Geologic Hazard Mapping of Mining Communities in Peru Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Manning, Justin, Colorado School of Mines Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, just.mann711@gmail.com; Wendy Zhou, wzhou@mines.edu (Poster)

Disruption of terrain in the vicinity of mining operations frequently causes geologic hazards, such as landslides, debris flows, and rockfall, which endanger workers and nearby residents. This is especially important in mountainous terrain, such as the Arequipa region in Peru. Mining operations can lead to increased erosion, changes in hydrological and hydrogeological processes, and can make slopes more susceptible to instability. This exposes new areas and populations to these hazards, thus warranting the geohazard studies of selected mining communities. We aim to develop protocols for multiple geohazard characterizations that can be applied throughout the Arequipa region in Peru. The protocols consist of geohazard inventories, field mapping, and verification, while developing hazard and susceptibility maps through geoprocessing models in a GIS platform. The primary geohazards mapped were landslides, debris flows, rockfall, hillside erosion, flooding, liquefaction, and collapsible soils. For each geohazard, specific criteria were used to rank the hazard levels. For example, a high hazard level for liquefaction requires the geomorphology to consist of recently deposited (Holocene or younger) alluvial material, where the groundwater table is within five meters of the ground surface, and the soil contains less than 5% fines. Meanwhile, a low hazard level for liquefaction requires the geomorphology to consist of recently deposited colluvium, such as debris flow deposits, and alluvium, where the groundwater table is within 15 meters of the ground surface, and the soil contains of 5– 10% fines. The result of this process was the creation of hazard maps for each of the geohazards across multiple communities. This work results in improved safety for workers, and for nearby and downstream residents through quantifying mining-induced changes that affect the hazard level of multiple geohazards.

Bio:

My name is Justin Manning and I am a graduate student under Dr. Wendy Zhou at Colorado School of Mines. My master's degree program is Geological Engineering, and my research and thesis work consist of geological hazard and susceptibility mapping of mining communities in Peru using remote sensing and GIS methods. I attended Stony Brook University for my undergraduate degree and finished with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. While attending Stony Brook University, I assisted on research examining the health and resilience of salt marshes in Jamaica Bay, NY.

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