Bren School OF ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENCE & MANAGEMENT

University of California, Santa Barbara

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presents

 

 

 

Dr. Richard Iverson

Hydrologist

US Geological Survey
Thursday, May 26th, 2005

4:00-6:00 p.m.

Seminar Room, 1424 Bren Hall

 

“Dynamics of debris flows and rock avalanches”

 

 

Debris flows and avalanches involve rapid, downslope motion of diverse solid-fluid mixtures, and pose significant hazards in diverse geological settings.  This lecture will emphasize experimental and theoretical investigations of both dry granular avalanches and water-saturated debris flows.  Both types of flows behave partly as fluid-mechanical phenomena, but each type of flow exhibits distinctive, non-fluid properties that result from grain-contact friction.  A multidimensional model based on a generalization of standard depth-integrated equations of motion yields good predictions of the behavior of both wet and dry flows, provided that the effects of fluid pressure and grain-contact stresses are represented adequately.

 

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Projects/MassMovement

 

Hosted by Tom Dunne & UCSB Geological Sciences