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Landslide Hazards Seminar

By Landslide Hazards Program

The USGS Landslide Hazards Seminar is hosted by the Landslide Hazards Program on Wednesdays at 3:00 PM (MTN) via Microsoft Teams. We meet every week, except for the first and last Wed of the month. Anyone is welcome to attend. Please contact us if you would like to be notified about future meetings. You can also access recordings of past presentations by selecting the linked titles below, or...

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2023 Seminars

DATE SPEAKER AFFILIATION TITLE (click to view video)
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