What are the damaging effects of soil creep?
The effects of soil creep can be seen on the landscape. Fences and trees bend downhill in the direction of the soil movement. Telegraph poles also tilt. As the soil moves downhill it causes walls to bulge and eventually collapse.
What happens during soil creep?
Soil creep, deterioration of the surface by the formation of soil pipes, erosion at the bottom of the slope, or minute slides destabilize the slope. Plant roots may stabilize the slope. Soil fallen from the upper slope accumulates on some valley slopes, but the slopes do not slide.
Why are the tree trunks bent in soil creep?
Curves in tree trunks indicate creep because the base of the tree is moving downslope while the top is trying to grow straight up (figure 2). Tilted telephone or power company poles are also signs of creep.
What happens when a landslide or soil creep occurs?
Soil Creep This allows soil particles to move over each other and the underlying rock. Eventually, the movement of soil tilts fences, posts and even trees. Soil accumulates behind walls and other obstacles and also at the foot of slopes. Cracks appear in roads in areas where soil creep is taking place.
What are the impacts of creep?
Effects of Creep on Concrete and Reinforced Concrete In reinforced concrete beams, creep increases the deflection with time and may be a critical consideration in design. In eccentrically loaded columns, creep increases the deflection and can load to buckling.
What is creep erosion?
creep, in geology, slow downslope movement of particles that occurs on every slope covered with loose, weathered material. Even soil covered with close-knit sod creeps downslope, as indicated by slow but persistent tilting of trees, poles, gravestones, and other objects set into the ground on hillsides.
What is creep slope failure?
These results indicate that soil creep and slope failure act as infilling and evacuating processes of the zero order basin with differing intensities depending on slope form: soil creep removes soil materials from the nose and deposits them in the hollow, whereas slope failure removes materials from the side-slope and …
How can the effects of soil creep be reduced?
Cover exposed soil with a variety of plants — trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals — to create a barrier that stops soil movement from both wind and water. The plants’ roots will hold the soil in place, as well. Lay mulch or stone between plants to provide additional coverage of exposed dirt.
What is creep damage?
Creep damage occurs in metals and alloys after prolonged exposure to stress at elevated temperatures. It is usually associated with the tertiary stage of creep, and brings about the onset of creep failure. During creep, the cavities increase in number and size.
What is soil creep?
Soil creep defines the slow mass wasting process of soil on a slope, under the influence of gravity (Source: Glossary of Soil Science terms, Soil Science Society of America). It was also stated that the majority of rates of solifluction affected soil movement down to 50 cm of depth.
What causes trees to grow with a bend?
Tree trunks are often curved as a result of external factors including catastrophic events, the availability of light, and soil creep. Sharp curves in tree trunks are usually the result of catastrophic events, but snow/ice pressure may cause trees to bow with gentle curves.
What does soil creep mean in soil science?
Soil creep defines the slow mass wasting process of soil on a slope, under the influence of gravity (Source: Glossary of Soil Science terms, Soil Science Society of America). Saunders and Young (1983) listed various rates of soil creep in mm yr −1, referring to the downslope movement of soil particles near the soil surface.
How is convexity of slope related to soil creep?
Convexity of slope is the rule for shoulder positions. Surface runoff is maximized in this element resulting in a highly erosional and relatively unstable surface. Depending on the degree of slope, lateral movement of surface material ( soil creep) may become an important process on this part of the landscape.
What kind of trees are affected by soil creep?
Small, flattened, sometimes bonsai-like trees display curved trunks due to soil creep on steep slopes. They occur clumped together in an almost impenetrable setting.
How can slope creep cause damage to a home?
Slope creep usually happens very slowly and can be difficult and expensive to stop or correct and it’s one of the more powerful forces that cause damage to homes. It, like earthquakes, landslides, tornadoes, and hurricanes can cause tremendous damage to a home, except that slope creep does it very slowly, rather than in a matter of minutes.