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Hillslope hydrologic monitoring data following Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico, July 2018 to June 2020

August 28, 2020

This data release includes time-series, qualitative descriptions, and laboratory testing data from two monitoring stations installed in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017, which led to tens of thousands of landslides across the island (Bessette-Kirton et al., 2017). The stations were installed in July of 2018 to investigate subsurface hydrologic response to rainfall and develop a quantitative link between rainfall and landsliding. The Toro Negro site is located within the state protected Toro Negro rainforest near 18 degrees 10 minutes north, 66 degrees and 34 minutes west and the Utuado site is located outside the city of Utuado near 18 degrees, 17 minutes north , 66 degrees 39 minutes west. The soil found at the Toro Negro site is low-permeability, fine-grained and cohesive, and underlain by saprolite. In contrast, the soil found at Utuado has higher hydraulic conductivity, relatively incohesive, and shallowly underlain by granodioritic bedrock.

Publication Year 2020
Title Hillslope hydrologic monitoring data following Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico, July 2018 to June 2020
DOI 10.5066/P9548YK2
Authors Joel B Smith, Matthew A Thomas, Francis Ashland, Abigail Michel, Benjamin B Mirus, Alexandra Wayllace
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Landslide Hazards Programs