Led by Newcastle University’s Dr Sean Wilkinson, the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team will use satellite photographs and remotely measured surface heights to assess the vulnerability of natural slopes to earthquake induced landslides.
“The aim is to compare this data to that which we collect on the ground,” explains Dr Wilkinson, who is based in the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.
“If it works, then it will help us to assess the vulnerability of slopes anywhere in the world.”
The team also plans to look at how the landslides have affected infrastructure networks such as roads and power supplies and what changes could be made to reduce the devastation in the event of another earthquake.
“Infrastructure networks are absolutely key to post disaster recovery,” says Dr Wilkinson. “Keeping these working is vital and our aim is to further our understanding of what happened so that we can better inform engineers and disaster planners in the future.”
The mission has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Dr Sean Wilkinson can be contacted BEFORE 12 NOON, FRIDAY, 6TH NOVEMBER. After this he will be in Sumatra. His contact details are +44 (0) 191 222 8876
published on: 5th November 2009