Coming upFri 6 Nov 2026,
Assessing Hillslope Strength Evolution and Cascading Landslide Hazards under Seismic and Hydrological Forcing
Hillsides shaken by earthquakes or soaked by rain, and how changing slope strength affects future landslide risks.
The defense
From the University of Twente agenda
- When
- Fri 6 Nov 2026, 90 min
- Where
- University of Twente, NetherlandsGeo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente
- Supervisor
- C.J. van Westenfaculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente
- Co-supervisor
- H. Tanyașfaculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente
- Language
- English
- Stream
- on university player
Stream link
A doctoral defense is public: anyone may watch.
About the thesis
The thesis investigates how earthquakes and rainfall alter hillslope strength over time and what this means for landslide hazard assessment.
For the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes, satellite deformation data and numerical modelling estimated strength before and after strong shaking. Some slopes weakened, others strengthened or changed little, linked to shaking intensity, topography, geology and deformation. This post-earthquake strength was used in scenarios to test whether one earthquake's legacy can affect landslide susceptibility later.
Rainfall-driven slow-moving landslides were also examined. Weakening can evolve and may be partly reversed as hydrological conditions change. The thesis concludes that strength is not always fixed: earthquakes and rainfall can leave mechanical legacies after the triggering event, and accounting for them gives a more realistic basis for landslide hazard assessment.
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Listed from the University of Twente agenda.