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Natural Hazards Mission Area

Every year in the United States, natural hazards threaten lives and livelihoods and result in billions of dollars in damage. We work with many partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of natural hazards so that policymakers and the public have the understanding they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.

News

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What We Do: Coastal and Marine Science at USGS Santa Cruz

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USGS Researchers Return to Eastern Galapágos Spreading Center

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PCMSC Scientists Among USGS Contributors to National Climate Assessment

Publications

Crustal block-controlled contrasts in deformation, uplift, and exhumation in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA, imaged through apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology and 3-D geological modeling

Deformation along strike-slip plate margins often accumulates within structurally partitioned and rheologically heterogeneous crustal blocks within the plate boundary. In these cases, contrasts in the physical properties and state of juxtaposed crustal blocks may play an important role in accommodation of deformation. Near the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA, the Pacific−North American pla
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Curtis William Baden, David L. Shuster, Jeremy H. Hourigan, Jared T. Gooley, Melanie Cahill, George E. Hilley

Kinematic evolution of a large paraglacial landslide in the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska

Our warming climate is adversely affecting cryospheric landscapes via glacial retreat, permafrost degradation, and associated slope destabilization. In Prince William Sound, Alaska, the rapid retreat of Barry Glacier has destabilized the slopes flanking the glacier, resulting in numerous landslides. The largest of these landslides (∼500 Mm3 in volume) is more than 2 km wide and has the potential t
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Lauren N. Schaefer, Jeffrey A. Coe, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, Brian D. Collins, Dennis M. Staley, Michael E. West, Ezgi Karasozen, Charles Prentice-James Miles, Gabriel J. Wolken, Ronald P. Daanan, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom

U.S. Geological Survey risk research community of practice 2021 workshop report—Workshop on considering equitable engagement in research design

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Risk Research and Applications Community of Practice (Risk CoP) is a bureau-wide forum to share resources and discuss issues relevant to “conducting and applying scientific research in hazards—the dangerous processes or phenomena that may cause damage—to enhance the reduction of risk—the potential for societally relevant losses caused by hazards” (Ludwig and other
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Emily Brooks, Alice Pennaz, Matthew Jurjonas

Science

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"Maria Ygnacio" - Recent Conditions

Recent Monitoring Data
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Postfire Landslide Monitoring Station: “Maria Ygnacio” (2019 Cave Fire) near Santa Barbara, California

Wildfire can increase landslide susceptibility in mountainous terrain. The USGS maintains postfire landslide monitoring stations to track hillslope hydrologic conditions in the years following fire.
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Postfire Landslide Monitoring Station: “Maria Ygnacio” (2019 Cave Fire) near Santa Barbara, California

Wildfire can increase landslide susceptibility in mountainous terrain. The USGS maintains postfire landslide monitoring stations to track hillslope hydrologic conditions in the years following fire.
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Dixie Fire Post-Fire Debris Flows: A Tale of Two Storms

This new geonarrative (Esri story map) highlights two storm events and their postfire impacts in the Dixie burn area.
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Dixie Fire Post-Fire Debris Flows: A Tale of Two Storms

This new geonarrative (Esri story map) highlights two storm events and their postfire impacts in the Dixie burn area.
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