Ben Mirus
My research focuses on landslide hydrology and thresholds for landslide warning systems. My background is in hillslope hydrology and numerical modeling of surface and near-surface hydrological processes, which I apply to improve quantitative characterization of landslide initiation potential. I manage several real-time landslide monitoring sites and the national landslide inventory database.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2015-present Research Geologist, Landslides Hazards Program, USGS, Golden, CO
2013-2014 Assistant Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
2010-2013 Hydrologist, Unsaturated Zone Flow Project, USGS, Menlo Park, CA
2005-2009 Physical Scientist, Unsaturated Zone Flow Project, USGS, Menlo Park, CA
EDUCATION
2009 Ph.D. in Hydrogeology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
2001 B.A. in Geology, Pomona College, Claremont, CA
Science and Products
UZIG research: Measurement and characterization of unsaturated zone processes under wide-ranging climates and changing conditions
Developing hydro-meteorological thresholds for shallow landslide initiation and early warning
Identifying physics‐based thresholds for rainfall‐induced landsliding
Integrating real-time subsurface hydrologic monitoring with empirical rainfall thresholds to improve landslide early warning
Incorporating spatially heterogeneous infiltration capacity into hydrologic models with applications for simulating post‐wildfire debris flow initiation
Variability in soil-water retention properties and implications for physics-based simulation of landslide early warning criteria
Disturbance hydrology: Preparing for an increasingly disturbed future
Hydrologic impacts of landslide disturbances: Implications for remobilization and hazard persistence
Results of hydrologic monitoring on landslide-prone coastal bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington
Precipitation thresholds for landslide occurrence near Seattle, Mukilteo, and Everett, Washington
Effect of hydraulic hysteresis on the stability of infinite slopes under steady infiltration
Preferential flow, diffuse flow, and perching in an interbedded fractured-rock unsaturated zone
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
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UZIG research: Measurement and characterization of unsaturated zone processes under wide-ranging climates and changing conditions
Unsaturated zone properties and processes are central to understanding the interacting effects of land-use change, contamination, and hydroclimate on our ability to grow food, sustain clean water supplies, and minimize loss of life and property. Advances in unsaturated zone science are being achieved through collaborations across traditional boundaries where information from biological, physical,AuthorsJared J. Trost, Benjamin B. Mirus, Kimberlie Perkins, Wesley R. Henson, John R. Nimmo, Rafael Munoz-CarpenaDeveloping hydro-meteorological thresholds for shallow landslide initiation and early warning
Consistent relations between shallow landslide initiation and associated rainfall characteristics remain difficult to identify, due largely to the complex hydrological and geological processes causing slopes to be predisposed to failure and those processes that subsequently trigger failures. Considering the importance of hillslope hydrology for rainfall-induced landsliding, we develop and test a mAuthorsBenjamin B. Mirus, Michael D. Morphew, Joel B. SmithIdentifying physics‐based thresholds for rainfall‐induced landsliding
Most regional landslide warning systems utilize empirically derived rainfall thresholds that are difficult to improve without recalibration to additional landslide events. To address this limitation, we explored the use of synthetic rainfall to generate thousands of possible storm patterns and coupled them with a physics‐based hydrology and slope stability model for various antecedent soil saturatAuthorsMatthew A. Thomas, Benjamin B. Mirus, Brian D. CollinsIntegrating real-time subsurface hydrologic monitoring with empirical rainfall thresholds to improve landslide early warning
Early warning for rainfall-induced shallow landsliding can help reduce fatalities and economic losses. Although these commonly occurring landslides are typically triggered by subsurface hydrological processes, most early warning criteria rely exclusively on empirical rainfall thresholds and other indirect proxies for subsurface wetness. We explore the utility of explicitly accounting for antecedenAuthorsBenjamin B. Mirus, Rachel E. Becker, Rex L. Baum, Joel B. SmithIncorporating spatially heterogeneous infiltration capacity into hydrologic models with applications for simulating post‐wildfire debris flow initiation
Soils in post‐wildfire environments are often characterized by a low infiltration capacity with a high degree of spatial heterogeneity relative to unburned areas. Debris flows are frequently initiated by run‐off in recently burned steeplands, making it critical to develop and test methods for incorporating spatial variability in infiltration capacity into hydrologic models. We use Monte Carlo simuAuthorsLuke A. McGuire, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Dennis M. Staley, Benjamin B. MirusVariability in soil-water retention properties and implications for physics-based simulation of landslide early warning criteria
Rainfall-induced shallow landsliding is a persistent hazard to human life and property. Despite the observed connection between infiltration through the unsaturated zone and shallow landslide initiation, there is considerable uncertainty in how estimates of unsaturated soil-water retention properties affect slope stability assessment. This source of uncertainty is critical to evaluating the utilitAuthorsMatthew A. Thomas, Benjamin B. Mirus, Brian D. Collins, Ning Lu, Jonathan W. GodtDisturbance hydrology: Preparing for an increasingly disturbed future
This special issue is the result of several fruitful conference sessions on disturbance hydrology, which started at the 2013 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco and have continued every year since. The stimulating presentations and discussions surrounding those sessions have focused on understanding both the disruption of hydrologic functioning following discrete disturbances, as well as the subsequAuthorsBenjamin B. Mirus, Brian A. Ebel, Christian H. Mohr, Nicolas ZegreHydrologic impacts of landslide disturbances: Implications for remobilization and hazard persistence
Landslides typically alter hillslope topography, but may also change the hydrologic connectivity and subsurface water-storage dynamics. In settings where mobile materials are not completely evacuated from steep slopes, influences of landslide disturbances on hillslope hydrology and susceptibility to subsequent failures remain poorly characterized. Since landslides often recur at the site of previoAuthorsBenjamin B. Mirus, Joel B. Smith, Rex L. BaumResults of hydrologic monitoring on landslide-prone coastal bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington
A hydrologic monitoring network was installed to investigate landslide hazards affecting the railway corridor along the eastern shore of Puget Sound between Seattle and Everett, near Mukilteo, Washington. During the summer of 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey installed monitoring equipment at four sites equipped with instrumentation to measure rainfall and air temperature every 15 minutes. Two of tAuthorsJoel B. Smith, Rex L. Baum, Benjamin B. Mirus, Abigail R. Michel, Ben StarkPrecipitation thresholds for landslide occurrence near Seattle, Mukilteo, and Everett, Washington
Shallow landslides along coastal bluffs frequently occur in the railway corridor between Seattle and Everett, Washington. These slides disrupt passenger rail service, both because of required track maintenance and because the railroad owner, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, does not allow passenger travel for 48 hours after a disruptive landslide. Sound Transit, which operates commuter trainsAuthorsCaroline R. Scheevel, Rex L. Baum, Benjamin B. Mirus, Joel B. SmithEffect of hydraulic hysteresis on the stability of infinite slopes under steady infiltration
Hydraulic hysteresis, including capillary soil water retention (SWR), air entrapment SWR, and hydraulic conductivity, is a common phenomenon in unsaturated soils. However, the influence of hydraulic hysteresis on suction stress, and subsequently slope stability, is generally ignored. This paper examines the influence of each of these three types of hysteresis on slope stability using an infinite sAuthorsPan Chen, Benjamin B. Mirus, Ning Lu, Jonathan W. GodtPreferential flow, diffuse flow, and perching in an interbedded fractured-rock unsaturated zone
Layers of strong geologic contrast within the unsaturated zone can control recharge and contaminant transport to underlying aquifers. Slow diffuse flow in certain geologic layers, and rapid preferential flow in others, complicates the prediction of vertical and lateral fluxes. A simple model is presented, designed to use limited geological site information to predict these critical subsurface procAuthorsJohn R. Nimmo, Kaitlyn M Creasey, Kimberlie Perkins, Benjamin B. MirusNon-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.