Topography-fitted coordinate system -- An alternative of topography-fitted coordinates — unified coordinate system -- Entrainment and deposition at the basal surface -- Continuum mechanical models in a topography-fitted coordinate system -- Numerical examples and experimental validation -- Back-calculation of natural disaster events.

Geophysical mass flows, such as landslides, avalanches or debris flows, are frequent mass movement processes in mountain areas and often cause disastrous damage. This book lays a foundation for formulating the depth-averaged equations describing the shallow geophysical mass flows over non-trivial topography. It consists of the detailed derivation of the model equations. The stimulating numerical examples demonstrate how the proposed models are applied. All this make this book accessible to a wide variety of readers, especially senior undergraduate and graduate students of fluid mechanics, civil engineering, applied mathematics, engineering geology, geophysics or engineers who are responsible for hazard management.