Landslide-susceptibility Analysis, Mapping and Validation in the Bălăcița Piedmont (South-West Romania)

This work presents the results of applying the GIS matrix method (GMM) to the mapping and validation of landslide-susceptibility analysis in different sectors of the Bălăciţa Piedmont. The main objective of the paper concerns the achievement of landslide-susceptibility maps based on the inventory, classification and description of the landslides within the study area. The starting point was represented by the DEM and, subsequently, based on the lithological data, other determinant factors were analyzed and reclassified in a vectorial format: slope angle, slope elevation and slope aspect. After the factors that determine instability were identified for each type of mechanism, susceptibility maps were drawn. In the resulting landslide-susceptibility map a model for the validation is presented (based on the determination and calculation of a set of landslides not included in the susceptibility analysis). The landslide-susceptibility maps of the Bălăciţa Piedmont are preventive tools intended to minimize risks in the threatened areas, especially near the settlements that are located on the left slope of the Jiu river and witness the reactivation of old landslides.