Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 2400

Remote sensing of rainfall for debris-flow hazard assessment Remote sensing of rainfall for debris-flow hazard assessment

Recent advances in remote sensing of rainfall provide more detailed temporal and spatial data on rainfall distribution. Four case studies of abundant debris flows over relatively small areas triggered during intense rainstorms are examined noting the potential for using remotely sensed rainfall data for landslide hazard analysis. Three examples with rainfall estimates from National...
Authors
G. F. Wieczorek, J. A. Coe, J. W. Godt

Signatures of the seismic source in EMD-based characterization of the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake recordings Signatures of the seismic source in EMD-based characterization of the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake recordings

In this article we use empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to characterize the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake records and investigate the signatures carried over from the source rupture process. Comparison of the current study results with existing source inverse solutions that use traditional data processing suggests that the EMD-based characterization contains information that...
Authors
R.R. Zhang, S. Ma, S. Hartzell

Debris-flow initiation from large, slow-moving landslides Debris-flow initiation from large, slow-moving landslides

In some mountainous terrain, debris flows preferentially initiate from the toes and margins of larger, deeper, slower-moving landslides. During the wet winter of 1997, we began real-time monitoring of the large, active Cleveland Corral landslide complex in California, USA. When the main slide is actively moving, small, shallow, first-time slides on the toe and margins mobilize into...
Authors
M.E. Reid, D.L. Brien, R.G. LaHusen, J. J. Roering, J. de la Fuente, S. D. Ellen

Emergency assessment of potential debris-flow peak discharges, Coal Seam fire, Colorado Emergency assessment of potential debris-flow peak discharges, Coal Seam fire, Colorado

These maps present the results of assessments of peak discharges that can potentially be generated by debris flows issuing from the basins burned by the Coal Seam fire of June and July 2002, near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The maps are based on a regression model for debris-flow peak discharge normalized by average storm intensity as a function of basin gradient and burned extent, and...
Authors
Susan H. Cannon, John A. Michael, Joseph E. Gartner, Alan H. Rea, Steven P. Garcia

Interpreting the earthquake source of the Wabash Valley seismic zone (Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky) from seismic-reflection, gravity, and magnetic-intensity data Interpreting the earthquake source of the Wabash Valley seismic zone (Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky) from seismic-reflection, gravity, and magnetic-intensity data

Reprocessing of seismic-reflection data reveals new images of upper- to middle-crustal structures beneath the Wabash Valley seismic zone, located north of the New Madrid seismic zone within the seismically active southern Illinois basin. Four intersecting deep seismic profiles (243 km total) indicate an anomalous, 5–10-km-wide zone of dipping reflections and diffractions below the...
Authors
John H. McBride, Thomas G. Hildenbrand, William J. Stephenson, Christopher J. Potter

Emergency assessment of potential debris-flow peak discharges, Missionary Ridge fire, Colorado Emergency assessment of potential debris-flow peak discharges, Missionary Ridge fire, Colorado

These maps present the results of assessments of peak discharges that can potentially be generated by debris flows issuing from the basins burned by the Missionary Ridge fire of June 9 through July 14, 2002, near Durango, Colorado. The maps are based on a regression model for debris-flow peak discharge normalized by average storm intensity as a function of basin gradient and burned...
Authors
Susan H. Cannon, Alan H. Rea, J. Andrew Gleason, Stephen P. Garcia

Natural hazards on alluvial fans: The Venezuela debris flow and flash flood disaster Natural hazards on alluvial fans: The Venezuela debris flow and flash flood disaster

In December 1999, rainstorms induced thousands of landslides along the Cordillera de la Costa, Vargas, northern Venezuela. Rainfall on December 2-3 totaled 200 millimeters (8 inches) and was followed by a major storm (911 millimeters, or 36 inches) on December 14 through 16. Debris flows and flash floods on alluvial fans inundated coastal communities, caused severe property destruction...
Authors
Matthew C. Larsen, Gerald F. Wieczoreck, L. Scott Eaton, Benjamin A. Morgan, Heriberto Torres-Sierra

Digital inventory of landslides and related deposits in Honduras triggered by Hurricane Mitch Digital inventory of landslides and related deposits in Honduras triggered by Hurricane Mitch

Intense rainfall from Hurricane Mitch from October 27-31, 1998, exceeded 900 mm in places in Honduras and triggered in excess of 500,000 landslides throughout the country. Landslides damaged an estimated 70% of the road network in Honduras based on estimates by the U. S Army Corps of Engineers. Numbers of fatalities due to landslides are not accurately known due to the fact that numerous...
Authors
Edwin L. Harp, Kirk W. Hagaman, Matthew D. Held, Jonathan P. McKenna

Landslides triggered by Hurricane Mitch in Tegucigalpa, Honduras Landslides triggered by Hurricane Mitch in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

The arrival of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras in the latter part of the 1998 hurricane season produced effects that were unprecedented in their widespread nature throughout Central America. After winds from the storm had blown down more than 70 percent of the conifer forest on the Bay Island of Guanaja, the hurricane turned inland and stalled over the mainland of Honduras for 3 days. The...
Authors
Edwin L. Harp, Mario Castaneda, Matthew D. Held

Investigation of an earthquake swarm near Trinidad, Colorado, August-October 2001 Investigation of an earthquake swarm near Trinidad, Colorado, August-October 2001

A swarm of 12 widely felt earthquakes occurred between August 28 and September 21, 2001, in the area west of the town of Trinidad, Colorado. The earthquakes ranged in magnitude between 2.8 and 4.6, and the largest event occurred on September 5, eight days after the initial M 3.4 event. The nearest permanent seismograph station to the swarm is about 290 km away, resulting in large...
Authors
Mark E. Meremonte, John C. Lahr, Arthur D. Frankel, James W. Dewey, Anthony J. Crone, Dee E. Overturf, David L. Carver, W. Thomas Bice.
Was this page helpful?