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International Hazards Science Highlights

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By International Programs November 16, 2022

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, and wildfires threaten lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, agriculture, and water resources resulting in billions of dollars in damage annually around the world. USGS works with partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research to help identify hazard characteristics to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.

USGS provides reliable information to answer your questions and provide assistance related to natural hazards, including impacts to people and communities. Training and technology transfer often are integral to the technical assistance provided by USGS international activities. 

International studies related to hazards are conducted by scientists from throughout USGS on topics including:

  • Volcano Disaster Assistance Program
  • Global Seismographic Network
  • Earthquake Hazards Program
  • floods and droughts
  • seismic hazard assessments
  • landslides
  • sinkholes
  • tsunamis
  • wildfires
  • hurricanes
  • beach erosion, overwash, inundation
  • astrogeology

 

 

Up to International Science Theme: Hazards

Landscape showing stream floodplain and erosion of streambanks, with cloudy sky and forested mountains

Assessing River Erosion and Sedimentation in Ecuador

In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USGS is helping Ecuadorian government officials from the Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC) develop strategies for managing sediment and erosion in the Río Coca basin after the 2020 collapse of the 144-meter-tall San Rafael waterfall.
By
International Programs
Assessing River Erosion and Sedimentation in Ecuador

Assessing River Erosion and Sedimentation in Ecuador

In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USGS is helping Ecuadorian government officials from the Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC) develop strategies for managing sediment and erosion in the Río Coca basin after the 2020 collapse of the 144-meter-tall San Rafael waterfall.
Learn More
concrete platform with solar panel in snow, and someone drilling into it

Photo Journal: Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Field Engineers Visit the Northernmost Town in the World

In October 2022 GSN field engineers from the Albuquerque Seismic Lab visited the northernmost town in the world, Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway) on their way north to GSN station IU-KBS for a station upgrade. GSN station IU-KBS is located in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, International Programs
Photo Journal: Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Field Engineers Visit the Northernmost Town in the World

Photo Journal: Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Field Engineers Visit the Northernmost Town in the World

In October 2022 GSN field engineers from the Albuquerque Seismic Lab visited the northernmost town in the world, Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway) on their way north to GSN station IU-KBS for a station upgrade. GSN station IU-KBS is located in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago.
Learn More
USGS science for a changing world logo

Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards

A vast number of the world’s volcanoes are unmonitored by ground-based sensors, yet constitute an important hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and the global economy. Satellite data provide a cost-effective means of tracking activity at such volcanoes. Unfortunately, satellite acquisitions are not optimized for application to volcano hazards, in part...
By
John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, International Programs
Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards

Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards

A vast number of the world’s volcanoes are unmonitored by ground-based sensors, yet constitute an important hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and the global economy. Satellite data provide a cost-effective means of tracking activity at such volcanoes. Unfortunately, satellite acquisitions are not optimized for application to volcano hazards, in part because cle
Learn More

Migration of seismicity from the mantle to the upper crust beneath Harrat Lunayyir volcanic field, Saudi Arabia Migration of seismicity from the mantle to the upper crust beneath Harrat Lunayyir volcanic field, Saudi Arabia

Harrat Lunayyir is a volcanic field in Saudi Arabia that experienced a Mw~5.4 earthquake driven by an upper-crustal dike intrusion in May 2009. This volcanic field has exhibited numerous forms of volcanic seismicity both prior to and since the 2009 dike intrusion. Significantly, earthquakes within the lithospheric mantle and, rarely, the lower crust are present in the two-decade long...
Authors
Alexander R. Blanchette, Simon Klemperer, Walter Mooney, Turki A. Sehli
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center

Active volcanism on the Arabian Shield—Geology, volcanology, and geophysics of northern Harrat Rahat and vicinity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Active volcanism on the Arabian Shield—Geology, volcanology, and geophysics of northern Harrat Rahat and vicinity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Active volcanic systems pose serious hazards to people and property including inundation and incineration by lava, blanketing by tephra (volcanic ash), exposure to noxious volcanic gases, and damage from shallow earthquakes triggered by ascending molten material (magma). To improve understanding of volcanism and associated seismicity on the western Arabia Plate, the Saudi Geological...
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Rapid Source Characterization of the 2023 Mw 6.8 Al Haouz, Morocco, Earthquake Rapid Source Characterization of the 2023 Mw 6.8 Al Haouz, Morocco, Earthquake

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) estimates source characteristics of significant damaging earthquakes, aiming to place events within their seismotectonic framework. Contextualizing the 8 September 2023, Mw 6.8 Al Haouz, Morocco, earthquake is challenging, because it occurred in an enigmatic region of active surface faulting, and low...
Authors
William Yeck, Alexandra Hatem, Dara Goldberg, William Barnhart, Jessica Jobe, David Shelly, Antonio Villasenor, Harley Benz, Paul Earle
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Rapid surface rupture mapping from satellite data: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence Rapid surface rupture mapping from satellite data: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence

The 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence produced > 500 km of surface rupture primarily on the left‐lateral East Anatolian (~345 km) and Çardak (~175 km) faults. Constraining the length and magnitude of surface displacement on the causative faults is critical for loss estimates, recovery efforts, rapid identification of impacted infrastructure, and fault
Authors
Nadine Reitman, Richard Briggs, William Barnhart, Alexandra Hatem, Jessica Jobe, Christopher DuRoss, Ryan Gold, John Mejstrik, Camille Collett, Richard Koehler, Sinan Akciz
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center, International Programs

Crustal thickness and the VP/VS ratio within the Arabia Plate from P-wave receiver functions at 154 broadband seismic stations Crustal thickness and the VP/VS ratio within the Arabia Plate from P-wave receiver functions at 154 broadband seismic stations

As part of a joint Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) and United States Geological Survey project, we analyzed P-wave receiver functions from seismic stations covering most of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to map the thickness of the crust across the Arabia Plate. We present an update of crustal thickness estimates and fill in gaps for the western Arabian Shield and the rifted margin at the Red...
Authors
Alexander R. Blanchette, Simon Klemperer, Walter Mooney
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center, International Programs

Probabilistic fault displacement hazard assessment (PFDHA) for nuclear installations according to IAEA safety standards Probabilistic fault displacement hazard assessment (PFDHA) for nuclear installations according to IAEA safety standards

In the last 10 yr, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revised its safety standards for site evaluations of nuclear installations in response to emerging fault displacement hazard evaluation practices developed in Member States. New amendments in the revised safety guidance (DS507) explicitly recommend fault displacement hazard assessment, including separate approaches for...
Authors
Alessandro Valentini, Yoshimitsu Fukushima, Paolo Contri, Masato Ono, Toshiaki Sakai, Stephen Thompson, Emmanuel Viallet, Tadashi Annaka, Rui Chen, Robb Moss, Mark Petersen, Francesco Visini, Robert Youngs
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geologic Hazards Science Center

The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program—Helping to save lives worldwide for more than 30 years The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program—Helping to save lives worldwide for more than 30 years

What do you do when a sleeping volcano roars back to life? For more than three decades, countries around the world have called upon the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) to contribute expertise and equipment in times of crisis. Co-funded by the USGS and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance...
Authors
Jacob Lowenstern, David Ramsey
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center
Volcano Watch — Establishing a Nascent Monitoring Program on Pico Basile Volcano, Equatorial Guinea

Volcano Watch — Establishing a Nascent Monitoring Program on Pico Basile Volcano, Equatorial Guinea

In 2012, steam began to rise from beneath the cracked concrete of a telecommunication station at the summit of Pico Basile volcano on Bioko Island...

Read Article
Major earthquake strikes Oukaïmedene, Morocco

Major earthquake strikes Oukaïmedene, Morocco

The shallow quake struck the Atlas Mountains of western Morocco September 8 at 11:11 pm local time.

Read Article

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, and wildfires threaten lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, agriculture, and water resources resulting in billions of dollars in damage annually around the world. USGS works with partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research to help identify hazard characteristics to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.

USGS provides reliable information to answer your questions and provide assistance related to natural hazards, including impacts to people and communities. Training and technology transfer often are integral to the technical assistance provided by USGS international activities. 

International studies related to hazards are conducted by scientists from throughout USGS on topics including:

  • Volcano Disaster Assistance Program
  • Global Seismographic Network
  • Earthquake Hazards Program
  • floods and droughts
  • seismic hazard assessments
  • landslides
  • sinkholes
  • tsunamis
  • wildfires
  • hurricanes
  • beach erosion, overwash, inundation
  • astrogeology

 

 

Up to International Science Theme: Hazards

Landscape showing stream floodplain and erosion of streambanks, with cloudy sky and forested mountains

Assessing River Erosion and Sedimentation in Ecuador

In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USGS is helping Ecuadorian government officials from the Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC) develop strategies for managing sediment and erosion in the Río Coca basin after the 2020 collapse of the 144-meter-tall San Rafael waterfall.
By
International Programs
Assessing River Erosion and Sedimentation in Ecuador

Assessing River Erosion and Sedimentation in Ecuador

In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USGS is helping Ecuadorian government officials from the Electric Corporation of Ecuador (CELEC) develop strategies for managing sediment and erosion in the Río Coca basin after the 2020 collapse of the 144-meter-tall San Rafael waterfall.
Learn More
concrete platform with solar panel in snow, and someone drilling into it

Photo Journal: Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Field Engineers Visit the Northernmost Town in the World

In October 2022 GSN field engineers from the Albuquerque Seismic Lab visited the northernmost town in the world, Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway) on their way north to GSN station IU-KBS for a station upgrade. GSN station IU-KBS is located in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, International Programs
Photo Journal: Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Field Engineers Visit the Northernmost Town in the World

Photo Journal: Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Field Engineers Visit the Northernmost Town in the World

In October 2022 GSN field engineers from the Albuquerque Seismic Lab visited the northernmost town in the world, Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway) on their way north to GSN station IU-KBS for a station upgrade. GSN station IU-KBS is located in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago.
Learn More
USGS science for a changing world logo

Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards

A vast number of the world’s volcanoes are unmonitored by ground-based sensors, yet constitute an important hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and the global economy. Satellite data provide a cost-effective means of tracking activity at such volcanoes. Unfortunately, satellite acquisitions are not optimized for application to volcano hazards, in part...
By
John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, International Programs
Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards

Optimizing satellite resources for the global assessment and mitigation of volcanic hazards

A vast number of the world’s volcanoes are unmonitored by ground-based sensors, yet constitute an important hazard to nearby residents and infrastructure, as well as air travel and the global economy. Satellite data provide a cost-effective means of tracking activity at such volcanoes. Unfortunately, satellite acquisitions are not optimized for application to volcano hazards, in part because cle
Learn More

Migration of seismicity from the mantle to the upper crust beneath Harrat Lunayyir volcanic field, Saudi Arabia Migration of seismicity from the mantle to the upper crust beneath Harrat Lunayyir volcanic field, Saudi Arabia

Harrat Lunayyir is a volcanic field in Saudi Arabia that experienced a Mw~5.4 earthquake driven by an upper-crustal dike intrusion in May 2009. This volcanic field has exhibited numerous forms of volcanic seismicity both prior to and since the 2009 dike intrusion. Significantly, earthquakes within the lithospheric mantle and, rarely, the lower crust are present in the two-decade long...
Authors
Alexander R. Blanchette, Simon Klemperer, Walter Mooney, Turki A. Sehli
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center

Active volcanism on the Arabian Shield—Geology, volcanology, and geophysics of northern Harrat Rahat and vicinity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Active volcanism on the Arabian Shield—Geology, volcanology, and geophysics of northern Harrat Rahat and vicinity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Active volcanic systems pose serious hazards to people and property including inundation and incineration by lava, blanketing by tephra (volcanic ash), exposure to noxious volcanic gases, and damage from shallow earthquakes triggered by ascending molten material (magma). To improve understanding of volcanism and associated seismicity on the western Arabia Plate, the Saudi Geological...
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Rapid Source Characterization of the 2023 Mw 6.8 Al Haouz, Morocco, Earthquake Rapid Source Characterization of the 2023 Mw 6.8 Al Haouz, Morocco, Earthquake

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) estimates source characteristics of significant damaging earthquakes, aiming to place events within their seismotectonic framework. Contextualizing the 8 September 2023, Mw 6.8 Al Haouz, Morocco, earthquake is challenging, because it occurred in an enigmatic region of active surface faulting, and low...
Authors
William Yeck, Alexandra Hatem, Dara Goldberg, William Barnhart, Jessica Jobe, David Shelly, Antonio Villasenor, Harley Benz, Paul Earle
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Rapid surface rupture mapping from satellite data: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence Rapid surface rupture mapping from satellite data: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence

The 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence produced > 500 km of surface rupture primarily on the left‐lateral East Anatolian (~345 km) and Çardak (~175 km) faults. Constraining the length and magnitude of surface displacement on the causative faults is critical for loss estimates, recovery efforts, rapid identification of impacted infrastructure, and fault
Authors
Nadine Reitman, Richard Briggs, William Barnhart, Alexandra Hatem, Jessica Jobe, Christopher DuRoss, Ryan Gold, John Mejstrik, Camille Collett, Richard Koehler, Sinan Akciz
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center, International Programs

Crustal thickness and the VP/VS ratio within the Arabia Plate from P-wave receiver functions at 154 broadband seismic stations Crustal thickness and the VP/VS ratio within the Arabia Plate from P-wave receiver functions at 154 broadband seismic stations

As part of a joint Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) and United States Geological Survey project, we analyzed P-wave receiver functions from seismic stations covering most of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to map the thickness of the crust across the Arabia Plate. We present an update of crustal thickness estimates and fill in gaps for the western Arabian Shield and the rifted margin at the Red...
Authors
Alexander R. Blanchette, Simon Klemperer, Walter Mooney
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center, International Programs

Probabilistic fault displacement hazard assessment (PFDHA) for nuclear installations according to IAEA safety standards Probabilistic fault displacement hazard assessment (PFDHA) for nuclear installations according to IAEA safety standards

In the last 10 yr, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revised its safety standards for site evaluations of nuclear installations in response to emerging fault displacement hazard evaluation practices developed in Member States. New amendments in the revised safety guidance (DS507) explicitly recommend fault displacement hazard assessment, including separate approaches for...
Authors
Alessandro Valentini, Yoshimitsu Fukushima, Paolo Contri, Masato Ono, Toshiaki Sakai, Stephen Thompson, Emmanuel Viallet, Tadashi Annaka, Rui Chen, Robb Moss, Mark Petersen, Francesco Visini, Robert Youngs
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geologic Hazards Science Center

The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program—Helping to save lives worldwide for more than 30 years The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program—Helping to save lives worldwide for more than 30 years

What do you do when a sleeping volcano roars back to life? For more than three decades, countries around the world have called upon the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) to contribute expertise and equipment in times of crisis. Co-funded by the USGS and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance...
Authors
Jacob Lowenstern, David Ramsey
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center
Volcano Watch — Establishing a Nascent Monitoring Program on Pico Basile Volcano, Equatorial Guinea

Volcano Watch — Establishing a Nascent Monitoring Program on Pico Basile Volcano, Equatorial Guinea

In 2012, steam began to rise from beneath the cracked concrete of a telecommunication station at the summit of Pico Basile volcano on Bioko Island...

Read Article
Major earthquake strikes Oukaïmedene, Morocco

Major earthquake strikes Oukaïmedene, Morocco

The shallow quake struck the Atlas Mountains of western Morocco September 8 at 11:11 pm local time.

Read Article
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