Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Geological Engineering (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Advisor 1

John Gierke

Advisor 2

Thomas Oommen

Committee Member 1

Rudiger Escobar Wolf

Abstract

Residents of volcanic landscapes are vulnerable to eruptions and earthquakes where volcanism is active and landslides, lahars, and flooding regardless of activity. Ometepe Island is formed from a pair of volcanoes, one active and the other less so, located in Lake Nicaragua. Steep slopes and tropical storms yield frequent surface movement that present potential for large landslide and lahar/mud/debris-flow catastrophes. Climate and land-use changes exacerbate the hazard potential, but land-use changes continue unregulated and the area lacks a sufficient system of weather monitoring to understand variability across the two volcanic edifices over time. Over the 2016 year, weather stations located on Concepción and Maderas volcanoes collected detailed information about the climatic events occurring during that time. During that year, lahar events were observed and mapped. A forensic analysis of the shallow slope failure under observed climatic conditions was performed using the Transient Rainfall Infiltration Grid-Based Regional Slope Model. Analysis of this model allows for its use in forecasting for future large storm events, yielding a better understanding of climatic effects on slope stability.

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