Debris flows, common disturbances in many mountainous areas, initially scour or bury stream habitats; however, debris flows deliver vast amounts of wood, boulders, and gravel that may ultimately form complex stream habitat to potentially support a diverse salmonid assemblage. The materials deposited by debris flows would otherwise be inaccessible to streams, and thus deposits may play an important role in creating and maintaining complex salmonid habitat over time. Despite the potential of deposits for increasing habitat complexity, most fish studies have focused on the destructive effects of debris flows and short-term recovery and re-colonization in scour zones. Debris-flows that occurred during the record-setting winter storms of 1996 in western Oregon, USA, provide an opportunity to study intermediate-term effects of debris-flow deposits on abundances and habitat for juvenile salmonids. In this setting, I surveyed salmonid abundance and habitat in three Oregon Coast Range streams that contained several debris-flow deposits from the 1996 storms. I explained fish abundance using hierarchical models, accounting for heterogeneous detection probabilities with repeated counts from multiple-pass snorkeling. The "best" hierarchical model of detection probability and abundance was selected (QAIC) from pool and snorkel-pass characteristics separately for juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), age 0+ trout, and age 1+ trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) in each stream. Adding distance to the nearest 1996 debris-flow deposit (DDF) produced a significant drop-in-deviance for four of nine "best" models, including at least one in each stream and for each species/age-class. In these four models, salmonid abundance decreased with increasing distance from deposit. As a potential explanation, several pool habitat characteristics were correlated (Spearman's rank) with DDF. Results varied across streams, but generally, percent of substrate as bedrock was lower and boulder density and percent substrate as gravel were higher closer to deposits. Although repeat counts are increasingly used in hierarchical modeling of heterogeneous detection probabilities and abundance for other wildlife species, studies of fish often rely on uncalibrated, single-pass snorkel counts. When exploring the value of repeat counts, I found that juvenile salmonid abundance decreased with increasing distance from debris-flow deposits in more multiple-pass hierarchical models that accounted for heterogeneous detection probabilities than for single-pass models that did not. Thus, modeling heterogeneous detection probabilities with repeated snorkel counts may be beneficial in other situations, addressing limitations of uncalibrated indices without relying on methods such as electrofishing, which may be difficult or impossible for remote study areas, longer surveys, or sensitive species. My findings suggest that debris-flow deposits may influence salmonid abundances after 15 years, and support management of debris flow-prone hillslopes and low-order channels to deliver elements of stream habitat complexity. / Graduation date: 2013

Debris flows, which occur in mountain settings worldwide, have been particularly damaging in the glaciated basins flanking the stratovolcanoes in the Cascade Range of the northwestern United States. This thesis contains two manuscripts that respectively investigate the (1) initiation processes of debris flows in these glaciated catchments, and (2) debris flow occurrence and its effect on valley bottoms over the last thousand years. In a 2006 storm, seven debris flows initiated from proglacial gullies of separate basins on the flanks of Mount Rainier. Gully heads at glacier termini and distributed collapse of gully walls imply that clear water was transformed to debris flow through progressive addition of sediment along gully lengths. In the first study, we analyze gully changes, reconstruct runoff conditions, and assess spatial distributions of debris flows to infer the processes and conditions necessary for debris flow initiation in glaciated catchments. Gully measurements suggest that sediment bulking requires steep gradients, abundant unstable material, and sufficient gully length. Reconstruction of runoff generated during the storm suggests that glaciers are important for generating the runoff necessary for debris flow initiation, particularly because infiltration capacities on glacial till covered surfaces well exceed measured rainfall rates. Runoff generation from glaciers and abundant loose debris at their termini explain why all debris flows in the storm initiated from proglacial areas. Proglacial areas that produced debris flows have steeper drainage networks with significantly higher elevations and lower drainage areas, suggesting that debris flows are associated with high elevation glaciers with relatively steep proglacial areas. This correlation reflects positive slope-elevation trends for the Mount Rainier volcano. An indirect effect of glacier change is thus the change in the distribution of ice-free slopes, which influence a basin’s debris flow potential. These findings have implications for projections of debris flow activity in basins experiencing glacier change. The second study uses a variety of dating techniques to reconstruct a chronology of debris flows in the Kautz Creek valley on the southwest flank of Mount Rainier (Washington). Dendrochronologic dating of growth disturbances combined with lichenometric techniques constrained five debris flow ages from 1712 to 1915 AD. We also estimated ages of three debris flows ranging in age from ca. 970 to 1661. Run-out distances served as a proxy for debris flow magnitude, and indicate that at least 11, 2, and 1 debris flow(s) have traveled at least 1, 3, and 5 km from the valley head, respectively since ca. 1650. Valley form reflects the frequency-magnitude relationship indicated by the chronology. In the upper, relatively steep valley, discrete debris flow snouts and secondary channels are abundant, suggesting a process of debris flow conveyance, channel plugging, and channel avulsion. The lower valley is characterized by relatively smooth surfaces, an absence of bouldery debris flow snouts, few secondary channels, and relatively old surface ages inferred from the presence of tephra layers. We infer that the lower valley is deposited on by relatively infrequent, large magnitude, low-yield strength debris flows like an event in 1947, which deposited wide, tabular lobes of debris outside of the main channel. Debris flows during the Little Ice Age (LIA) predominantly traveled no further than the upper valley. Stratigraphic evidence suggests that the main Kautz Creek channel was filled during the LIA, enhancing debris flow deposition on the valley surface and perhaps reducing run-out lengths. Diminished areas and gradients in front of glaciers during the LIA also likely contributed to decreased run-out lengths. These findings suggest that changes in debris flow source and depositional zones resulting from temperature and glacier cycles influence the magnitude and run-out distances of debris flows, and the dynamics of deposition in valley bottoms. / Graduation date: 2013

On-going population growth and urbanization increasingly force people to occupy environments where natural processes intensely affect the landscape, by way of potentially hazardous natural events. Tectonic plate boundaries, active volcanic regions and rapidly uplifting mountain ranges are prominent examples of geomorphically hazardous areas which today accommodate some of the world’s largest cities. These areas are often affected by more than one hazard such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, floods, storms and wildfires, which frequently interact with each other increasing the total impact on communities. Despite progress in natural hazards research over the last two decades, the increasing losses from natural disasters highlight the limitations of existing methodologies to effectively mitigate the adverse effects of natural hazards. A major limitation is the lack of effective hazard and risk assessments incorporating hazard interactions and cascade effects. Most commonly, the assessment of risks related to different hazards is carried out through independent analyses, adopting different procedures and time-space resolutions. Such approaches make the comparison of risks from different hazard sources extremely difficult, and the implicit assumption of independence of the risk sources leads to neglect of possible interactions among hazard processes. As a result the full hazard potential is likely to be underestimated and lead to inadequate mitigation measures or land-use planning. Therefore there is a pressing need to improve hazard and risk assessments and mitigation strategies especially in highly dynamic environments affected by multiple hazards. A prominent example of such an environment is the western Southern Alps of New Zealand. The region is located along an actively deforming plate boundary and is subject to high rates of uplift, erosion and orographically-enhanced precipitation that drive a range of interrelated geomorphic processes and consequent hazards. Furthermore, the region is an increasingly popular tourist destination with growing visitor numbers and the prospect for future development, significantly increasing societal vulnerability and the likelihood of serious impacts from potential hazards. Therefore the mountainous landscape of the western Southern Alps is an ideal area for studying the interaction between a range of interrelated geomorphic hazards and human activity. In an effort to address these issues this research has developed an approach for the analysis of geomorphic hazards in highly dynamic environments with particular focus on tectonically-active mountains using the western Southern Alps as a study area. The approach aims to provide a framework comprising the stages required to perform multi-hazard and risk analyses and inform land-use planning. This aim was approached through four main objectives integrating quantitative geomorphology, hazard assessments and GIS. The first objective was to identify the dominant geomorphic processes, their spatial distribution and interrelationships and explore their implications in hazard assessment and modelling. This was achieved through regional geomorphic analysis focusing on catchment morphometry and the structure of the drainage networks. This analysis revealed the strong influence and interactions between frequent landslides / debris-flows, glaciers, orographic precipitation and spatially-variable uplift rates on the landscape evolution of the western Southern Alps, which supports the need for hazard assessment approaches incorporating the interrelationships between different processes and accounting for potential event cascades. The second and third objectives were to assess the regional susceptibility to rainfall-generated shallow landslides and river floods respectively, as these phenomena are most often responsible for extensive damage to property and infrastructure, injury, and loss of lives in mountainous environments. To achieve these objectives a series of GIS-based models was developed, applied and evaluated in the western Southern Alps. Evaluation results based on historical records indicated that the susceptibility assessment of shallow landslides and river floods using the proposed GIS-based models is feasible. The output from the landslide model delineates the regional spatial variation of shallow landslide susceptibility and potential runout zones while the results from the flood modelling illustrate the hydrologic response of major ungauged catchments in the study area and identify flood-prone areas. Both outputs provide critical insights for land-use planning. Finally, a multi-hazard analysis approach was developed by combining the findings from the previous objectives based on the concepts of interaction and emergent properties (cascade effects) inherent in complex systems. The integrated analysis of shallow landslides, river floods and expected ground shaking from a M8 plate-boundary fault (Alpine fault) earthquake revealed the areas with the highest and lowest total susceptibilities. Areas characterized by the highest total susceptibility require to be prioritized in terms of hazard mitigation, and areas with very low total susceptibility may be suitable locations for future development. This doctoral research project contributes to the field of hazard research, and particularly to geomorphic hazard analyses in highly dynamic environments such as tectonically active mountains, aiming to inform land-use planning in the context of sustainable hazard mitigation.

Cette thèse présente une étude expérimentale visant à caractériser les propriétés hydrauliquesd'écoulements à surface libre de fluides complexes: fluides viscoplastiques et mélangesfluides viscoplastiques-grains. Ce travail est motivé par la nécessité d'améliorer lesconnaissances sur les propriétés des écoulements de laves torrentielles, dans un contexte deprotection contre les risques naturels en montagne. Nous avons développé un dispositif delaboratoire original, un canal à fond mobile, permettant de générer des coulées gravitaires quisont globalement stationnaires dans le référentiel du laboratoire. Les coulées présentent unfront très raide, suivi à l'amont d'une zone d'épaisseur uniforme. Les fluides viscoplastiquesutilisés (carbopol et kaolin) ont été choisis de manière à modéliser la matrice des couléesboueuses naturelles en prenant en compte les critères de similitude adaptés. Ces fluidessuivent une loi de comportement de Herschel-Bulkley, et leurs propriétés rhéologiques ont étédéterminées au moyen d'un rhéomètre de laboratoire en accordant un soin particulier àl'établissement des incertitudes associées. Nous présentons des mesures précises de l'évolutionde l'épaisseur des coulées dans la zone uniforme en fonction de la vitesse du fond du canal etde la pente. Ces résultats sont comparés à des prédictions théoriques correspondant à unécoulement permanent et uniforme d'un fluide de Herschel-Bulkley, et nous montrons quel'accord est satisfaisant moyennant les incertitudes sur les mesures rhéologiques. Nous avonségalement analysé la forme du front des coulées et, là-aussi, l'accord avec des modèleshydrauliques (modèles de type Saint-Venant) est bon. Ces deux études permettent de validerles prédictions hydrauliques obtenues à partir de lois de comportement mesurées aurhéomètre. Enfin, dans une dernière partie, nous présentons une étude préliminaire de ladynamique de particules rigides isolées placées au sein de la coulée, en nous intéressant auxvitesses longitudinales et aux vitesses de chute pour différentes tailles et différentes densitésde particules. / This thesis presents an experimental study dedicated to characterise the hydraulic propertiesof free surface flows of complex fluids : viscoplastic fluids and mixtures made of viscoplasticfluids and grains. This study is motivated by the need to improve knowledge on properties ofthe flow of debris flows in a context of protection against natural hazards in the mountains.We have developed an original laboratory device - a channel with a mobile bottom - togenerate gravitary flows that are globally stationary in the laboratory frame. The flows have avery steep front followed upstream by a zone of uniform thickness. Viscoplastic fluids used(carbopol and kaolin) were selected so to model the matrix of natural mud flows, taking intoaccount the criteria of similarity adapted. These fluids follow a behavior law of Herschel-Bulkley, and their rheological properties were determined using a laboratory rheometer byproviding a particular care to the establishment of the associated uncertainties. We presentaccurate measurements of the evolution of the thickness of the flow in the uniform zone withthe the velocity speed of channel belt. These results are compared with theoretical predictionscorresponding to a steady uniform flow of a fluid of Herschel-Bulkley, and we show that theagreement is satisfactory through the uncertainties on the rheological measurements. We alsoanalyzed the shape of front, and here too, the agreement with hydraulic models (models likeSaint-Venant) is good. Both of the studies allowed to validate the hydraulic predictionsobtained from behavior laws measured with the rheometer. Finally, in a last section, wepresent a Preliminary study about the dynamics of isolated rigid particles placed in the flow,by paying attention to longitudinal velocities and falling velocities for different particle sizesand densities.

La quebrada El Pedregal viene siendo afectada por la generación de flujo de escombros o huaicos que ocasionan pérdida de vida, daños a la infraestructura, a la salud y medioambientales. En 1987 un huaico provocó aproximadamente 100 fallecidos y 1000 viviendas fueron destruidas (Abad, 2009). Los huaicos son originados por las fuertes y/o constantes precipitaciones, el Fenómeno del Niño y condiciones naturales desfavorables de pendiente, geología, drenaje y forma de la subcuenca. Adicionalmente, el establecimiento de población en zonas de riesgo, el déficit de las medidas de prevención y mitigación e inadecuada planificación ante la ocurrencia de huaicos reflejan la vulnerabilidad existente, lo que generan el problema principal que es el alto riesgo que hay en la quebrada El Pedregal por ocurrencia de huaicos. Ante esta problemática, el objetivo general de la presente tesis es formular un plan de gestión integral de riesgo de desastre conformado por medidas de corrección y prevención tanto estructurales como no estructurales, para contribuir a la reducción de daños ocasionados por los huaicos. Para lo cual, se estudió el marco teórico, se recolectó y/o procesó información hidrológica, topográfica, geológica, geomorfológica, geotécnica, climatológica, e información de la ocurrencia de huaicos extraordinarios para el estudio básico de la quebrada. Se analizó la eficacia de medidas estructurales existentes como diques de mampostearía, dique de concreto ciclópeo y barreras dinámicas; y medidas no estructurales como la delimitación de la faja marginal y el sistema de alerta temprana piloto, siendo estas acciones aisladas no conformantes de un plan. Puesto que, no es posible actuar sobre el peligro natural se actúa sobre la vulnerabilidad, revirtiendo o mitigando las causas que la genera y de esta manera reducir el alto riesgo de la zona. En base a este diagnóstico se formuló y evaluó alternativas de medidas de corrección y prevención, para seleccionar y proponer las más adecuadas que conformen el plan. Es así como se realizó un análisis comparativo de cuatro medidas estructurales como la barrera dinámica, el dique de mampostería, el dique de concreto ciclópeo y la presa SABO, como alternativas de solución para revertir el déficit de las medidas de prevención y mitigación. Se seleccionó la barrera dinámica como la estructura más eficiente debido a sus características de funcionamiento, construcción, su capacidad de retención y su menor costo por cada m³ de volumen de material de huaico retenido. Asimismo , se estimó el volumen de producción y retención para un futuro huaico y comprobado el predimensionamiento y la estabilidad de las barreras en el software DEBFLOW, se propone como medida estructural de prevención la implementación de dos nuevas barreras dinámicas Nº05 y Nº06. Además se propone como otra medida estructural de prevención la incorporación de sensores de alerta temprana en la barrera dinámica N°03 y N°06. Sobre las medidas de prevención no estructurales para revertir la inadecuada planificación ante la ocurrencia de huaicos se proponen las capacitaciones periódicas de resiliencia, de seguridad y salud, con la intención de preparar a la población para una respuesta más efectiva ante eventos de huaicos y el fortalecimiento de la institucionalidad local y cofinanciamiento para el plan. Respecto a la ocupación del territorio por parte de la población para establecer sus viviendas en zonas de riesgo, se propone como medida no estructural de corrección el desarrollo de charlas de sensibilización y concientización sobre la preservación y cuidado de la faja marginal. Estas medidas se establecieron en el plan de gestión integral que, a su vez, está estructurado por los subplanes de acciones de prevención, de emergencia, de recuperación y rehabilitación y de monitoreo. Esta propuesta engloba la gestión integral y la gestión de riesgo de desastres, que busca la integración, articulación y coordinación de las acciones, recursos y participantes con la finalidad de contribuir a la reducción del riesgo, esperando reducir las pérdidas de vidas (de 100 a 0 fallecidos), daños a la infraestructura (de 1000 a 0 viviendas dañadas) y entre otros daños sociales, económicos y ambientales. La validación para determinar la viabilidad y fiabilidad para la implementación del Plan de Gestión Integral se desarrolló a través del método de juicio de expertos. Asimismo, se realizó una evaluación económica para verificar la viabilidad y factibilidad de la inversión del Plan de Gestión Integral. Y finalmente se realiza la validación del contenido del plan mediante el uso de herramientas modernas de ingeniería que incluyen, entre otras, las experiencias de entidades especialistas que cuentan con leyes, reglamentos, guías técnicas y planes estratégicos a nivel macro. / El Pedregal Creek has been affected by the generation of debris flow that causes loss of life, damage to infrastructure, health and environment. In 1987, one of the most catastrophic landslide in the area appeared, with approximately 100 deaths and 1000 destroyed homes (Abad, 2009). Debris flow are caused by heavy and/or constant rainfall, the El Niño phenomenon and unfavorable natural conditions of slope, geology, drainage and shape of the sub-basin. In addition, the establishment of settlements in risk areas, the deficit of adequate prevention and mitigation measures and uncoordinated and uncertain planning for the occurrence of debris flow, reflect the existing vulnerability, which generates the main problem that is the high risk that exist in El Pedregal Creek. Faced with this problem, the general objective of this thesis is to formulate an integral management plan for disaster risk, made up of structural and non-structural correction and prevention measures, in order to contribute to the reduction of damages caused by debris flow. For this reason, the theoretical framework was studied, hydrological, topographical, geological, geomorphological, geotechnical and climatological information was collected and/or process, as well as a historical series of the occurrence of extraordinary floods the basic study of the stream. The effectiveness of existing structural measures such as masonry dikes, cyclopean concrete dikes and dynamic barriers was analyzed; and non-structural measures such as the delimitation of the marginal strip and the pilot early warning system, being these isolated actions not part of a plan. Since it is not possible to act on the natural danger, vulnerability will be carried out, reversing or mitigating the causes that generate it and in this way efforts will be made to reduce the high risk of the area. On the basis of this diagnosis, alternatives to correction and prevention measures were formulated and evaluated, to select and propose the most appropriate ones to make up the plan. This is how a comparative analysis of four structural measures was carried out, the dynamic barrier, the masonry dyke, the cyclopean concrete dyke and Sabo dam, as solution alternatives to revert the deficit of prevention and mitigation measures. The dynamic barrier was selected as the most efficient structure due to its performance characteristics, construction, its retention capacity and its lower cost per m³ of volume of retained leached material. Likewise, the production and retention volume was estimated for a future shaft and the pre-dimensioning and stability of the barriers in the DEBFLOW software was verified. The implementation of two new dynamic barriers, No. 05 and No. 06, was proposed as a structural prevention measure. In addition, it is proposed as another structural prevention measure the incorporation of early warning sensors in the dynamic barrier N°03 and N°06. Regarding the non-structural prevention measures to reverse the inadequate planning for the occurrence of debris flow, periodic training on resilience, safety and health is proposed, with the intention of preparing the population for a more effective response to debris flow events and the strengthening of local institutions and co-financing for the plan. Regarding the occupation of the territory by the population to establish their homes in risk areas, it is proposed as a non-structural measure of correction the development of talks of sensitization and awareness about the preservation and care of the marginal strip. These measures were established in the integral management plan which, in turn, is structured by the sub-plans of prevention, emergency, recovery and rehabilitation actions and monitoring. This proposal encompasses integrated management and disaster risk management, which seeks the integration, articulation and coordination of actions, resources and participants in order to contribute to risk reduction, hoping to reduce loss of life (from 100 to 0 deaths), damage to infrastructure (from 1000 to 0 damaged homes) and among other social, economic and environmental damage. The validation to determine the viability and reliability for the implementation of the Integral Management Plan was developed through the expert judgment method. Likewise, an economic evaluation was carried out to verify the viability and feasibility of the investment of the Integral Management Plan. And finally, the validation of the content of the plan is carried out through the use of modern engineering tools that include, among others, the experiences of specialized entities that have laws, regulations, technical guides and strategic plans at the macro level. / Tesis

En la actualidad, se puede observar situaciones en las que el terreno sufre constantes cambios debido a factores climáticos, geológicos, sísmicos, y demás fenómenos naturales, provocando movimientos que ocasionan la falla del talud. Por lo cual, cada proyecto de ingeniería debe tener como objetivo principal velar por la integridad del usuario final, interviniendo de manera adecuada en un diseño óptimo para cada situación, ya que esto depende de las características, condiciones y necesidades propias de cada proyecto, no dejando de lado la logística, aérea o terrestre, necesaria. El proyecto de ingeniería en el cual se enfoca la tesis es la “Rehabilitación Integral del Ferrocarril Huancayo Huancavelica”, donde el tramo de estudio elegido es entre las estaciones Mariscal Cáceres y Acoria. Este tramo analizado presenta socavación y deslizamientos o flujos que incrementan paulatinamente debido a las vibraciones ocasionadas por el paso del tren, por agentes naturales y climáticos. También, se evidencia la ausencia de estructuras de soporte y la falta de mantenimiento constante en las progresivas km 86+154 al km 86+208. Este problema puede traer consigo la falta de acceso de pasajeros y/o transporte de mercancías y mineral, a los pueblos que une la línea ferroviaria. Frente a la problemática en mención, existen varias opciones de reforzamiento estructural para el mejoramiento de la capacidad portante del suelo e incluso desde una visión más general existen diferentes tipos de muros de contención. Por ende, una solución óptima frente a nuestra problemática es el uso de suelos reforzados con paramento de gavión como estructura de soporte y protección. El diseño de muro de suelo reforzado para el tramo estudiado se realizó considerando la teoría de equilibrio límite de la metodología de “Diseño por Esfuerzos Admisibles” (ASD - Allowable Stress Design) basada en las recomendaciones de la guía FHWA-NHI-00-043 y las consideraciones en el método de diseño de la “American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials” (AASHTO). La metodología ASD consiste en evaluar la estabilidad externa e interna en todos los esfuerzos límites de resistencia, mientras que la estabilidad global y el desplazamiento vertical u horizontal se evalúan en los estados límites de servicio. Para el análisis de la estabilidad del muro se utilizó los softwares SLIDE (equilibrio límite) y PLAXIS (elementos finitos), en el cual se concluye que el diseño propuesto de muro de suelo reforzado para la estructura ferroviaria en el tramo estudiado es estable, ya que los valores de los Factores de Seguridad (F.S.) superan los valores mínimos y el desplazamiento horizontal no supera al valor máximo permitido recomendado por la Federal Highway Administration en la publicación FHWA-NHI-00-043. / At present, situations can be observed in which the terrain undergoes constant changes due to climatic, geological, seismic factor s, and other natural phenomena, causing movements that cause the slope to fail. Therefore, each engineering project must have as its main objective to ensure the integrity of the end user, intervening appropriately in an optimal design for each situation, since this depends on the characteristics, conditions, and needs of each project, without leaving aside the necessary air or ground logistics. The engineering project on which the thesis is focused is the "Integral Rehabilitation of the Huancayo Huancavelica Railway", where the section of study chosen is between the Mariscal Cáceres and Acoria stations. This section analyzed presents landslides or debris flow that gradually increase due to the vibrations caused by the passage of the train; furthermore, there is evidence of the absence of support structures and the lack of maintenance in the progressive km 86+154 to km 86+208. This problem brings with it the lack of access for passengers and/or transport of merchandise and minerals, to the towns that the railway line connects. Faced with the problem in question, there are several options for structural reinforcement to improve the bearing capacity of the soil and even from a more general view there are different types of retaining walls. Therefore, an optimal solution to our problem is the use of reinforced soil as a support structure. The design of the reinforced soil wall for the section studied was carried out considering the theory of limit equilibrium of the methodology of "Design by Allowable Stress Design" (ASD - Allowable Stress Design) based on the recommendations of the guide FHWA-NHI- 00-043 and the considerations in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) design method. The ASD methodology consists of evaluating the external and internal stability in all the resistance limit stresses, while the global stability and the vertical or horizontal displacement are evaluated in the service limit states. For the analysis of the stability of the wall, the software SLIDE (limit equilibrium) and PLAXIS (finite elements) were used, in which it is concluded that the proposed design of reinforced soil wall for the railway structure in the studied section is stable since the values ​​of the Safety Factors (FS) exceed the minimum values ​​and the horizontal displacement does not exceed the maximum allowed value recommended by the Federal Highway Administration in publication FHWA-NHI-00-043. / Tesis

Hydrogeological hazards are quite diffuse rainfall-induced phenomena that affect mountain regions and can severely impact these territories, producing damages and sometimes casualties. For this reason, hydrogeological risk reduction is crucial. Mitigation strategies aim to reduce hydrogeological risk to an acceptable level and can be classified into structural and non-structural measures. This work focuses on enhancing some non-structural risk mitigation measures for mountain areas: debris-flow rainfall thresholds, as a part of an Early Warning System (EWS), multivariate rainfall scenarios with multi-hazard mapping purpose and public awareness. Regarding debris-flow rainfall thresholds, an innovative calibration method, a suitable uncertainty analysis and a proper validation process are developed. The Backward Dynamical Approach (BDA), a physical-based calibration method, is introduced and a threshold is obtained for a study area. The BDA robustness is then tested by assessing the uncertainty in the threshold estimate. Finally, the calibrated threshold's reliability and its possible forecast use are assessed using a proper validation process. The findings set the stage for using the BDA approach to calibrate debris-flow rainfall thresholds usable in operational EWS. Regarding hazard mapping, a multivariate statistical model is developed to construct multivariate rainfall scenarios with a multi-hazards mapping purpose. A confluence between a debris-flow-prone creek and a flood-prone river is considered. The multivariate statistical model is built by combining the Simplified Metastatistical Extreme Value approach and a copula approach. The obtained rainfall scenarios are promising to be used to build multi-hazard maps. Finally, the public awareness within the LIFE FRANCA (Flood Risk ANticipation and Communication in the Alps) European project is briefly considered. The project action considered in this work focuses on training and communication activities aimed at providing a multidisciplinary view of hydrogeological risk through the holding of courses and seminars.

[pt] Os problemas geotécnicos e geológicos envolvem a descrição do comportamento de materiais tais como solo e rocha e sua eventual interação com fluidos e estruturas. Em geral, a evolução desses problemas é caracterizada por grandes deformações e deslocamentos, descontinuidades, heterogeneidades e um comportamento constitutivo complexo. A abordagem deste tipo de problemas requer técnicas numéricas que levem em conta essas características, sem apresentar inconvenientes numéricos associados à distorção dos elementos como acontece no método dos elementos finitos (FEM). A presente tese desenvolve um algoritmo computacional baseado no método do ponto material (MPM) para aproximar a solução das equações governantes dos fenômenos mencionados. O algoritmo é baseado numa formulação dinâmica tridimensional do contínuo, considerando grandes deformações. Os amortecimentos de Rayleigh o local não viscoso são incorporados para modelar problemas dinâmicos e quase-estáticos. A geração dinâmica das poro-pressões é formulada assumindo o meio poroso saturado e um ponto material para discretizar a mistura. Diversas técnicas de suavização das pressões são avaliadas em problemas de impacto sobre meios saturados. Diferentes modelos constitutivos são implementados para modelar tanto a formação da superfície de ruptura e o processo de escoamento da massa de solo durante as instabilidades, quanto a gênese, evolução e quantificação de zona de falhas nos processos geológicos. Para a abordagem da discretização de problemas de escala geológica de grande número de partículas usando o MPM, uma metodologia é proposta e verificada com a discretização do deslizamento do Daguangbao, na China. Visando à diminuição do tempo computacional, o algoritmo é implementado segundo o paradigma de programação paralela. / [en] Geotechnical and geological problems involve the description of the behavior of materials such as soil and rock, and their eventual interaction with fluids and structures. In general, the evolution of these problems is characterized by large deformations and displacements, discontinuities, heterogeneities and complex constitutive behavior. Addressing these problems requires numerical techniques that take these characteristics into account, without numerical drawbacks associated with element distortion as occurs in the finite element method (FEM). In this thesis is developed a computational algorithm based on the material point method (MPM) to approximate the solution of the governing equations to the mentioned phenomena. The algorithm is based on a three-dimensional dynamic formulation of the continuum considering large deformations. Rayleigh damping and non-viscous local damping are incorporated to model dynamic and quasi-static problems. The dynamic generation of pore pressures is formulated assuming the saturated porous medium and a single material point to discretize the mixture. Different techniques are evaluated to mitigate spurious pressure in impact problems on saturated media. Different constitutive models are implemented to model the failure surface and the soil mass flow process during slope instabilities, as well as the genesis, evolution and failure zone quantification in geological processes. To address the discretization of large-scale geological problems using MPM, a methodology is proposed and validated with the discretization of the Daguangbao landslide, in China. In order to decrease the computational time, the algorithm is implemented according to the parallel programming paradigm.