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Discussion: Numerical study on the entrainment of bed material into rapid landslides

Richard M. Iverson
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Abstract

A paper recently published in this journal (Pirulli & Pastor, 2012) uses numerical modelling to study the important problem of entrainment of bed material by landslides. Unfortunately, some of the basic equations employed in the study are flawed, because they violate the principle of linear momentum conservation. Similar errors exist in some other studies of entrainment, and the errors appear to stem from confusion about the role of bed-sediment inertia in differing frames of reference.

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Richard M. Iverson. 2013. Discussion: Numerical study on the entrainment of bed material into rapid landslides. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.12.d.007

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