Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 7487

Time-dependent landslide probability mapping Time-dependent landslide probability mapping

Case studies where time of failure is known for rainfall-triggered debris flows can be used to estimate the parameters of a hazard model in which the probability of failure is a function of time. As an example, a time-dependent function for the conditional probability of a soil slip is estimated from independent variables representing hillside morphology, approximations of material...
Authors
Russell H. Campbell, Richard L. Bernknopf

Instrumental shaking thresholds for seismically induced landslides and preliminary report on landslides triggered by the October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California earthquake Instrumental shaking thresholds for seismically induced landslides and preliminary report on landslides triggered by the October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California earthquake

The generation of seismically induced landslide depends on the characteristics of shaking as well as mechanical properties of geologic materials. A very important parameter in the study of seismically induced landslide is the intensity based on a strong-motion accelerogram: it is defined as Arias intensity and is proportional to the duration of the shaking record as well as the amplitude...
Authors
E. L. Harp

Where lava meets the sea; Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii Where lava meets the sea; Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Active volcanoes on the island of Hawai'i provide scientists with exceptional opportunities to observe volcanic phenomena at close range. Such an opportunity occurred on November 24, 1992, when geologists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) witnessed spectacular explosive interactions between lava and seawater on the southeast coast of the island. As seawater invaded submarine...
Authors
T. N. Mattox

Mt. Spurr's 1992 eruptions Mt. Spurr's 1992 eruptions

On June 27, 1992, the Crater Peak vent on the south side of Mt. Spurr awoke from 39 years of dormancy and burst into subplinian eruption after 10 months of elevated seismicity. Two more eruptions followed in August and September. The volcano lies 125-km west of Anchorage, which is Alaska's largest city and an important international hub for air travel. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO...

Volcanic gases create air pollution on the Island of Hawai’i Volcanic gases create air pollution on the Island of Hawai’i

In a handful of molten magma weighing about a pound, there is less than a tenth of an ounce, by weight, of idssolved gas-roughly the same weight as a pinch of table salt. Yet this tiny amount of gas produces spectacular lava foundations hundreds of meters high (see accompanying photograph). The fountain occurs as magma reaches the surface, because dissolved volcanic gases exolve and...
Authors
J. Sutton, T. Elias

The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989: Societal response The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989: Societal response

Professional Paper 1553 describes how people and organizations responded to the earthquake and how the earthquake impacted people and society. The investigations evaluate the tools available to the research community to measure the nature, extent, and causes of damage and losses. They describe human behavior during and immediately after the earthquake and how citizens participated in...
Authors
Dennis S. Coordinated by Mileti

The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989: Earthquake occurrence The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989: Earthquake occurrence

Professional Paper 1550 seeks to understand the M6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake itself. It examines how the fault that generated the earthquake ruptured, searches for and evaluates precursors that may have indicated an earthquake was coming, reviews forecasts of the earthquake, and describes the geology of the earthquake area and the crustal forces that affect this geology. Some significant...
Authors
William H. Coordinated by Bakun, William H. Prescott
Was this page helpful?