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Landslide Hazards Seminar

By Landslide Hazards Program

The USGS Landslide Hazards Seminar is a speaker series that brings together landslide researchers, academics, students, applied scientists, and others to share their work in a long format. Topics range from deep dives into numerical models to broad overviews of landslide hazards of a state. The 50-minute presentations are presented live on regular Wednesdays at 3:00 PM Mountain Time. 

View Videos on USGS YouTube Channel

2023 Seminars

DATE SPEAKER AFFILIATION TITLE (click to view video)
11/08/23 Scott Beason

Mount Rainier
National Park

 Forecasting and seismic
detection of debris flows
at Mount Rainier 
National Park
09/27/23 Lauren
Schaefer

U.S Geological
Survey

 Kinematic evolution of a
large paraglacial landslide
in the Barry Arm fjord of
Alaska
08/23/23 Thad
Wasklewicz		 Stantec Post-Wildfire Debris Flow
and Large Woody Debris
Transport Modeling from
the North Complex Fire to
Lake Oroville, CA, USA
08/09/23 Corey Scheip BGC Engineering Insights on the growth and
mobility of debris flows from
repeat high resolution LiDAR
07/20/23 Chris Massey
Kerry Leith		 GNS Science Cyclone Gabrielle
Landslides, New Zealand
07/12/23 Kyra Bornong Idaho State
University

A novel union of LiDAR
inventories and InSAR: 
Documenting the distribution
and activity of landslides in
Yellowstone National Park
06/21/23 Robert
Emberson		 NASA

What characterizes rainfall
triggered landslides and
the places they impact?
06/14/23 Jeremy
Venditti		 Simon Fraser
University		 The rockslide that blocked
salmon migration in the Fraser
River, British Columbia
05/17/23 Daniel Coe Washington
Geological Survey		 Communicating landslide
information and hazards with
maps and graphics at the
Washington Geological Survey
05/10/23 Jacob
Woodard		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Mapping landslide susceptibility
over diverse regions with limited
data
04/12/23 Ari
Jong-Levinger		 University of
California
Irvine		 Modeling post-fire flood and
debris-flow hazards
considering infrastructure
sedimentation
03/22/23 David
Cavagnaro		 University of 
Nevada Reno		 The spatial distribution of
post-fire debris flows in relation
to observed rainfall anomalies:
Insights from the Dolan
Fire, California
03/08/23 Christopher
Maike		 North Dakota
Geological Survey		 North Dakota landslide
mapping: A complete
inventory and mapping
into the future
02/15/23 Paula
Burgi		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Liquefaction or liquefiction?
Anthropogenic regulation and
the influence of evaporite
dissolution on ground failure
in the 2019 Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest
Earthquake and beyond
02/08/23 Sebastian
Uhlemann

Lawrence Berkeley
National 
Laboratory

 Integrated monitoring of urban
landslide hazards using
geophysics, remote sensing, 
and wireless sensor networks
01/17/23 Philip Prince Appalachian
Landslide 
Consultants

Blockslides, summit grabens, and
collapsing highwalls of the
Appalachian Valley and Ridge:
Using lidar-derived imagery to
reevaluate a thoroughly studied
landscape
01/11/23 Nikita
Avdievitch

U.S. Geological
Survey

Submarine landslide
susceptibility
in Alaskan fjords

 

2022 Seminars

DATE

SPEAKER

AFFILIATION

TITLE (click to view video)
11/16/22 James Mauch Wyoming
Geological
Survey		 Landslides in Wyoming:
Work, challenges, and
case studies
11/09/22 Jeff Coe U.S. Geological
Survey

Sackung at Bald Eagle 
Mountain, central Colorado:
An updated interpretation
of ridge-spreading movement
based on surveying and
mapping from 1975-2022
09/28/22 Alex Gorr University
of Arizona		 ProDF: A tool for the rapid
assessment of post-wildfire
debris-flow inundation
09/21/22 Ben Leshchinsky Oregon State
University		 Beyond the infinite slope:
Using topographic data to
explore landslide controls 
09/14/22 Stephen DeLong U.S. Geological
Survey

Landslide susceptibility in
Minnesota: Insight from
landslide inventory mapping
and lidar change detection
08/17/22 Olivia Hoch U.S. Geological
Survey

Temporal changes in rainfall
intensity-duration thresholds
for debris flows in a
recovering burned area
08/10/22 Martha Kopper Arkansas
Geological
Survey		 The Arkansas Geological
Survey Landslide Program
07/20/22 Kate Allstadt U.S. Geological
Survey

The USGS ground failure
product: 3.5 years of near-
real-time estimates of 
earthquake-triggered
landslides and liquefaction
07/13/22 Bob Biek Utah Geological
Survey

Utah's ancient 
mega-landslides
06/22/2 Bill Schulz U.S Geological
Survey		 Shear surface undulations
modulate gouge strength
and contribute to
divergent landslide acceleration
06/15/22 Jeff Keck

Washington 
State Dept. of
Natural
Resources

 MassWasting Router: A
watershed-scale sediment
production (landslides!)
and transport model
06/08/22 Rex Baum U.S. Geological
Survey

Five decades of progress in
landslide assessments
05/18/22 Corina
Cerovski-Darriau		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Landslides triggered by
Hurricane Maria:
Assessment of an extreme
event in Puerto Rico
05/11/22 Rick Wooten 2021-2022 Jahns
Distinguished
Lecturer		 The building and upkeep of a
Landslide hazards program:
The confluence (collision?)
of science, history, politics,
and public opinion –
A Blue Ridge perspective
on a national challenge
04/20/22 De Anne
Stevens

Alaska Dept.
of Natural 
Resources

Alaska Landslides -
A challenge for the
Last Frontier
04/13/22 Zach Lifton

Idaho
Geological
Survey

 An overview of landslide
hazards in Idaho
03/23/22 Andrew
Kozlowski		 New York State
Museum		 Landslides in the Empire State – 
A brief review of the
Quaternary geology and
landslide styles and
phenomena in New York State 
03/16/22 Francis Rengers U.S. Geological
Survey

Exploring debris-flow processes
with lidar and structure-from-
motion
3/09/22 Brian Collins U.S. Geological
Survey		 Preparing for landslide disasters:
Lessons learned from 20 years
of USGS landslide response 
2/16/22 Lindsay Spigel Maine
Geological
Survey

Sea to summit: An overview
of landslides in Maine 
2/9/22 Will Struble University of
Arizona		 Seismic vs hydrologic triggering
of landslide dams in the Oregon
Coast Range
1/19/22 Matt Lato &
Carie-Ann Lau		 BGC
Engineering		 A coordinated response to
the November 2021 atmospheric
rivers on infrastructure in British
Columbia
1/12/22 Nick Mathews U.S. Geological
Survey		 A regional-scale three-
dimensional susceptibility
model for enhanced
evaluation of rainfall- and
seismically induced
landsliding

 

2021 Seminars

DATE SPEAKER AFFILIATION TITLE (click to view video)
12/08/2021 Jennifer
Bauer		 Appalachian
Landslide
Consultants		 Landslide science - One
consultant’s role in connecting
research with the public
11/17/2021 Jeremy
Lancaster		 California
Geological
Survey		 Landslide case studies across
California’s diverse terrain
11/10/2021 Annette
Patton		 University of
Oregon		 Climate change and landslides
in subpolar Alaska: Less ice,
more water
10/27/2021 Greg Stock U.S. National
Park Service		 Pace of rockfalls and cliff retreat
in Yosemite Valley since the Last
Glacial Maximum
10/20/2021 Andrew Graber Colorado School
of Mines		 Evaluating rockfall frequency
from natural slopes at multiple
timescales using multiple
timescales – Examples fro
Glenwood Canyon, CO
9/29/2021 Denny Capps U.S. National
Park Service		 Infrastructure on ice –
when your road rides on
an accelerating rock glacier
09/22/2021 Erich
Peitzcsh		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Snow avalanches: A hazard and
driver of landscape change
09/15/2021 Paul Santi Colorado
School
of Mines		 Water and sediment supply
requirements for post-wildfire
debris flows in the western
United States
09/08/2021 Richard Giraud Utah
Geological
Survey		 Utah landslides — Types,
problems, and risk reduction
08/25/2021 Kevin Schmidt U.S. Geological
Survey		 Active landsliding and rock
strength controls along the
Big Sur Coast, California
08/18/2021 Francis Ashland U.S. Geological
Survey		 Widespread landslides during
the 2018 wet year in Pittsburgh:
The impact of extreme winter
storms on subsurface hydrologic
conditions and the resulting
reduction of the critical
rainfall threshold
08/11/2021 Helen Delano Pennsylvania
Geological
Survey		 Pennsylvania landslides,
Pittsburgh and beyond:
A 40-year perspective
07/28/2021 Kirk
Townsend		 University of
Michigan		 The contribution of rock-mass
strength to topographic form
and post-wildfire erosion:
Insights from the western
Transverse Ranges,
southern California
07/21/2021 Kate
Mickelson		 Washington
Geological
Survey		 Washington Geological Survey’s
Landslide Hazard Program
07/14/2021 Katy
Barnhart		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Preliminary assessment of the
wave generating potential from
landslides at Barry Arm, Prince
William Sound, Alaska
06/30/2021 Jon Perkins U.S. Geological
Survey		 How can vadose zone hydrology
influence the timing and
dynamic range of seasonal
landslide deformation?
A case study from northern
California’s Oak
Ridge earthflow
06/23/2021 Matt Thomas U.S. Geological
Survey		 Postwildfire soil-hydraulic
recovery and the persistence
of debris flow hazards
06/16/2021 Bill Burns Oregon Dept.
of Geology &
Mineral
Industries		 Fire and debris-flow hazards
in Oregon: ETART (BAER) and
GEER - Initial post-fire debris
flow observations
06/09/2021 Corey Froese BGC
Engineering		 Management of large rock slope
hazards: Two decades of
learnings
05/26/2021 Jason Kean U.S. Geological
Survey		 Forecasting the frequency and
magnitude of postfire debris
flows across southern
California...and maybe beyond
05/12/2021 Scott McCoy University of
Nevada Reno		 Rainfall-intensity thresholds for
post-wildfire debris-flow
initiation vary with climatology
of peak rainfall intensity
04/28/2021 Adam Booth Portland
State
University		 Landslide-forest feedbacks in the
United States' largest forest
carbon reservoir: southeast
Alaska
04/21/2021 Noah
Finnegan		 University of
California
Santa Cruz		 Deformational processes
governing frictional sliding
in a large, slow-moving landslide
04/14/2021 James
Guilinger		 University of
California
Riverside		 A nested scale analysis of postfire
sediment source and transport
dynamics across the 2018
Holy Fire burn scar, Santa
Ana Mountains, CA
03/31/2021 Ingrid Tomac University of
California San
Diego		 Rainwater droplet impact
dynamics on hydrophobic
sand surface and mudflow
onset mechanism
03/24/2021 Jeff Moore University
of Utah		 Slope stability vibrometry:
In-situ seismic vibration
measurements for slope
stability characterization
and monitoring
03/17/2021 Stephanie
Kampf		 Colorado State
University
Fort
Collins		 Post-fire erosion model
comparisons at hillslope
to watershed scale
03/10/2021 Richard
Iverson		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Landslide disparities, flume
discoveries, and Oso despair
02/24/2021 Katy Barnhart,
Ryan Jones,
Matt Thomas		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Meet the Mendenhalls
02/17/2021 Netra Regmi Oklahoma
Geological
Survey		 Characteristics of shallow
landslides in eastern
Oklahoma and western Arkansas
02/10/2021 Jonathan
Warrick		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Coastal landslides
(and other changes) through
the lens of SfM photogrammetry
01/27/2021 Alex
Handwerger		 University of
California
Los Angeles,
Jet Propulsion
Laboratory		 Landslide identification using
synthetic aperture radar change
detection on the Google Earth
Engine
01/20/2021 Kate Allstadt U.S. Geological
Survey		 Documenting and modeling
landslides and liquefaction
triggered by recent US
earthquakes
01/13/2021 Melissa Ward
Jones		 University
of Alaska
Fairbanks		 Recent retrogressive thaw
slumping activity in the
Canadian high Arctic

 

2020 Seminars

11/18/2020 Colton
Conroy		 Columbia
University		 Modeling entrainment of bed
sediment by debris flows and
water floods
10/28/2020 Jeff
Prancevic		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 The relative importance of
landslides and soil creep for
eroding steep soil-mantled
hillslopes
10/21/2020 Luke McGuire,
Ann Youberg		 University of
Arizona,
Arizona
Geological
Survey 		 Post-wildfire debris flow
hazards: Insights from
recovering burned areas in
the Southwestern US
10/14/2020 Sean
LaHusen		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Deep-seated landslide
susceptibility and triggering
in the Oregon Coast Range
09/30/2020 Benjamin
Campforts		 University of
Colorado
Boulder		 How landslides alter sediment
dynamics: Answers from
HyLands, a large-scale
landscape evolution model
09/23/2020 Margaret
Darrow		 University of
Alaska
Fairbanks		 Impacts of permafrost slope
stability on infrastructure in
Arctic Alaska
09/16/2020 Matt
Crawford		 Kentucky
Geological
Survey		 Landslide susceptibility and
risk in eastern Kentucky
09/09/2020 William
Medwedeff		 University of
Michigan

What controls weathering
and hillslope strength in a
tectonically active
environment?
Lessons from geotechnical
observations in central Nepal
08/26/2020 Don
Lindsay		 California
Geological
Survey		 A systematic approach to
evaluating and prescribing
post-fire triggering thresholds
in the second year after wildfire
08/19/2020 Ben
Mirus		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Landslides across the United
States: Occurrence,
susceptibility, and
data limitations
08/12/2020 Hig
Brentwood		 Ground Truth
Trekking		 Questions raised by the Barry
Arm
landslides in Alaska
07/29/2020 Nina
Oakley		 Center for
Western Weather
& Water Extremes		 Extreme precipitation research
and tools at the Center for
Western Weather and Water
Extremes (CW3E)
07/22/2020 Corey
Scheip		 North Carolina
State University 		 HazMapper: A global
open-source natural hazard
mapping application in Google
Earth Engine
07/15/2020 Thomas
Rapstine		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Towards airborne
measurements of
ground displacement
07/08/2020 Erin
Bessette-
Kirton		 University of
Utah		 Slope stability vibration
monitoring at Courthouse
Mesa, Utah
06/24/2020 Arnaud
Temme		 Kansas State
University		 How do past landslides matter?
06/17/2020 Paul
Burgess		 California
Geological
Survey		 Soil slip, shallow landslide,
and debris flow activity in San
Diego County, early April, 2020
06/10/2020 Sabrina
Martinez,
Liam Toney		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Semi-automatic landslide
detection in Puerto Rico and
rock-ice avalanche dynamics
in Alaska
06/03/2020 Eli
Orland		 National
Aeronautics
and Space
Administration		 Deep Learning to forecast soil
moisture conditions on
landslide-prone hillslopes
05/20/2020 Dalia
Kirschbaum		 National
Aeronautics
and Space
Administration		 Remote sensing of landslide
hazard: A multi-scale, multi-
modal approach
05/13/2020 Bill Schulz,
Kenneth
Hughes		 U.S. Geological
Survey,
University
of
Puerto Rico
Mayagüez		 Factors contributing to
hurricane-induced landslides
in Puerto Rico: Implications
for hazards and sediment
mobilization
05/06/2020 Stephen
Slaughter,
Jeff Coe		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 USGS landslide mission to Chile:
Initial motivations, March 2020
travel log, and future plans
04/22/2020 Brian
Collins		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Linking mesoscale meteorology
with extreme landscape
response
04/15/2020 Francis
Ashland,
Sabrina
Martinez		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Landslide response efforts in
Vicksburg, Mississippi
04/08/2020 Francis
Rengers		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Controls on debris-flow
initiation during an
exceptional rainstorm
in southern New Mexico
04/01/2020 Jaime
Kostelnik		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Developing a post-wildfire
debris-flow event database
and web page
03/11/2020 Bill
Schulz		 U.S. Geological
Survey		 Using a dense seismic array
to determine structure and
site effects of the Two
Towers Earthflow in
northern California
02/19/2020 Lauren
Schaefer		 Colorado
School of
Mines		 Estimating physical and
mechanical rock properties
through reflectance
spectroscopy