Landslide Study
Dr. John Rice and his students have instrumented a landslide near Mantua, Utah to study the effects of snow melt on the initiation of landslide movement. The instrumentation consists of: 1) piezometers to measure groundwater pressures in and below the landslide mass, 2) water content sensors to track the infiltration of surface water into the landslide mass, 3) a displacement meter to detect when movement occurs, 4) slope indicators to detect at what depth the landslide movement occurs, and 5) a weather station to measure air temperatures and precipitation. The instrumentation is read automatically using a data logger and can be downloaded remotely to computers at USU using cell phone telemetry. By monitoring the groundwater conditions in the landslide, we will be able to detect the conditions needed to trigger the landslide and compare these with the weather conditions leading up to the movement.