In this seminar, I will present three ongoing studies that utilize reliability analysis to evaluate the risks associated with environmental, hydrologic, and geotechnical systems. The first study uses stochastic finite elements to model contaminant transport in heterogeneous subsurface and to estimate the risk of not meeting water quality objectives. Some insights in regard to the values of collecting various types of data will be discussed. The second study considers the risk of dam foundation failures due to water overtopping during extreme flood events. Land-based LiDar will be used to obtain rock joints statistics for use in the reliability analysis. The third study is on reliability analysis of carbon dioxide geologic sequestration system. The focus is on measurement, monitoring, and verification.

The lecture can be attended without previous notice.