A Numerical Model of the Subaerial Landslide Generated Waves of the Berkeley Pit

Abstract

Southwestern Montana has a very rich history because of its mining activities. Butte, home to the richest hill on earth, is no exception. Underground operations resulted in 10,000 miles of horizontal underground workings [1]. In 1950s the mining methods converted from underground to surface open-pit mining with the opening of the Berkeley Pit. In 1982 the pumps shut down and the Pit began receiving groundwater discharge. Slope instabilities along the Pit0s slopes result in occasional soil sloughs; in some instances, the sloughing generates a large enough volume of soil to propagate a wave across the Pit Lake. This is known as a landslide generated wave. This paper presents a numerical model that approximates the wave velocity and wave height of a landslide generated wave. The coupled model uses a simplified Navier-Stokes equation for wave velocity and the advection equation for wave height. The model successfully provides working boundary conditions; however, the instabilities of the numerical model inhibit verification of the model