RAPID: Seismic Monitoring of Post-Fire Debris Flows Associated with the Museum Fire, Northern Arizona

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项目编号	1946321
	RAPID: Seismic Monitoring of Post-Fire Debris Flows Associated with the Museum Fire, Northern Arizona
	Ryan Porter (Principal Investigator)
主持机构	Northern Arizona University
项目开始年	2019
	2019-09-01
项目结束日期	2020-08-31
资助机构	US-NSF
项目类别	Standard Grant
项目经费	39881(USD)
国家	美国
语种	英语
英文摘要	Within the western United States, the frequency and intensity of wildfires are increasing. When these events occur, they burn vegetation and bake the soil, which reduces the infiltration of precipitation into the ground and the stability of the land surface. Due to these effects on soil, wildfires are often followed by debris flows when precipitation events occur. These debris flows pose a major risk to human lives and property. A major wildfire, the Museum fire, is currently burning in the hills above the city of Flagstaff, located in northern Arizona. The scale and proximity of this fire to the city is likely characteristic of future wildfires in the western US. Within northern Arizona, much of the annual precipitation comes in the form of intense late-summer monsoonal rain storms, which are currently starting to occur across the region. Due to this combination of a recent wildfire and intense rain, debris flows and flooding are anticipated in parts of the city downslope from the fire. There is a growing body of research showing that seismometers can be used to monitor debris flows based on the vibrational energy they produce as they travel downslope. In this project, the investigators will deploy a network of seismometers in the vicinity of the Museum fire and downslope drainages to monitor and characterize debris flows originating from the burned region. These seismic observations will be combined with flow measurements in drainages, post-event surface observations, rain gauge data, and observations of downstream debris flow deposits to better understand how debris flows initiate and travel downslope. This work will also be used to assess the effectiveness of using seismic arrays as early warning systems for debris flows. Due to the increasing number of people living at the wildland-urban interface, the results of this work have important implications for protecting human lives and property from future natural disasters. This project will also support the training of graduate and undergraduate students. The combination of a recent major wildfire and the onset of seasonal monsoons make the mountains surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona a location where debris flows and flooding are expected over the next two months (July to September, 2019). In order to better understand debris flow initiation and characterize their downslope travel, the PIs will deploy a small network of fifteen seismometers to record seismic signals associated these events. Seismic data collected by this array will be compared to surface observations including flow measurements, post-event surface observations of scoured channels, and downstream debris flow deposits. This will allow the investigators to calibrate seismic observations to estimates of debris flow volume, grain size, and velocity and expand upon previous efforts to assess debris flows using geophysical data. The broad objectives of this effort are 1) to use seismic signals to characterize debris flows events as they travel downslope and 2) to determine the effectiveness of deploying a seismic monitoring network to serve as an early warning system for debris flows in the future. The data collected from this array will be shared with the scientific community and general public with the goal of encouraging and expanding the use of seismic data for debris flow monitoring. Ultimately, this work will help establish a framework for the rapid assessment of debris flows using seismic data, which has long-term implications for protecting human life and property. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
文献类型	项目
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/214395
专题	环境与发展全球科技态势
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Ryan Porter .RAPID: Seismic Monitoring of Post-Fire Debris Flows Associated with the Museum Fire, Northern Arizona.2019.