Japan STA Program: Subsurface Flow in Relation to Landslide Initiation

该奖项将为美国农业部林业局的Roy Sidle博士与日本筑波林业和林产品研究所的Makoto Tani博士进行长期研究合作提供补充支持。他们将调查森林山坡上的土壤管道如何影响地下水流，从而影响滑坡的发生。土壤管道和大孔隙被认为是强暴雨期间地下水的重要通道。在风暴期间，大量的水快速进入不稳定的土壤地幔，会产生水压积聚区，导致滑坡的发生。现有的地下流和地下水响应模型没有充分考虑管道流的影响。Tani博士的实验室在土壤物理性质对地下水增加的影响方面的研究工作将补充Sidle博士在地下流动过程和滑坡建模方面的研究背景。

This award will provide supplementary support for a long-term research stay by Dr. Roy Sidle of the USDA Forest Service to conduct collaborative research with Dr. Makoto Tani of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in Tsukuba, Japan. They will investigate how soil pipes in forest hillsides influence the subsurface water flow regime, and thus affect initiation of landslides. Soil pipes and macropores are recognized to be important conducts for subsurface water during intense rainstorms. The rapid transport of large quantities of water into unstable soil mantles during storms can create zones of water pressure buildup, resulting in landslide initiation. Existing models of subsurface flow and groundwater response do not adequately address the influence of pipeflow. The research work of Dr. Tani's lab on the effects of soil physical properties on groundwater accretion will complement Dr. Sidle's research background on subsurface flow processes and landslide modelling.