Geotechnical Reconnaissance of the 2022 Southern Montana/ Yellowstone Floods

In June 2022, the southern part of Montana and the northern part of Yellowstone National Park experienced flooding along multiple watersheds, including the Yellowstone River. The flooding resulted from heavy snowmelt between June 10-13th, leading to record levels of river water elevation in most of the main tributaries to the Yellowstone River. Substantial damage occurred to residential, commercial, and transport infrastructure, however, no fatalities were reported. Estimated damages accumulate to approximately U.S. $29 million. The GEER reconnaissance effort, conducted between June 30th – July 4th, recorded geotechnical, geo-structural, and geomorphological observations of failures as well as successful mitigation of flood damage. In addition to traditional terrestrial photography and aerial imagery, the team collected (Light Detection Ranging (LIDAR) scanning, Structure for Motion (SfM) imagery, and Multispectral Imagery to establish point cloud models for case history analyses and post-reconnaissance failure analyses.2022年6月，美国蒙大拿州南部与黄石国家公园北部区域的多个流域（包括黄石河（Yellowstone River））遭遇洪涝灾害。此次洪涝由6月10日至13日的强融雪事件引发，致使黄石河多数主要支流的水位达到历史峰值。洪涝对民用、商用及交通基础设施造成了严重破坏，但未出现人员死亡报告，经估算，此次灾害的总损失约为2900万美元。GEER勘察团队于6月30日至7月4日开展实地调研，记录了岩土工程、地质结构与地貌学视角下的破坏现象，以及成功实施的洪灾减灾措施。除传统地面摄影与航空影像外，该团队还采集了激光雷达（Light Detection and Ranging, LIDAR）扫描数据、运动结构（Structure for Motion, SfM）影像及多光谱影像，以构建点云模型，用于案例历史分析与灾后破坏分析。