Gis-Based Approaches To Slope Stability Analysis And Earthquake -Induced Landslide Hazard Zonation

Abstract

This dissertation presents newly developed GIS-based deterministic and probabilistic approaches for slope stability analysis and earthquake-induced landslide hazard zonation. The described approaches combine numerical slope stability analysis with GIS spatial analysis to evaluate earthquake-induced slope failures, both shallow and deep-seated. The study has four major research components. The first component is a GIS-based procedure which was developed based on one-, two-, and three-dimensional (1D, 2D, and 3D) deterministic approaches to slope stability analysis and landslide hazard zonation. Slope stability methods in the GIS-based procedure included the infinite slope model, the block sliding model, the ordinary method of slices, the Bishop simplified method, and the Hovland's column method. The second component focuses on causative factors analysis of earthquake-induced landslide hazards. This component also discusses the determination of peak ground acceleration for slope stability analysis. The third component consists of an evaluation of the topographic effect of ground motion and the seismic response in the Balsamo Ridge area in Nueva San Salvador. The fourth component is concerned with the regional and site-specific landslide hazard zonation, using newly developed models for landslide hazard assessment in Nueva San Salvador. The slope stability and landslide susceptibility were mapped in terms of slope stability index (factor of safety, critical acceleration, Newmark displacement, failure probability, and reliability index). The landslides triggered by an earthquake on January 13, 2001 in El Salvador provide a setting for the calibration of results from GIS-based approaches. The procedures developed in this research proved to be feasible and cost-effective for slope stability analysis and earthquake-induced landslide hazard zonation.