Research Project / Research Group Description:
Every year, landslides cause fatalities and destruction worldwide. Nevertheless, answering to the questions where, what triggers and when they will occur it is normally difficult, due to the complexity of these natural phenomena.
Due to limited financial resources for slope stabilization, the most frequent and effective option for landslide risk mitigation is monitoring. Normally, it is performed by measuring surface deformation, using geodetic technics, and quantifying variations in the subsurface using localized boreholes; for example, by measuring displacements in a vertical profile, using inclinometers, or fluctuations in the water table, using piezometers. Although, these kind monitoring technics are spatially limited to localized points, such as geodetic benchmarks or boreholes.
The aim of this project is to apply and demonstrate, on active damaging landslides at the Azores Archipelago, the advantages of geophysical methods, namely seismic and geoelectrical, and how they can improve the knowledge about slope dynamics, when combined with more localized geodetic, geotechnical and meteorological monitoring techniques. Seismic and geoelectrical methods can be used to evaluate subsurface properties in 2D and 3D, namely rock/soil properties and moisture, but also evaluating how they change over time in wider areas and with higher spatial resolution, when compared with isolated point sources of information.
Water content variations modify the acting strains on the subsurface, which leads to destabilization and, when a critical threshold is exceeded, to slope failure. Comparing data collected over time, it is possible to make inferences about the destabilizing processes, anticipating the behaviour of the landslides and trying to predict their dynamics.
The ultimate challenge of project is to identify precursory conditions to slope failure and develop geophysical thresholds to early-warning approaches, in both spatial and temporal domains in near-real time assessment.
Job position description:
The candidate will be integrated in the IVAR’s scientific unit of Landslides and Floods. This unit is directed towards the landslides and floods risk assessment, monitoring and early-warning system development for risk management and mitigation. The main objectives of this research unit are the characterization of spatial and temporal incidence of historical landslide and flood events and their impacts; the development and improvement of landslide and flood hazard algorithms; the assessment of landslide and flood risk; the characterization of physical, mechanical and hydrological properties of materials for deterministic slope stability analysis; the design, development and improvement of landslide and flood monitoring networks and early-warning systems; and to provide technical and scientific support to civil protection and governmental authorities and public awareness.
Candidates should have a master's degree in geophysics, engineering, geoscience or similar field. Candidates are expected to travel to national and international scientific meetings to present research results, and to publish 2-3 papers in leading scientific journals during the PhD.
The following characteristics are advantages to job: