit can be divided into early Pleistocene
loess (Q1, Wucheng loess), Middle Pleistocene loess (Q2, Lishi loess), and late Pleisto-
cene loess (Q3. Malan Loess) and Holocene modern loess (Q4). Take an actual loess
profile of Heimugou as example (Figure 3), as the elevation increase, four types of
loess which formed in different ages and the mudstone which represented with ‘N’ in
the figure are involved.
The Early Pleistocene loess (Q1) is formed between 1.2 million and 700,000 years ago,
mainly distributes in the high terrace, loess tableland and loess platform. It is mostly brown,
orange or brown red silty soil with multi-layer paleosol and calcareous concretion. The
thickness of the Q1 loess varies from 40 to 100 meters. It is relatively thick and is roughly
equivalent to the semi-rock stratum, which plays a stable role in the seismic performance of
the site.
The Middle Pleistocene loess (Q2) is formed between 700000 years and 100000 years
ago, it also distributes in the high terrace, loess tableland and loess platform and the
structure are relatively dense. It contains multi-layered paleosol and calcareous concre-
tion layers. The total thickness varies from 50 to 70 meters. It belongs to medium hard
soil and Q2 loess layers is basically stable. However, due to larger thickness of loess
layer, the overall stiffness of the soil layer is weakened, so that the low-frequency com-
ponent of the strong ground motion is remarkably amplified, which affects the regional
distribution of the earthquake damage.
The Late Pleistocene loess (Q3) is formed 100000 years to 5000 years ago, and has a wide
distribution area, although its thickness ranges from a few meters to 30 meters. However, due
to its loose structure and vertical joints development, it has a great impact on the earthquake
damage. The aggravation of earthquake damage and the failure of foundation are directly

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Figure 3. Typical Loess Profile in Heimugou, Luochuan, Shaanxi Province (Teng, 1990)

related to this layer. The influence on seismic ground motion is shown in magnifying ground
motion, changing spectrum components and so on.
The Holocene loess (Q4) is formed 5000 years ago, mostly distributed in big valleys, cover-
ing the surface of the valley, second bottom and second stage terrace or new alluvial fans. It is
generally called loessial soil. The thickness of Q4 loess layer is uncertain, but rarely more than
5m. Its physical and mechanical properties are complex and changeable, belongs to the soil
layer with poor seismic performance.

2.2 Regional distribution of loess deposits

The regional characteristics of the loess distribution can be roughly divided into three areas.
Figure 4 shows the loess microstructure of three areas. Table 1 shows the particles compos-
ition of difference regions. From west to east, the sand particle and silt particle gradually
decreasing, whereas clay particle gradually increasing. Figure 5 shows the specific range of
three region of Loess Plateau: ①Western region - located between Wushaoling mountains
and Liupan mountains. The underlying strata of the loess in this area are mainly the Gansu
group of the Tertiary. Because of the uplift of strata in this area, several mountain systems
are formed. The loess is distributed in intermountain basin, mountainous slopes and high
terraces. The area is mainly covered by new loess deposits, and the thinner old loess layer is

Figure 4. Loess microstructure of different regions.

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 Table 1. Loess Particles Composition of difference regions
Sampling
location Sand particle Silt particle Clay particle

Western Region 10.94 70.92 18.14

Central Region 8.7 65.45 25.75
Eastern Region 3.8 67.1 29.10

Figure 5. Geomorphological zoning map of the Loess Plateau (Teng, 1990)

buried under the new loess; ②Central region - Located between Liupan Mountains and
Luliang Mountains, loess forms a continuous covering layers in this area, filling most of the
original valleys and basins, only a few deep valleys have outcropping bedrock. In some
areas, loess is more than 100 meters deep, the stratum is intact, and the loess deposits of
different periods is in parallel contact, and the paleosol and loess alternately overlap;
③Eastern region - located between Luliang Mountains and Taihang Mountains, the moun-
tains and basins in this area is obviously contrasted. The loess covers the edge of basins and
river terraces, some of the watersheds between the basins are also covered with thin loess
layers.

2.3 Characteristics of deposit structure and thickness in different geomorphic units

The thickness and structure of loess deposit depend on the regional characteristics of loess dis-
tribution and its geomorphologic conditions (Figure 6). Loess tableland (or platform), loess
ridge or hillock, valley terrace and loess basin are the main types of landforms in Loess Plat-
eau, they control the thickness and structure of loess covering area.

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Figure 6. Borehole profiles of different regions in Loess Plateau (Teng, 1996)

2.3.1 Valley area

Since many cities are located in river valley basins, the site conditions on river terraces are of
great significance for urban earthquake prevention and disaster mitigation. Most valley-type
cities on the Loess Plateau have terraces above four levels (Figure 7). The common features of
the terraces at all levels are: (1) they have all the pedestal terraces, the pedestals are mainly
composed of bedrock and Q1 gravel layer, the terrace deposits are a binary structure, the
lower part is the gravel layer of the riverbed phase, and the upper part is the loessial sediment.
(2) The terraces above the third stage terrace are generally covered by aeolian loess. (3) The
older the terrace is, the larger the thickness of loess deposit is, and the higher the terrace sur-
face and base surface are. The thickness of loess varies greatly with different terraces. The low
terraces are generally 5-20m, and 30m in the eastern Gansu and northern Shaanxi, which is
mainly Q3 and Q4 loess deposits. Most of the high terraces are above 30m thick, and the third
stage terrace are sometimes distributed with Q2 loess, sometimes missing, and Q1 loess is gen-
erally visible above IV terraces.

2.3.2 Loess tableland, ridge and hillock areas

In loess tableland, ridge and hillock areas, the stratum of loess is fully developed, newer loess
covers older loess. The thickness of loess is large, and the soil layers in different regions are
basically the same. Among them, the middle Pleistocene (Q2) loess layer is relatively stable in

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Figure 7. The typical profiles on terraces of valleys in the loess area (Ding & Li, 1980).

thickness and less limited by landform. For loess tableland, the loess layer is relatively thick.
Many large loess tableland in the eastern Gansu and Baoji areas have a thickness of more
than 100 meters. The thickness of the loess layer covering ridge and hillock is closely relevant
to its shape and size. Generally, the cover layer thickness of loess hillock is relatively thicker
than that of loess ridge.

2.3.3 Intermountain basin area

The loess strata are underdeveloped, and the thickness of loess deposits varies greatly. Gener-
ally, it is only tens meters, and the composition is complex. There are erosion surfaces between
the strata with different ages. Loess usually covers directly on mountains and valleys. The
area where people lived has been strongly changed in the later period.

2.4 Regional distribution of loess dynamic parameters

Because of the different geographical location, climatic characteristics and natural geograph-
ical environment in the loess distribution areas, the loess has its regional characteristics in for-
mation conditions, diagenetic degree and evolution process. The microstructures and
mechanical properties of loess vary from place to place. The influence of many factors such as
topography, geological age, and human production, engineering activities and urbanization
will change the characteristics of loess. These factors also affect the regional distribution of
loess dynamic parameters.
The data in the Table 2 are the mean values of physical and mechanical parameters of soil
samples at 5 meters underground in different regions of the Loess Plateau, γd is dry density, e
is void ratio, E0 is initial modulus, Ed is dynamic modulus when strain is 10-3 under dynamic
loading and D is damping ratio. From west to east, dry density and modulus increase grad-
ually, void ratio and damping ratio decrease gradually. The physical and mechanical param-
eters of loess has a regional distribution law. The microstructure of the western region is
granular scaffold structure, while the microstructure of the eastern region is flocculated

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 Table 2. Dynamic parameters of loess (Zhang, 1999)
Sampling γd/ E0 Ed
location (kN/m3) e MPa MPa D

Western Region 12.25 1.17 68.6 39.3 0.16

Central Region 12.8 1.09 94.9 55.5 0.13
Eastern Region 13.09 1.03 101.7 60.7 0.11

mosaic structure, the microstructure of the central region is the transition type of the above
two microstructures. It is the regional difference of microstructure that is the internal cause of
the difference of loess physical and mechanical parameters.

3 CHARACTERIZATION OF LOESS DEPOSITS RELEVANT

TO SEISMIC-INDUCED LANDSLIDE

Loess landslides triggered by earthquakes always caused a prominent geological disaster in

the loess area of China. The landslides induced by great earthquakes in the loess area are usu-
ally densely distributed. The scale and quantity are often enough to change the landscape of
the whole region. Earthquake-induced loess landslides are characterized by distribution with
high density, large scale, fast sliding speed and long sliding distance, which are very harmful
and destructive (Figure 8). In Figure 8, the yellow dashed lines are contour lines of back walls,
right edges and left edges, which are recognized by stiff scarfs and boundaries between undis-
turbed deposit and disturbed soil mass. The yellow arrows denote the direction of the main
movement of sliding soil.

3. 1 Regional distribution characteristics of earthquake-induced landslides in Loess Plateau

Figure 9 shows the distribution of large landslides caused by the historical great earthquakes
with magnitude of 7.5 and greater in the Loess Plateau in China from. According to records
and field investigations, thousands of large-scale landslides were induced by the earthquakes
in the Loess Plateau. The major great earthquakes which induced large scale loess landslides

Figure 8. Loess landslide induced by earthquakes; a. Loess landslide in Tongwei town induced by the
Tongwei 7.8 earthquake in 1718; b. Landslide groups induced by the Haiyuan 8.5 earthquake in 1920.

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Figure 9. Distribution of loess landslides induced by the large earthquakes of M≥7.5.

are the Hongtong 8.0 earthquake in 1303, the Huaxian 8.0 Earthquake in 1556, the Tianshui
8.0 earthquake in 1654, the Linfen 8.0 earthquake in 1695, theTongwei 7.8 earthquake in 1718
and the Haiyuan 8.5 earthquake in 1920, and the Guliang 8.0 earthquake in 1927. In recent
years, strong earthquake also induced a large number of landslides in the Loess Plateau. For
example, the Minxian-Zhangxian 6.6 earthquake in 2013 induced more than 600 loess land-
slides in the region.

3.2 Main types of seismic loess landslides

Seismic landslides in loess area may be divided into loess layer landslide, loess-bedrock inter-
face landslides and loess-bedrock landslides according to material composition and location
of sliding surface based on the field investigation to nearly one hundred of earthquake land-
slides (Figure 10). Landslides in the loess layer mainly developed in the interior of the loess
deposits composed of Q3 and Q4 loess (Figure 10 (a)). Generally, the loess deposit is thicker,
but the thickness of sliding soil mass is only several meters. This kind of landslides accounts
for a half of the seismic loess landslides. The sliding surface of loess-bedrock landslide is the
interface between loess deposit and underlying bedrock, accounting for 40% (Figure 10 (b)).
The sliding surface of loess-bedrock landslide passes through both loess deposits and its
underlying sandy mudstone, accounting for 9.5% (Figure 10 (c)).

3.3 The relationship between seismic loess landslides and active faults
In China, the loess plateau is also the large earthquake-prone area with strong modern tectonic
activities. The western region of Liupan Mountain in Loess Plateau is located in the northern
part of the north-south seismic zone, which provides an inducing source for the occurrence of
earthquake landslides (Zou & Shao, 1980). The spatial distribution of loess seismic landslides is
controlled by the seismogenic fault nature and the fault dislocation mode. The main spatial dis-
tribution direction of seismic landslides is basically the same as that of seismogenic faults. The
maximum distance (Df) between a fault and the dense area of landslides with different magni-
tudes (Ms) may be estimated based on the follow formula according to Wang (2003):

lgDf ¼ 16:13lgMs  12:624 ð1Þ

3.4 Relationship between seismic loess landslide and seismic intensity

In China, the destructive effect of earthquake be evaluated by the intensity which been divided
into I~XII based on the value of peak ground acceleration (PGA). Intensity VI with PGA

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Figure 10. The types of loess landslide; a. loess layer landslide; b. loess-bedrock interface landslide; c.
loess-bedrock landslide; d. Proportion of Three Types of Landslides (Wang & Wang, 2013).

scale 0.45~0.89m/s2, intensity VII with PGA scale 0.90~1.77m/s2, intensity VIII with PGA
scale 1.78~3.53m/s2, intensity IX with PGA scale 3.54~7.07m/s2. According to field investiga-
tion, a small-scale of loess earthquake landslides can be found in the loess area with intensity
VII. The number of landslides increases significantly in the area with intensity VIII or above
VIII (Figure 9), and extremely serious regional loess earthquake landslides will develop. For
example, landslides densely distributed in the loess area with intensity VII and above VII and
the total area of landslides up to 4000～5000 km2 during the Haiyuan earthquake in 1920.

3.5 Geomorphological characteristics of seismic loess landslide

Most loess landslides induced by earthquakes developed on the edge of loess tableland, ridge
and hillock slope and terrace margin (Sun, 1997), especially, on the slopes of loess ridges, hil-
lock and gullies, where favorable conditions were provided for the development of landslides.
In theory, the larger the relative height is, the more likely landslides are to develop. How-
ever, in statistics, it is found that seismic loess landslide is easily triggered when the relative
height is between 50 and 250 m (Figure 11). Relative height is the distance between peak of
slope and ground. When the surface of slope is irregular, the slope height can also be deter-
mined by measure the distance between slope peak and ground. Slope angle is also one of the
main internal factors controlling the occurrence of landslides. As shown in Figure 9, the aver-
age slope angle of seismic landslides mainly distributes in the range of 10°~25°.

4 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIQUEFIED LOESS DEPOSITS

Recent studies have shown that loess has a large liquefaction potential and long-distance flow
potential. When the water content in the soil layer is high, liquefaction or flow will be trig-
gered under a certain ground motion, which will cause the construction site to sink and the
muddy or soil flow in the hilly area. The previous laboratory tests have proved the high poten-
tial of liquefaction and flow failure of loess deposit (Wang, 2000, Wang, 2003).

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Figure 11. Statistical relationship between seismic loess landslides and their influencing factors; (a) seis-
mic intensity; (b) relative height; (c) slope angle

Based on the field investigation of the liquefaction and slippage of Shibeiyuan induced by the
Haiyuan 8.5 earthquake in 1920, it was found that the liquefaction of Shibeiyuan occurred in
the relatively complete Q3 Malan loess layer on the second and third terraces of the Qingshui
River (Figure 12).The depth of the water table of the second terrace is 5-10 m, and the water
table of the third terrace is 10-20 m. In addition, before the earthquake occurs, the groundwater
level rises to make the sandy loess and sand layer within the depth range of 10-16 m saturated.
The soil mass above the liquefied layer flowed forward for 1.5km on the gentle slope with a
slope of 2.5%, buried two large villages and killed more than 400 people. The second typical
case of liquefaction-triggered a mudflow with large scale occurred in Tajikistan, which devel-
oped on a nearly flat field of loess deposit (Q3) in a gentle hilly area (Figure 13) (Ishihara et al.
1990). In the years before the earthquake, the groundwater level was 5 m due to agricultural
irrigation, and the aeolian loess (Q3) in the depth range of 5-20 m below the ground surface was
saturated or supersaturated. The saturated loess deposit liquefied under a moderate-strong
earthquake of Ms5.5. The liquefaction-induced mudflow also buried a village and made more
than 200 people died. The above two liquefaction examples show that when liquefaction devel-
ops in flat plateau area or gentle slope area, there must be a saturated loess layer in a certain
extent of underground. Another serious case occurred during the Minxian-Zhangxian Ms6.6
earthquake in Gansu Province in 2013. A large number of landslides were triggered in loess
deposits by the earthquake. Among them, Yongguangcun mudflow slip forward for about 1 km
(Figure 14). The post-earthquake investigation show that the water content increased and shear
strength reduced dramatically in the loess layer on the slope surface because of continuous
heavy rain in one week before the earthquake. Liquefaction occurred in the surface of loess
slope under the effect of earthquake with an intensity of VIII degree. The liquefied loess layer
generated mudflow to bury Yongguang village and cause 12 people died.

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Figure 12. Profile of the liquefied loess area on Shibeiyuan (Bai, 1990)

Figure 13. Profile of liquefied area in Gissar, Tajikistan (Ishihara, 1990).

Figure 14. Liquefied mudflow triggered by the Minxian-Zhangxian M6.6 earthquake in Gansu Province
in 2013.

In order to evaluate liquefaction potential of loess sites, a SPT method is provided by the
authors based on a large number of SPT tests and dynamic triaxial tests on liquefaction of
loess sites. SPT(standard penetration test) is a method to determine the bearing capacity of
sand or clay foundation. STP method uses a certain hammer (weight 63.5 kg, drop distance 76
cm) to drive a certain size of open-pipe penetrator (outside diameter 51 mm, inside diameter
35 mm, length more than 457 mm, bottom end length 76 mm, edge angle 18 °~20 °) into the

380
soil at the bottom of the drilling hole, and distinguishes soil condition according to penetra-
tion impedance in the soil. STP method need to record the number of hammers per 10 cm
penetration and the cumulative number of hammers of 30 cm penetration which is blow
number of standard penetration, N. By the method, the critical blow number of standard
penetration on liquefaction, Ncr, may be evaluated from the formula (2) recommended by
Chinese code for seismic design of buildings (MOHURD, 2016).
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Ncr ¼ N0 β½lnð0:6ds þ 1:5Þ  0:1dw  3ρc ð2Þ

where β=adjusting coefficient, which takes 0.8, 0.95, 1.05 respectively for the design charac-
teristic period of group I, II, and III, which is respectively 0.35s, 0.40s,and 0.45s at Site II
(hard site) ; ds=the depth of saturated soil at the standard penetration site (m) ; dw=underground
water table level (m) ; ρc =the percentage content of clay particles, which will be taken as 3 when
it is less than 3.
But the base value of blow number of standard penetration on loess liquefaction, N0, is not
provided in the code. The Authors proposed the values of No listed in Table 3. Adga in table 3
refer to design ground acceleration. It can be seen that when the design PGA is 0.1g, the SPT
base-values are same for loess and sand or silt. However, when the design PGA increases to 0.15g-
0.4g, all the SPT base-value of loess liquefaction are smaller than those of sand and silt liquefac-
tion. That is to say, saturated loess has higher liquefaction potential than saturated sand and silt.
Through dynamic triaxial tests, in-situ dynamic compaction treatments and measurements
of physical parameters of loess ground, the authors proposed the judging indexes of loess
liquefaction shown in Table 4. It can be seen that the loess sites with liquefaction potential
under the effect of earthquake intensity of VII-IX degree should have the following character-
istics. The loess stratum composes of Q22 , Q3 or Q4 loess layer; the saturated depth < 20m; dry
density < 1.65g/cm; medium void > 15%; water content of loess >plastic water content, Wp;
and clay content<12%, 15%, 18% respectively corresponding to earthquake intensity of VII,
VIII, and IX degree.
The shear wave velocity of soil layers in different ages was measured in the original loess section
of Jiuzhoutai and Wuquanshan in Lanzhou. At the same time, dynamic triaxial liquefaction tests
were carried out on saturated samples of undisturbed loess sample with different ages in the same
section. Table 5 presents the measured and tested results. It can be seen that and Q1 loess does not
have a liquefaction potential, and Q22 , Q3 and Q4 loess could be liquefied under a certain intensity
of ground motion. The maximum shear wave velocity of the liquefied loess layer is about 380 m/s.

Table 3. The base-value of SPT blow number for liquefaction evaluation

Adga 0.1 0.15 0.20 0.30 0.40

Loess 7 8 9 11 13
Sandy-soil or Silty-soil 7 10 12 16 19

Table 4. Judging indexes of loess liquefaction under the effect of earthquake intensity of IX or less
Saturated Water Dry Clay Peak
Depth content density content Medium void groud Inten-
Index Layer (m) (%) (g/cm3) (%) content acceleration sity

Discri-minant Q22 <20 >Wp <1.65 <12 >15% ≥100 ≥VII

value Q3 (VII)
Q4 <15
(VIII)
<18 (IX)

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5 CHARACTERISTICS OF LOESS DEPOSITS RELATED TO SEISMIC
SUBSIDENCE

The Huaxian 8.0 earthquake in 1556 in Shaanxi province caused 830,000 people died due to
poor seismic performance of local houses, very serious loessial disasters and fire in a large
region. Seismic subsidence developed for 2.5-4.0 meters in loess ground of Q3 and Q4 in
Weinan city, where is in the region with earthquake intensity of X degree and about 25km
away from the epicenter (Figure 15). The Haiyuan 8.5 earthquake in 1920 caused 270,000
people died in the loess area. In the areas with earthquake intensity of VIII degree, inhomo-
geneous seismic subsidence developed in the loess deposits of of Q3 and Q4 on the loess table-
land and terrains in Huining and Jingning counties as well as the other places. The subsidence
caused many ground fissures distributed vertically and horizontally in loess deposits, which
can be found even nowadays when the local people digs a cistern for storing water. In 1995, a
magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred in Yongdeng, Gansu province(Chen, 2000). According to
field investigation, the intensity of the extreme earthquake zone was VIII degree. Seismic sub-
sidence of 30-40cm also developed in loess deposits of Q3 and Q4.
Based dynamic triaxial tests on the loess sample of seismic subsidence area, the quantities of
seismic subsidence were calculated by the stratified summation method for the 20m thick loess
grounds in some cities of the western region and the central region of the Loess Plateau under
the effect of earthquakes intensity of VII, VIII and IX degree (Table 6). The maximum subsid-
ence in the western region and the central region are respectively 25cm, 52cm, 134.5 cm and
13.5cm, 25cm, 84cm corresponding to the intensity of VII, VIII, and IX degree. It is obvious
that the seismic subsidence in the western region is much larger than those in the central
region. This may be due to loess in the western region has bigger void ratio, weaker cohesion,
more sand and less clay content.
A series of indexes for judging seismic subsidence of loess grounds were proposed based on
dynamic triaxial tests, in-situ tests and measurements and field investigations. The indexes

Table 5. Characteristics of liquefaction potential and velocity of loess formed in different times
Shear velocity(Vs)/(m/s)
Deposit time
Age /million years ago Liquefaction potential Range Average value

Q2 <0.1 Yes 100～340 180

Q3 0.1 Yes 195～346 297
Q22 0.47～0.1 Yes 312～506 340
Q12 1.2～0.47 Yes 430～553 481
Q1 2.43～1.2 Yes 587～805 708

Figure 15. Seismic subsidence caused by The Huaxian 8.0 earthquake in 1556; (a) Ground deformation
in Huaxian county; (b) Seismic subsidence of 1m in Gulou, Weinan city.

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Table 6. The Maximum Seismic Subsidence of Loess Grounds in Different Regions
Max. seismic subsidence under different intensities (cm)
Calculating depth
Region /m VII VIII IX

Western region 20 5.9~25 34.5～52 133~134.5

Central region 20 1.2～13.5 10～25 55~84

involve deposit age, void ratio, dry density, water content and shear velocity. The seismic sub-
sidence usually develops in the Q3 and Q4 loess deposits. When its void ratio (e) is greater
than 0.8 or dry density is less than 1.62g/cm3, and water content is greater than Wp, or when
the shear wave velocity is less than 200 m/s, the loess may have the potential of seismic
subsidence.
The quantity of seismic subsidence is closely related to the thickness of Loess deposit of Q3
and Q4. The greater the thickness of loess deposit is, the greater the total seismic subsidence is.
Generally speaking for the western region, when the thickness H is less than 5 m, slight seismic
subsidence occurs. When the H ranges from 5m to 15m, a moderate seismic subsidence may
develop. When the H larger than 15 m, severe seismic subsidence may happen.
Seismic subsidence of loess varies with the regional characteristics of Loess properties.
The loess in the west of Liupanshan is generally called Longxi loess, of which micro-
structure is dominated by interparticle macro-pores. The loess in this area has a strong
self-weight collapsibility, small density, large porosity and significant seismic subsidence.
Loess in the east of the Liupanshan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi is mainly composed of coagu-
lated-particles mosaic micro-structure, which has more clay particles and stronger cohe-
sion among particles. Therefore, the seismic subsidence becomes smaller from the
western region to eastern region. It is obvious that the coefficient of seismic subsidence
in the western region is the biggest, middle in the central region and smallest in the east-
ern region (Table 7).

6 CONCLUSION

According to the age of Loess formation, from old to new strata, the deposit thickness
decreases gradually, the structural property weakens, and the seismic performance deteriorates
gradually. From the landform characteristics of the Loess Plateau, it can be divided into loess
tableland, ridge, hillock and valley terrace. As to the dynamic parameters, the dynamic elastic
modulus of loess from northwest to Southeast increases gradually, and the dynamic shear
strength parameters cd and φd change with the similar regional rule.
Seismic landslides mainly occur in loess ridge, hillock and edge of tableland in the west of
Liupan Mountain, where loess has interparticle macro-pores structure, higher void ration,
weaker cohesion, thicker deposit and poorer seismic performance. The sliding soil is domin-
ated by loess of Q4, Q3, and upper Q2. Liquefaction-triggered landslides may occur in satur-
ated loess deposit, in which water may come from rising of underground water, agricultural
irrigation water, rainfall and human activities.
Liquefaction may develop in saturated loess deposit of Q4, Q3, and Q22 in any kind of land-
form under the certain effect of earthquakes, which easily induces a long-distance mudflow or
soil flow in loess tablelands and slopes and a predominant settlement in the flat loess ground.
The liquefaction potential of loess may be preliminarily judged by the formation age, the sat-
urated depth, dry density, medium void, water content, clay content and shear velocity, and
further evaluated by SPT tests.
Seismic subsidence mainly develops in the loess deposits of Q3 and Q4 in any kind of land-
form. The coefficient of seismic subsidence of loess in the western region is the biggest, middle
in the central region and smallest in the eastern region. Seismic subsidence of loess may be

383
Table 7. Coefficient of seismic subsidence of undisturbed loess(εp)
Sampling
Sample depth Soil εP/%
location /m category γ/(kN/m3) γd/(kN/m3) w/% e σd=100kPa

Western 4.5~5.2 Loess 13.6~16.8 11.27~13.11 7.68~19.10 0.964~1.346 0.96~7.99

region (Q3)
Central 4.9～5.0 Loess 13.5~16.37 11.76~13.28 12.49~25.56 1.015~1.282 0.12~4.60
region (Q3)
Eastern 6.0 Loess 13.54~15.97 12.07~13.72 8.03~16.95 0.950~1.222 0.43~2.35
region (Q3)

preliminarily judged by void ratio, dry density, water content, and shear wave velocity, and
further evaluated by the thickness of Q3 and Q4 loess or dynamic triaxial test of seismic sub-
sidence. The maximum value of seismic subsidence of loess ground may be 25cm, 52cm and
135cm corresponding to seismic intensity of VII, VIII, and IX.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper is financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China

(No.51478444) and The Major Project for Innovation Base and Team Construction of Gansu
province (2018).

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