Physical mechanism behind landslide frequency–size power-law exponent

Determine the underlying physical process that governs landslide frequency–size distributions and accounts for the purported global power-law exponent (a ≈ 2.3 ± 0.6), in order to enable the development of functional probabilistic multi-hazard assessment frameworks for landslide-related risks.

Background

Landslide size–frequency distributions are often modeled with power laws, analogous to other geophysical hazards. Studies report rollovers at small sizes and propose differing functional forms (e.g., double Pareto or inverse Gamma), while some suggest a universal power-law exponent for landslides.

Despite these empirical findings, the paper explicitly notes that the physical process underpinning the observed statistical regularities remains unknown, which hampers the implementation of robust, physics-grounded probabilistic multi-hazard assessment for landslides. Clarifying this mechanism is essential for reliable risk quantification and integration into multi-hazard frameworks.