Landslide susceptibility mapping using the Matrix Assessment Approach: a Derbyshire case study

Abstract Civil engineering schemes such as new highways and railway lines, regional planning and large-scale land-management projects in areas known to have a landslide problem require regional landslide susceptibility evaluation. The Matrix Assessment Approach (MAP) is introduced as a medium-scale landslide hazard mapping technique for establishing an index of slope stability over large areas. The method allows the relative landslide susceptibility to be computed over large areas using a discrete combination of geological/geomorphological parameters. MAP was applied to a region in the Peak District, Derbyshire. The model identified key geological/geomorphological parameters involved in deep-seated failures, provided an effective means of classifying the stability of slopes over a large area and successfully indicated sites of previously unmapped landslides. The resultant regional landslide susceptibility index provides useful preliminary information for use at the desk study and reconnaissance stages of large-scale civil engineering works such as highway construction.