那是1976年2月4日凌晨3点03分。 While Guatemala’s citizens slept, the country’s massive Motagua Fault ruptured. 在39秒内，7.5级地震摧毁了这个中美洲国家。
Nearly five decades later, a research team from 威尼斯人娱乐城, in collaboration with U.S. and Guatemalan partners, is investigating the country’s extensive geohazards, including the Motagua Fault.
一项国际调查
危地马拉学生地质灾害国际研究经验项目于2023年1月初启动。 作为主任蒂娜·涅米的长期愿景，这个为期三年的项目于2022年底获得了美国国家科学基金会的资助。
“Understanding the seismic potential of Guatemala’s active fault systems and volcanic history are key goals of the program,” said Niemi, Ph.D., professor of geology and a Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor. “This year, we investigated the earthquake history of the Motagua Fault.”
2023年危地马拉地质灾害现场团队包括10名美国和危地马拉学生、3名来自威尼斯人娱乐城和密苏里大学的教师导师、2名危地马拉教师和1名行业导师。
在这个首届国际学生研究经验项目中，该小组进行了跨地球科学几个学科的研究， 包括火山学、古地震学、地表过程和地理空间数据科学。 这群人一起在危地马拉完成了为期三周半的实地研究，随后进行了初步分析和样本处理。 今年5月，该小组在威尼斯人娱乐城和虚拟世界进行了为期两周的实验室工作和数据分析。
“Through this program, students receive an authentic research experience that includes mentorship by faculty from the U.S. and our partner universities in Guatemala,” Niemi said. “They not only increase their scientific inquiry and research skills but practice international collaboration.”
The International 研究 Experiences for Students faculty are all specialists in geology fields, including the study of Guatemala’s geohazards. 在导师的指导下，学生们在科学的过程中进行合作。 他们提出问题，收集、分析和解释数据，然后呈现这些数据。
他们还应对国际实地研究的挑战。
“These are not controlled experiences,” Niemi said. “There are many uncertainties, such as access permission, weather conditions and malfunctioning equipment, to name a few. Field research requires flexibility and adaptation to the conditions — all valuable life skills.”
Aleigha Dollens (B.S. ’24) participated in the inaugural geohazards program to gain field experience that augments her classwork.
“I worked closely with mentors and learned hands-on how to do research,” said Dollens, whose own research focuses on geophysical imaging of the subsurface of the Motagua Fault.
“I was in a small research group where I asked questions and received feedback from the program’s professors。 I’m now more confident in my ability to practice research and in myself as a person.”
Guatemala’s Geohazard Vulnerability
危地马拉的地质灾害风险在全球排名第四，持续面临多种灾害，包括地震、火山爆发、山体滑坡、洪水和风暴。 这些地质灾害威胁着无数人的生命、环境稳定和经济基础设施。
1976年莫塔瓜地震是危地马拉无数自然灾害之一，造成23 000人死亡，74 000人受伤。 One million people were displaced — nearly one-fifth of Guatemala’s population at the time. Thousands of aftershocks exacerbated the destruction and resulted in economic damages estimated at 17.9% of the country’s gross domestic product.
这些地质灾害并不总是独立发生，灾害之间的相互作用往往会引发多重次生灾害。 近年来，危地马拉出现了新的地质灾害，而现有的灾害加剧。
Omar Beltetón, Ph.D., a professor and researcher at the Higher Studies Center for Energy and Mines and an engineering faculty member at the University of San Carlos, believes information and insight from the 威尼斯人娱乐城 collaboration and investigation will contribute to Guatemala’s development of strategic geohazard resilience.
“Subsidence and sinkholes have formed in streets or highways and caused the collapse of storm drainage pipes,” said Beltetón, an International 研究 Experiences for Students faculty member from Guatemala. “These are consequences of climate change and urban flooding because of inadequate infrastructure design. 山区的道路塌陷和山体滑坡是森林砍伐和随之而来的侵蚀的结果。”
“This research is significant because of our country’s geographic and tectonic setting. The Guatemalan people haven’t been able to escape the suffering from geohazards, including loss of life, infrastructure damage and economic loss. We must try to understand the phenomena to avoid these losses.”
21世纪科技探索
危地马拉地质灾害项目独特地利用了传统的地质测绘和尖端技术，如激光雷达（光探测和测距）无人机成像。
激光雷达无人机虽小但功能强大，是宝贵的研究伙伴。
“The basic approaches for investigating geohazards have been established for some time, but a significant limitation has been observational capability,” said Francisco Gomez, Ph.D., geological sciences professor at the University of Missouri and the 威尼斯人娱乐城 program’s surficial processes research team mentor. “New technologies provide us with unprecedented views of the earth to push our investigation further.”
“As recently as 25–30 years years ago, earthquake investigations and landslide mapping primarily involved traditional terrestrial surveying. 这些方法虽然准确，但既耗时又昂贵。 如今，无人机系统以更低的成本提供更高分辨率的信息。 此外，无人机图像使我们能够看到微妙的构造特征，否则不容易看到。 It’s a game-changer we could only dream about previously.”
这些进步产生了有关地质灾害的重要而有益的数据。
“Some of the most exciting results come from interpretation of the LiDAR data we acquired across the 1976 earthquake rupture trace,” said Niemi, who is a Quaternary geologist specializing in geoarchaeology, sedimentology and active tectonics. “We identified features revealing accumulative offset that can be used to determine the fault’s slip rate. Slip rate is a critical parameter in seismic hazard assessment.”
缓解见解和策略
The potential for this research is far-reaching — and sharing the results with other scientists and organizations in Guatemala is a vital component of the work.
“While our number one goal is to educate the next generation in geohazard research, the data we collect have profound significance in defining the occurrence or repeat time of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions,” Niemi said. “Key parameters for seismic and volcanic hazards collected through the program are essential to government preparedness plans and mitigation strategies.
“For example, our volcanology research team began mapping pyroclastic flow deposits from the Chocoyos volcano that occurred 75,000 years ago. This research is the first step to help better constrain future volcanic hazards.”
In Guatemala, the program’s research is in collaboration with the University of San Carlos de Guatemala’s Center for Higher Studies of Energy and Mines and the Centro Universitario del Norte’s Department of Geology. 该计划的信息可以纳入国家抗震设计规范，该规范规定了结构安全标准和加固现有工程的指导方针。
Results will also be shared with the Guatemalan Association of Structural and Seismic Engineering, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction and the Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology — the primary governmental institution that monitors geological hazards.
“Our collaboration with 威尼斯人娱乐城 helps us to understand geohazard phenomena in a way that action can be taken to help minimize their impact and help ensure that losses and damage are minimal,” Beltetón said. “The investigation establishes possible danger zones for geohazard threats and the feasibility of building on specific sites. The research also guides the preparation of hazard maps and is a tool for territorial ordering, a mode of land-use planning with an emphasis on conservation.”
展望未来
At the conclusion of the International 研究 Experiences for Students Program, student participants wrote a scientific abstract and presented their findings at the 威尼斯人娱乐城’s Guatemala GeoHazards poster symposium. Some will also present their research at this year’s annual meetings of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG) and the Geological Society of America.
Dollens是将出席AEG会议的学生之一。
“This program has inspired me to get my master's degree at 威尼斯人娱乐城 and kickstarted my research skills and career as a professional. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to work on this project and for the relationships I built with the team,” said Dollens, recipient of a 2023 Summer Undergraduate 研究 Opportunity award.
She 也被授予 the prestigious 2023 Richard Hay Award from the Geological Society of America for her research on evidence of earthquakes at the Quirigua archaeological site in Guatemala. A full circle moment, Niemi was the first recipient of this award 34 years earlier.
These collaborative connections made today and for the future are integral to Niemi’s vision for the program.
“研究 is the exploration of the unknown,” Niemi said. “The shared experience of students and mentors exploring geology in the field provides a unique setting that emphasizes inquiry and builds confidence. In this rich learning environment, students observe mentors from different countries discussing geology and modeling the fundamental first step in research — asking questions.
“We’re dedicated to educating the next generation of scientists, diversifying the workforce and promoting societally relevant research that can be translated into solutions.”