[SIO GP Seminars] TODAY: 3 PM: Anne Mangeney, IPGP

[Robin Matoza]

Join us for the Geophysics seminar today.


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Friday, February 23, 3:00 PM
(Refreshments served at 2:45 PM)
Munk Conference Room

Anne Mangeney
Institute for NonLinear Science, UCSD and IPGP, France
"Numerical simulation of avalanches : relevance and limits of the  
models"

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Abstract:
Dense gravitational flows, triggered by large mass destabilization,
are active processes that participate in the evolution of the surface
of the Earth and other telluric planets. They also represent natural
hazards that are today a threat to many populations and industrial
infrastructures. However field studies are difficult and the underlying
physics and environmental processes of dense gravitational flows
remain poorly understood, partly due to the wide range of physical
regimes, as well as different space and time scales, involved in
phenomena ranging from cliff collapse to rapid debris flows.

Numerical simulation of granular avalanches provides a useful tool
for investigating, within realistic geological contexts, the dynamics
of these flows and for improving the risk assessment of such natural  
hazards.
A new numerical model based on the long wave approximation
and able to account for complex topography effects is presented here.
Comparison of numerical results with laboratory experiments and discrete
element modeling shows that this approach is able to capture some basic
features of granular flows at the laboratory scale.  Application of  
the model
on real avalanches and landslides occurring on the Earth and on Mars,
as well as the generation of tsunamis when the flowing mass enters  
the sea
will be presented and discussed in terms of risk assessment.


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