Validation of Soil-Based Liquefaction Susceptibility Map for Puerto Rico With Observations from 7 January 2020 M6.4 Earthquake

Session: Early Results from the 2020 M6.4 Indios, Puerto Rico Earthquake Sequence [Poster]
Type: Poster
Date: 4/30/2020
Time: 08:00 AM
Room: Ballroom
Description: 

Prior to the January 7, 2020 Mw6.4 earthquake in Puerto Rico, we produced a liquefaction susceptibility map for Puerto Rico using soil survey data by the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS). Soil criteria used to generate the map included parent material, age of the deposits, depth to water table and slope angle. However, we could not validate the map with ground accelerations measured for past seismic events (M3 to M6) because the acceleration values were too low to cause liquefaction. The January 7 Mw6.4 earthquake in southern Puerto Rico gave us the opportunity to validate sections of the map with known areas of liquefaction. Other sites will be visited to determine if there are more locations with liquefaction and correlate them with the susceptibility values established in the map. Soil surveys will also be conducted at sites where liquefaction occurred that do not have any soil data in the NRCS map. These field observations will be used to validate and improve the liquefaction susceptibility map for Puerto Rico.

Presenting Author: Edwin O. Irizarry Brugman

Authors