Gee, Hughes Clarke, Locat (Laval), Piper (GSC),
Mosher(GSC)
(Funded through
NSERC CRD)
Canada’s continental margin and coastline is the focus of more and more attention as we see increasing economic activities in various fields including natural resources (oil and gas), transportation (port development), electrical transmission and communication (fibre optics cables, etc…). It is clear that the major natural hazards threatening economic activities and populations along the Canadian coastline are earthquakes, submarine landslides and tsunamis. The goal of this project is, consequently, the assessment of continental slope stability along the Canadian continental margin, estuaries and fjords with respect to natural processes and human activity.
Over a period of four years, we will make a comparison between well-investigated sites in the Atlantic and the Pacific, develop new analytical approaches based on field, laboratory and numerical modeling of submarine landslide. To achieve our goal will require the establishment of a precise database, the integration of field (seismic and multibeam surveys) and laboratory data (e.g. strength testing) in a 3 dimensional model that will represent the full extent of a submarine landslide hazard. Some aspects related to the transition from slide to catastrophic movements will also be evaluated with small-scale physical models. This visualization will be incorporated in a new approach to define the hazard and integrate it to a risk assessment methodology which will help us evaluate the risks involved, in a given marine environment, with regards to earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis.
For more information: http://www.costa-canada.ggl.ulaval.ca/