Abstract

ARISTIZABAL GIRALDO, Edier Vicente; GOMEZ CARDONA, Federico José; GARCIA ARISTIZABAL, Edwin Fabián  and  GUZMAN MARTINEZ, Juan Carlos. Analysis of the Threat from Mass Wasting Triggered by Earthquakes in the Colombian Andes, Case Study: Barbosa (Antioquia). Cienc. Ing. Neogranad. [online]. 2020, vol.30, n.2, pp.31-47.  Epub Dec 09, 2020. ISSN 0124-8170.  https://doi.org/10.18359/rcin.4304.

Earthquakes are one of the biggest triggers of mass wasting in the world. Various methodologies have been developed to predict and evaluate these phenomena from statistical or physical approaches or a combination of both. This study analyzes the threat of mass wasting triggered by earthquakes in the municipality of Barbosa, located in the Colombian Andes, through the two most widely implemented methods: pseudo-static analysis and Newmark's method, due to their easy use, long history and research acceptance in limit equilibrium analysis. The results allow us to understand the geomechanical response of the subsoil to earthquakes in both saturated and dry conditions. The case study presented indicates the great potential of the abovementioned methodologies as tools for analyzing the threat of mass wasting triggered by earthquakes in mountainous areas. As it has been presented in different studies, the percentage of unstable areas is directly related to the degree of the land saturation and the slope. For the municipality of Barbosa, and using Newmark's method, the unstable area reaches 59% of the municipality in saturated conditions and 17% in dry conditions; while using the pseudostatic method they represent 22% and 8% of the municipality, respectively.

Keywords : mass wasting; earthquakes; Colombian Andes; Newmark's method; pseudostatic analysis.

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