Evaluation of the Complex Kinematic Failure Mechanisms Along Mudurnu Valley, Bolu, Turkey through the Utilization of UAV

Rock slopes can cause severe failures and they are crucial in characterizing rock masses realistically in order to overcome natural hazards. Mudurnu County, which is settled in a steep valley presents a case for regional rock instability problems. Instabilities of rock masses along the valley are triggered by topography, weathering, man-made and earthquake activities. Discontinuous limestone located at the west side of the Mudurnu valley is susceptible to complex kinematic failures resulting from the combination of kinematic failure (i.e., planar, wedge, toppling). These instabilities tend to create important hazard zones and generate regional risk. The purpose of this study is to define the possible modes of failure for discontinuous limestone units along the valley. However, many problematic locations are inaccessible due to the quite wide and highly steep nature of the valley. In order to overcome this problem, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been used and digital images of the valley were scanned. Later, these images have been compared with the information gained by the scan-line field studies and have been used to define the mode of failure and zones along the valley. Consequently, the west side of the valley has been examined and remediation measurement studies have been proposed.