Abstract:

On February 17, 2006, a massive rockslide occurred in Leyte, Philippines following heavy rainfall. This rockslide with debris materials of about 25 million m3 is considered to be one of the largest slides to have occurred in the last few decades. About 1300 persons were killed in the aftermath of the slide. The cause of the rockslide is not fully well understood in terms of geological, geomechanical, hydrological and seismological processes, and no conclusive triggering mechanisms have been proposed. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of the February 2006 Leyte rockslide, field study and distinct element modeling were performed. The field study consisted of geological and geotechnical investigations, remote sensing by digital photogrammetry and LIDAR, and interviews of slide survivors. The distinct element models used 3DEC (Three-Dimensional Distinct Element Code) and were established based on the results of the field survey of the landslide site and laboratory testing of materials from the landslide. Different loading mechanisms were tested in the simulations, and the results of the numerical modeling were compared with accounts made by slide survivors and observations made during a post-slide reconnaissance survey of the rockslide site.

Biography:

Prof. Marte Gutierrez is currently the James R. Paden Distinguished Chair Professor at the Division of Engineering of Colorado School of Mines (CSM). He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo, and completed his post-doctoral studies at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). Prior to joining CSM in 2008, he was Senior Engineer at NGI for nine years, and Associate Professor/Professor at Virginia Tech for eight years. His research interests include Computational and Experimental Geomechanics, Information Technologies for Geo-Engineering, and Geohazards.