{
  "abstract": "On 4 September 2024, a sudden loess landslide occurred in Henagou Village, Qinghai Province, China, after 19 h of rainfall (44.9 mm), causing three fatalities and one injury. Field investigation revealed that pre-existing sinkholes and their connected subsurface seepage pathways played a key role in slope failure. Rainwater was preferentially captured by sinkholes and rapidly conveyed toward the weak band, where wetting-induced softening and pore-water-pressure increase significantly reduced slope stability. To clarify this process, we combined field surveys, double-ring infiltration tests, laboratory shear tests, and FLAC3D hydro-mechanical simulations. The results show that sinkholes acted as efficient preferential-flow conduits, accelerating infiltration and promoting localized pore-pressure build-up along the weak band. This led to concentrated shear-strain development and rapid displacement growth, with the simulated initiation time reaching 18.8 h after the onset of rainfall. Comparative simulations further indicate that sinkhole-assisted seepage substantially shortened the pre-failure period relative to the case without sinkholes. The study highlights the critical role of sinkhole-controlled preferential seepage in rainfall-induced loess landslides and provides a useful basis for hazard recognition and risk assessment in similar loess regions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Qinghai Geological Survey Institute",
    "Badong National Observation and Research Station of Geohazards, China University of Geosciences",
    "East China Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd. of China Power Engineering Consulting Group",
    "China Railway Bridge Science Research Institute Co., Ltd."
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shengshun Cai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Xuan Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ruyi Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qinwen Tan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mengshuang Huang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Meng Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shandong Bao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Yanzhe Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Linhu Wu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1vy4te8e3aq1a.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-63102-0",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63102-0",
  "id": "1vy4te8e3aq1a",
  "issns": [
    "2045-2322"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63102-0",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "Q"
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      "lcc",
      "R"
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    [
      "openalex",
      "2308|Landslides and related hazards"
    ]
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  "openalex": "W7169770222",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-63102-0_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1vy4te8e3aq1a.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:45:53Z",
      "native_id": "8edc9a2454dc4e60bdbce9b8085eae2d",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63102-0"
    }
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2308|Landslides and related hazards",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Investigations on the initiation mechanism of rainfall-induced loess landslides driven by sinkhole-assisted seepage: a case study in Qinghai, China",
  "title_text": "Investigations on the initiation mechanism of rainfall-induced loess landslides driven by sinkhole-assisted seepage: a case study in Qinghai, China",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:45:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1vy4te8e3aq1a",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
  "versions": []
}