Manodisciplines Applied to Understand the Complexity of Mudstones and its Links with the Instability of Slopes: Interrelationships between Endogenous and Exogenous Contributing Factors, Weathering Agents & Dynamics, Next to other Environmental Considerations

The Mudstones – in spanish ‘lodolitas or fangolitas’, so called in Ibero and Suramérica – are natural materials conformed up of the subclasses silt and clay, or their combinations, which usually also include the sand grain size, fine to very fine; are overconsolidated rocks, from an geotechnical point of view. These sediments can be evaluated both by classical methods and instrumental analysis techniques, revealing unknown and important variables in the genesis of wide and acute processes that compromise the Crust, object of study of modern geodynamics exogenous. While it is true that the problems in clay shales (mudstones) date back many years, it was only from the early 1960’s that they were extensively studied [1].

The marine rocks (Paja Formation, Kip: stratigraphic symbol) are specifically addressed: never in a state of equilibrium (apparent, or quasistatic); on the contrary, in addition to their clear 3D anisotropy, they possess great hydrobiogeochemical reactivity and produce geomorphological problems. These contributing factors, inherent or causal – not only internal but external – are of great interest in the studies or slopes and cuts hazard zoning [2-4], direct object of the author’s doctoral research for the comprehensive detailed mapping of susceptibility to mass movements (onwards MM) in urban settings [5].

Keywords: Andean mudstones; Materials science and engineering; Landslides; Quantitative geomorphology; Urban geology; Environment & risk