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Deterministic estimation of hydrological thresholds for shallow landslide initiation and slope stability models: case study from the Somma-Vesuvius area of southern Italy Deterministic estimation of hydrological thresholds for shallow landslide initiation and slope stability models: case study from the Somma-Vesuvius area of southern Italy

Rainfall-induced debris flows involving ash-fall pyroclastic deposits that cover steep mountain slopes surrounding the Somma-Vesuvius volcano are natural events and a source of risk for urban settlements located at footslopes in the area. This paper describes experimental methods and modelling results of shallow landslides that occurred on 5–6 May 1998 in selected areas of the Sarno...
Authors
Rex L. Baum, Jonathan W. Godt, P. De Vita, E. Napolitano

Effects of soil-engineering properties on the failure mode of shallow landslides Effects of soil-engineering properties on the failure mode of shallow landslides

Some landslides mobilize into flows, while others slide and deposit material immediately down slope. An index based on initial dry density and fine-grained content of soil predicted failure mode of 96 landslide initiation sites in Oregon and Colorado with 79% accuracy. These material properties can be used to identify potential sources for debris flows and for slides. Field data suggest...
Authors
Jonathan Peter McKenna, Paul Michael Santi, Xavier Amblard, Jacquelyn Negri

Sediment entrainment by debris flows: In situ measurements from the headwaters of a steep catchment Sediment entrainment by debris flows: In situ measurements from the headwaters of a steep catchment

Debris flows can dramatically increase their volume, and hence their destructive potential, by entraining sediment. Yet quantitative constraints on rates and mechanics of sediment entrainment by debris flows are limited. Using an in situ sensor network in the headwaters of a natural catchment we measured flow and bed properties during six erosive debris-flow events. Despite similar flow...
Authors
S.W. McCoy, Jason W. Kean, Jeffrey A. Coe, G.E. Tucker, Dennis M. Staley, T.A. Wasklewicz

Publication: Evansville hazard maps Publication: Evansville hazard maps

The Evansville (Indiana) Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project was completed in February 2012. It was a collaborative effort among the U.S. Geological Survey and regional partners Purdue University; the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis; the state geologic surveys of Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana; the Southwest Indiana Disaster Resistant...
Authors

Refinements to the method of epicentral location based on surface waves from ambient seismic noise: introducing Love waves Refinements to the method of epicentral location based on surface waves from ambient seismic noise: introducing Love waves

The purpose of this study is to develop and test a modification to a previous method of regional seismic event location based on Empirical Green’s Functions (EGFs) produced from ambient seismic noise. Elastic EGFs between pairs of seismic stations are determined by cross-correlating long ambient noise time-series recorded at the two stations. The EGFs principally contain Rayleigh- and...
Authors
Anatoli L. Levshin, Mikhail P. Barmin, Morgan P. Moschetti, Carlos Mendoza, Michael H. Ritzwoller

Objective definition of rainfall intensity-duration thresholds for the initiation of post-fire debris flows in southern California Objective definition of rainfall intensity-duration thresholds for the initiation of post-fire debris flows in southern California

Rainfall intensity–duration (ID) thresholds are commonly used to predict the temporal occurrence of debris flows and shallow landslides. Typically, thresholds are subjectively defined as the upper limit of peak rainstorm intensities that do not produce debris flows and landslides, or as the lower limit of peak rainstorm intensities that initiate debris flows and landslides. In addition...
Authors
Dennis Staley, Jason W. Kean, Susan H. Cannon, Kevin M. Schmidt, Jayme L. Laber

The new IASPEI standards for determining magnitudes from digital data and their relation to classical magnitudes The new IASPEI standards for determining magnitudes from digital data and their relation to classical magnitudes

Why there is a need for measurement standards of magnitudes: In October 2005, the Commission on Seismic Observation and Interpretation of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth´s Interior (IASPEI) adopted the summary recommendations made by the IASPEI Working Group on Magnitudes on new measurement standards for widely used local, regional and teleseismic...
Authors
Peter Bormann, James W. Dewey

Regional moisture balance control of landslide motion: implications for landslide forecasting in a changing climate Regional moisture balance control of landslide motion: implications for landslide forecasting in a changing climate

I correlated 12 years of annual movement of 18 points on a large, continuously moving, deep-seated landslide with a regional moisture balance index (moisture balance drought index, MBDI). I used MBDI values calculated from a combination of historical precipitation and air temperature data from A.D. 1895 to 2010, and downscaled climate projections using the Intergovernmental Panel on...
Authors
Jeffrey A. Coe
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