Catalina Pino-Rivas

Areas of interest

I investigate earthquake-induced landslides, with a focus on identifying the main controlling factors influencing their initiation in seismically active mountainous regions. This research is particularly relevant because, in tectonically active mountain belts such as Western Canada, landslides are among the most frequent geological hazards and can cause significant economic losses during and after large earthquakes.

My research focuses on two main study areas: Vancouver Island and southwestern Yukon. Vancouver Island provides an important study case due to the occurrence of a Mw 7.5 earthquake in 1946, for which extensive landslide evidence exists. In this region, my work aims to identify the main characteristics of coseismic landslide occurrence, improving our understanding of their mechanics, spatial distribution, and geological controlling factors. To achieve this, I combine ground-shaking models with statistical logistic regression and machine-learning approaches to develop regional coseismic landslide susceptibility maps.

On the other hand, the southwestern Yukon—particularly the Kluane Lake area—offers an ideal setting to investigate the combined effects of seismicity and climate change. This region is highly seismic and underlain by continuous and discontinuous permafrost. Using numerical modeling, I simulate different scenarios of permafrost warming and earthquakes to assess how climate-driven changes in preparatory conditions may influence future coseismic landslide hazard.