Deep water presents special problems in determining shear strengths, stratigraphy and topography. Slope stability analyses can be used to back calculate shear strengths, however, there is greater uncertainty than on dry land because there is greater uncertainty in the topography. The purpose of this thesis is to determine uncertainty in submarine slope stability and back calculated shear strengths in deep water. In addition, a methodology for dealing with nonlinear envelopes when back calculating shear strengths is explored. A series of parametric studies were performed in which the influence of stratigraphy on stability was investigated. Both circular and noncircular shear surfaces were assumed in the stability analyses. A study also was performed to investigate the effects of topography on the stability of a deep water submerged slope. In particular, the effects of uncertainty in the topography on the evaluation of slope stability were examined. In these studies, shear strengths were characterized assuming both drained cases in which c = 0 and undrained cases in which f = 0.
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