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Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria

September 27, 2023

Hurricane Maria induced about 70,000 landslides throughout Puerto Rico, USA (Hughes and others, 2019). Data in this project pertain to two areas situated in Puerto Rico’s rugged Cordillera Central range. Combined, these areas account for more than half of the hurricane-induced landslides. One of these areas encloses two neighboring municipalities, Lares Municipio, and Utuado Municipio, and the second area encloses Naranjito Municipio. These data include one-meter (1-m) resolution raster grids derived from post-hurricane light detection and ranging (lidar) digital elevation models (DEM) available at the 3DEP LidarExplorer (https://apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/#/). The elevation data as well as slope and flow accumulation grids derived from them were the primary inputs for soil-depth models and slope-stability models. We used outputs from these models to map susceptibility to landslide initiation and evaluate future landslide impacts from storms like Hurricane Maria for these three municipalities. The data accompany an interpretive paper. The area covering Lares and Utuado is divided into four overlapping tiles. A fifth tile covers Naranjito. DEM tiles extend far enough into neighboring tiles and municipalities to allow assessment of flow accumulation as well as landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in watersheds that straddle boundaries. The raster grids are grouped into zip archives according to their associated tiles and each zip archive contains a complete set of nine 1-m resolution input and output grids of the following data types and naming conventions, in which the "*" identifies the tile as well as selected model options:

*pm.tif - 1m- lidar-derived DEM, with elevation in meters
nar1mfloacc*.tif or larutu*floacc.tif - D8 flow accumulation raster, used as input for soil depth estimates
*_Zn.tif - input-parameter-zone codes (unitless) to define geologic terrane, used as input for soil depth and slope-stability estimates
RG_slope_*.tif - slope of the ground surface (degrees) computed using REGOLITH 1.0 (Baum and others, 2021) and used as input for slope-stability analysis
RG_NASD_smo_*.tif - soil depth (meters) estimates computed using REGOLITH 1.0 (Baum and others, 2021) and used as input for slope-stability analysis
TRfs_min_*.tif- 1d factor of safety (unitless) computed using TRIGRS 2.1 (Alvioli and Baum, 2016)
TRp_at_fs_min_*.tif- 1d pressure head (meters) computed using TRIGRS 2.1 (Alvioli and Baum 2016) and used as input for 3D slope-stability analysis
SL3_fs3d_*.tif - quasi-three-dimensional (3D) factor of safety (unitless) for trial surface centered at each grid cell computed using Slabs3D 1.0 (Baum, 2023)
SL3_fs3dmn_*.tif - minimum 3D factor of safety (unitless) for any trial surface intersecting each grid cell computed using Slabs3D 1.0 (Baum, 2023)

Each tile has six asociated metadata files. Parameter inputs to and outputs from the programs REGOLITH 1.0, TRIGRS 2.1, and Slabs3D 1.0 are grouped into corresponding metadata files for each tile. The metadata files have the following naming convention, in which the "*" is a code that identifies the tile ("larutu1," or "a1," "larutu2," or "a2," "larutu3," or "a3," and "larutu4," or "a4," for the Lares and Utuado tiles and "nar" for the Naranjito tile):
*pm.xml - 1m-lidar-derived DEM
*floacc.xml - D8 flow accumulation raster
*_Zn.xml - input-parameter-zone raster
RG_*.xml - REGOLITH 1.0 parameter input file, slope output raster and soil-depth output raster
TR_*.xml - TRIGRS 2.1 parameter input file, pressure head output raster and local factor of safety output raster
SL3_*.xml - Slabs3D 1.0 parameter input file, 3D factor of safety output rasters

Parameter input files accompany this data release, with the following naming convention, in which the "*" is a code that identifies the tile ("a1," "a2," "a3," and "a4" in Lares and Utuado or "nar" for Naranjito):
rg_in_*.txt - REGOLITH 1.0 input parameters
tr_in_*.txt - TRIGRS 2.1 input parameters
slabs3d_in_*.txt - Slabs3D 1.0 input parameters

Publication Year 2023
Title Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria
DOI 10.5066/P9C1U0LP
Authors Rex L Baum, Dianne L Brien, Mark E Reid, William Schulz, Matthew J. Tello, Emily C Bedinger
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Geologic Hazards Science Center