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On the watch for geomagnetic storms On the watch for geomagnetic storms

Geomagnetic storms, induced by solar activity, pose significant hazards to satellites, electrical power distribution systems, radio communications, navigation, and geophysical surveys. Strong storms can expose astronauts and crews of high-flying aircraft to dangerous levels of radiation. Economic losses from recent geomagnetic storms have run into hundreds of millions of dollars. With...
Authors
Arthur W. Green, William M. Brown

Hydraulic modeling of unsteady debris-flow surges with solid-fluid interactions Hydraulic modeling of unsteady debris-flow surges with solid-fluid interactions

Interactions of solid and fluid constituents produce the unique style of motion that typifies debris flows. To simulate this motion, a new hydraulic model represents debris flows as deforming masses of granular solids variably liquefied by viscous pore fluid. The momentum equation of the model describes how internal and boundary forces change as coarse-grained surge heads dominated by...
Authors
Richard M. Iverson

Normalizing rainfall/debris-flow thresholds along the U.S. Pacific coast for long-term variations in precipitation climate Normalizing rainfall/debris-flow thresholds along the U.S. Pacific coast for long-term variations in precipitation climate

Broad-scale variations in long-term precipitation climate may influence rainfall/debris-flow threshold values along the U.S. Pacific coast, where both the mean annual precipitation (MAP) and the number of rainfall days (#RDs) are controlled by topography, distance from the coastline, and geographic latitude. Previous authors have proposed that rainfall thresholds are directly...
Authors
Raymond C. Wilson

Debris-flow hazard map units from gridded probabilities Debris-flow hazard map units from gridded probabilities

The common statistical practice of dividing a range of probabilities into equal probability intervals may not result in useful landslide-hazard map units for areas populated by equal-area cells, each of which has a unique probability. Most hazard map areas contain very large numbers of cells having low probability of failure, and as probability increases, the number of cells decreases in...
Authors
Russell H. Campbell, Richard L. Bernknopf

Debris-flow hazards in areas affected by the June 27, 1995, storm in Madison County, Virginia Debris-flow hazards in areas affected by the June 27, 1995, storm in Madison County, Virginia

A severe storm on June 27, 1995 triggered hundreds of rock, debris and soil slides from the steep hillsides of Madison County, Virginia. Most of these transformed into debris flows that inundated areas downslope causing damage to structures, roads, utilities, livestock and crops. This report contains an analysis of areas susceptible to debris flows including an examination of source...
Authors
B. A. Morgan, G. F. Wieczorek, R. H. Campbell, P. L. Gori

Predicting landslide vegetation in patches on landscape gradients in Puerto Rico Predicting landslide vegetation in patches on landscape gradients in Puerto Rico

We explored the predictive value of common landscape characteristics for landslide vegetative stages in the Luquillo Experimental Forest of Puerto Rico using four different analyses. Maximum likelihood logistic regression showed that aspect, age, and substrate type could be used to predict vegetative structural stage. In addition it showed that the structural complexity of the vegetation...
Authors
R.W. Myster, J.R. Thomlinson, M. C. Larsen

Regional landslide-hazard evaluation using landslide slopes, Western Wasatch County, Utah Regional landslide-hazard evaluation using landslide slopes, Western Wasatch County, Utah

Landsliding has historically been one of the most damaging geologic hazards in western Wasatch County, Utah. Accordingly, we mapped and analyzed landslides (slumps and debris slides) in the area to provide an empirical basis for regional landslide-hazard evaluation. The 336 landslides in the 250-sq-mi (650-km2) area involve 20 geologic units, including Mississippian- to Quaternary-aged...
Authors
M.D. Hylland, Mark Lowe
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