Landslide susceptibility is commonly assessed using physics-based slope stability models. However, modeling the three-dimensional (3D) mechanics of discrete landslides, on a regional scale, remains challenging.
Lisa A Wald
Lisa has worked for the USGS since 1987, first as a Research Geophysicist and then as a Science Communicator and Web Content Manager for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, the Landslide Hazards Program, the Geomagnetism Program, and the Natural Hazards Mission Area. She is also a member of Natural Hazards Mission Science Communications Team.
Computer/Software Experience
- HTML, CSS, Adobe Creative Suite, Office 365, WordPress.
Relevant Experience in Science Communications and Graphic Design & Layout
- Created and coordinated an Education & Outreach Program for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Team office in Pasadena, CA with no budget; created USGS Public Lecture Series, created and lead Teacher Workshops to teach teachers how to teach classrooms about earthquakes with hands-on materials.
- Created classroom activities for K-6 to teach about various earthquake science.
- Forged a partnership with the KidSpace Museum in Pasadena, CA, and served as a scientific consultant for their new hands-on earthquake exhibit; worked with exhibit designers.
- Created and presented hands-on talks/presentations about earthquakes to K-6 classrooms and community organizations throughout the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.
- Coordinated several-year long project to completely redesign the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program website, which involved several 1000 webpages, and web developers spread in several offices throughout the US.
- Coordinated USGS “booths” at local, regional, and national meetings and answered questions.
- Author and co-author, and graphic design and layout of many USGS Fact Sheets, which are publications that communicate science to the general public; general 5000-10,000 copies printed at a time often with second printings.
- Created posters, flyers, and brochures for Pasadena and Golden USGS office events, internal and public.
- Science writer for USGS "Science for Everyone" articles.
Science Communications Articles for a Non-Technical Audience
- Science for Everyone articles - Earthquake Hazards Program
- Science for Everyone articles - Landslide Hazards Program
- Science for Everyone articles - Geomagnetism Program
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 34
Using Distant Seismometers to Monitor and Analyze Volcanic Eruptions
Before a volcano erupts, there are typically precursory activities that can be detected on seismometers. Thus, monitoring volcanoes with nearby seismometers is a good way to know when a volcanic eruption may be imminent. Placing these instruments around every volcano is, however, not possible due to logistical constraints, nor is it necessary in many locations far away from a population center.
The 2023 National Seismic Hazard Model – What's Shaking?
No one can predict earthquakes. But existing faults and past earthquakes give us information about future earthquakes, and geology tells us how the ground shakes during an earthquake.
CSI: Rockfall Forensics
The next time you find yourself at the bottom of a cliff, make sure to look up.
Improving Earthquake Monitoring with Deep Learning
Release Date: MARCH 12, 2021 On January 20, 2021 at 8:32am light shaking interrupted breakfast customers at a local coffee shop south of downtown Los Angeles, California. Everyone paused briefly while they waited to see if it was going to stop… or start shaking harder.
How Often Do Rainstorms Cause Debris Flows in Burned Areas of the Southwestern U.S.?
Debris flows, sometimes referred to as mudslides, mudflows, lahars, or debris avalanches, are common types of fast-moving landslides. They usually start on steep hillsides as a result of shallow landslides, or from runoff and erosion that liquefy and accelerate to speeds in excess of 35 mi/h. The consistency of debris flows ranges from thin, watery to thick, rocky mud that can carry large items...
Auroras and Earthquakes: Strange Companions
Release Date: JULY 6, 2020 In 1722 and 1723 a London clockmaker, George Graham, observed daily and consistent variations on one of his instruments, a “Needle upon the Pin” (a compass), for which he had no explanation. Swedish scientists obtained some of Graham’s instruments to record what is now known to be the variations in Earth’s magnetic field. In 1741, they noticed a significant deflection of...
The Blind Zone of Earthquake Early Warning
Release Date: MAY 29, 2020 Residents in California, Oregon, and Washington have been told that earthquake early warning (EEW) is at their doorstep and will alert them to the shaking from an earthquake before it arrives. Some media reports have said there will be “up to a minute of warning”. The problem is, for onshore earthquakes these claims are exaggerated, and under some conditions a warning is...
What if the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System Had Been Operating During the M6.9 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake?
Release Date: OCTOBER 17, 2019 How will ShakeAlert® likely perform now on a large earthquake impacting a major urban area? How much warning will you get? To answer this, let’s do a thought experiment...
Earthquake Early Warning – Fine-Tuning for Best Alerts
Release Date: OCTOBER 8, 2019 The goal of an earthquake early warning (EEW) system is to provide an alert to people and automatic systems after an earthquake begins but before the shaking reaches their location. As the USGS and its partners are developing an EEW system, called ShakeAlert®, for the West Coast, the benefits, costs, capabilities, and limitations are being investigated. Two recent...
Earthquake Animations
Animations for earthquake terms and concepts.
Potential Landslide Paths and Implications for Tsunami Hazards in Glacier Bay, Alaska – An Initial Investigation
Glacier Bay and its inlets are a popular destination for cruise ships and passenger boats; about 540,000 people visited Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) in 2017. A typical tour of the Bay traverses the entire length up to the glacier calving viewpoints in the Johns Hopkins and Tarr Inlets. A 2018 article “Landslides and Giant Waves” by the National Park Service (NPS) states, “The...
Geologic Cracks Record Earthquakes on the Reelfoot Fault in Central U.S.
Release Date: APRIL 25, 2019 New high-resolution lidar data reveals cracks produced from strong shaking in past earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone.
Landslide susceptibility is commonly assessed using physics-based slope stability models. However, modeling the three-dimensional (3D) mechanics of discrete landslides, on a regional scale, remains challenging.
Landslide case studies across California’s diverse terrain
California is one of the most geologically diverse states in the nation, the second most seismically active, and first in seismic risk with a population approaching 40 million.
California is one of the most geologically diverse states in the nation, the second most seismically active, and first in seismic risk with a population approaching 40 million.
Climate change and landslides in subpolar Alaska: Less ice, more water
Landslide initiation processes in subarctic Alaska are complicated by the prevalence of ice-rich permafrost. Permafrost and permafrost thaw influence landslide type, frequency, and continued ground surface deformation, resulting in positive feedbacks between permafrost thaw and landsliding.
Landslide initiation processes in subarctic Alaska are complicated by the prevalence of ice-rich permafrost. Permafrost and permafrost thaw influence landslide type, frequency, and continued ground surface deformation, resulting in positive feedbacks between permafrost thaw and landsliding.
Damaged Building
A downtown building at the corner of Alice and 13th Streets lost part of its unreinforced facade and brick masonry.
A downtown building at the corner of Alice and 13th Streets lost part of its unreinforced facade and brick masonry.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 34
Using Distant Seismometers to Monitor and Analyze Volcanic Eruptions
Before a volcano erupts, there are typically precursory activities that can be detected on seismometers. Thus, monitoring volcanoes with nearby seismometers is a good way to know when a volcanic eruption may be imminent. Placing these instruments around every volcano is, however, not possible due to logistical constraints, nor is it necessary in many locations far away from a population center.
The 2023 National Seismic Hazard Model – What's Shaking?
No one can predict earthquakes. But existing faults and past earthquakes give us information about future earthquakes, and geology tells us how the ground shakes during an earthquake.
CSI: Rockfall Forensics
The next time you find yourself at the bottom of a cliff, make sure to look up.
Improving Earthquake Monitoring with Deep Learning
Release Date: MARCH 12, 2021 On January 20, 2021 at 8:32am light shaking interrupted breakfast customers at a local coffee shop south of downtown Los Angeles, California. Everyone paused briefly while they waited to see if it was going to stop… or start shaking harder.
How Often Do Rainstorms Cause Debris Flows in Burned Areas of the Southwestern U.S.?
Debris flows, sometimes referred to as mudslides, mudflows, lahars, or debris avalanches, are common types of fast-moving landslides. They usually start on steep hillsides as a result of shallow landslides, or from runoff and erosion that liquefy and accelerate to speeds in excess of 35 mi/h. The consistency of debris flows ranges from thin, watery to thick, rocky mud that can carry large items...
Auroras and Earthquakes: Strange Companions
Release Date: JULY 6, 2020 In 1722 and 1723 a London clockmaker, George Graham, observed daily and consistent variations on one of his instruments, a “Needle upon the Pin” (a compass), for which he had no explanation. Swedish scientists obtained some of Graham’s instruments to record what is now known to be the variations in Earth’s magnetic field. In 1741, they noticed a significant deflection of...
The Blind Zone of Earthquake Early Warning
Release Date: MAY 29, 2020 Residents in California, Oregon, and Washington have been told that earthquake early warning (EEW) is at their doorstep and will alert them to the shaking from an earthquake before it arrives. Some media reports have said there will be “up to a minute of warning”. The problem is, for onshore earthquakes these claims are exaggerated, and under some conditions a warning is...
What if the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System Had Been Operating During the M6.9 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake?
Release Date: OCTOBER 17, 2019 How will ShakeAlert® likely perform now on a large earthquake impacting a major urban area? How much warning will you get? To answer this, let’s do a thought experiment...
Earthquake Early Warning – Fine-Tuning for Best Alerts
Release Date: OCTOBER 8, 2019 The goal of an earthquake early warning (EEW) system is to provide an alert to people and automatic systems after an earthquake begins but before the shaking reaches their location. As the USGS and its partners are developing an EEW system, called ShakeAlert®, for the West Coast, the benefits, costs, capabilities, and limitations are being investigated. Two recent...
Earthquake Animations
Animations for earthquake terms and concepts.
Potential Landslide Paths and Implications for Tsunami Hazards in Glacier Bay, Alaska – An Initial Investigation
Glacier Bay and its inlets are a popular destination for cruise ships and passenger boats; about 540,000 people visited Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) in 2017. A typical tour of the Bay traverses the entire length up to the glacier calving viewpoints in the Johns Hopkins and Tarr Inlets. A 2018 article “Landslides and Giant Waves” by the National Park Service (NPS) states, “The...
Geologic Cracks Record Earthquakes on the Reelfoot Fault in Central U.S.
Release Date: APRIL 25, 2019 New high-resolution lidar data reveals cracks produced from strong shaking in past earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone.
Landslide susceptibility map generated using RegionGrow3D
Landslide susceptibility is commonly assessed using physics-based slope stability models. However, modeling the three-dimensional (3D) mechanics of discrete landslides, on a regional scale, remains challenging.
Landslide susceptibility is commonly assessed using physics-based slope stability models. However, modeling the three-dimensional (3D) mechanics of discrete landslides, on a regional scale, remains challenging.
Landslide case studies across California’s diverse terrain
California is one of the most geologically diverse states in the nation, the second most seismically active, and first in seismic risk with a population approaching 40 million.
California is one of the most geologically diverse states in the nation, the second most seismically active, and first in seismic risk with a population approaching 40 million.
Climate change and landslides in subpolar Alaska: Less ice, more water
Landslide initiation processes in subarctic Alaska are complicated by the prevalence of ice-rich permafrost. Permafrost and permafrost thaw influence landslide type, frequency, and continued ground surface deformation, resulting in positive feedbacks between permafrost thaw and landsliding.
Landslide initiation processes in subarctic Alaska are complicated by the prevalence of ice-rich permafrost. Permafrost and permafrost thaw influence landslide type, frequency, and continued ground surface deformation, resulting in positive feedbacks between permafrost thaw and landsliding.
Damaged Building
A downtown building at the corner of Alice and 13th Streets lost part of its unreinforced facade and brick masonry.
A downtown building at the corner of Alice and 13th Streets lost part of its unreinforced facade and brick masonry.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government