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Brian Collins

Brian Collins is a research civil engineer with the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science center. Brian works primarily with the Landslide Hazards Program addressing a wide range of landslide issues including storm-induced shallow landslides and debris flows, deep-seated landslide mobility, and rockfall initiation.

Professional Experience

  • 2008-present, Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

  • 2006-2008, Mendenhall Post-doctoral Researcher, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

  • 2005-2006, Engineering Research Manager, Blackhawk Geological Hazard Abatement District, San Ramon, CA

  • 2004-2005, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Berkeley, CA

  • 2000-2004, Research Assistant, University of California, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Berkeley, CA

  • 1998-2000, Staff Engineer, Golder Associates, Lakewood, CO

  • 1995-1998, Teaching Assistant, University of Colorado, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Boulder, CO

Education and Certifications

  • University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., 2004, Geotechnical Engineering

  • University of Colorado, Boulder, M.S., 1997, Geotechnical Engineering

  • Purdue University, B.S.C.E., 1995, Civil Engineering

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • National Park Service, Yosemite National Park, California

  • National Weather Service, Monterey, California, Weather Forecast Office

  • University of Lausanne, Risk Analysis Group, Lausanne, Switzerland

  • École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Laboratory of Experimental Rock Mechanics, Lausanne, Switzerland

Science and Products

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a person sitting on a large boulder with other boulders around and a light snow

CSI: Rockfall Forensics

The next time you find yourself at the bottom of a cliff, make sure to look up.
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards
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CSI: Rockfall Forensics

The next time you find yourself at the bottom of a cliff, make sure to look up.
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metal instruments on poles on hillside

San Francisco Bay Area - Santa Cruz Mountains, CA (BALT-CZU)

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay Area of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environmnent, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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San Francisco Bay Area - Santa Cruz Mountains, CA (BALT-CZU)

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay Area of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environmnent, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
Learn More
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grassy slope with landslide monitoring instrument

San Francisco Bay Area – SF Peninsula (BALT4) Site near Pacifica, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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San Francisco Bay Area – SF Peninsula (BALT4) Site near Pacifica, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
Learn More
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dry grassy slope with landslide monitoring instrument

San Francisco Bay Area – SF Peninsula (BALT3) Site near Brisbane, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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San Francisco Bay Area – SF Peninsula (BALT3) Site near Brisbane, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
Learn More
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steep dry grassy slopes in foreground with populated valley in background

San Francisco Bay Area – Marin County (BALT2) Site near San Rafael, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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San Francisco Bay Area – Marin County (BALT2) Site near San Rafael, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
Learn More
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landslide monitoring equipment inside small fence on grassy slope

San Francisco Bay Area - East Bay (BALT1) Site near Castro Valley, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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San Francisco Bay Area - East Bay (BALT1) Site near Castro Valley, CA

Landslides in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California impact people, infrastructure, and the environment, and are commonly induced by intense or prolonged rainfall associated with strong winter storms.
Learn More
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A soil landslide scar above a neighborhood of houses.

Rainfall and Landslides in Northern California

A summary of recent and past landslides and debris flows caused by rainfall in northern California, and links to current shallow landslide monitoring.
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center
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Rainfall and Landslides in Northern California

A summary of recent and past landslides and debris flows caused by rainfall in northern California, and links to current shallow landslide monitoring.
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Field, remote sensing, and modeling data used for Collins et al., Rockfall Kinematics from Massive Rock Cliffs: Outlier Boulders and Flyrock Resulting from the 2020 Whitney Portal, California Rockfalls

This data release includes information used to support the manuscript "Rockfall kinematics from massive rock cliffs: outlier boulders and flyrock from Whitney Portal, California rockfalls". The included datasets and supplement include data that was collected and processed to investigate the kinematics of boulder trajectories and impacts to both other boulders and to existing trees on the
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Field, remote sensing, and modeling data used for Collins et al., Rockfall Kinematics from Massive Rock Cliffs: Outlier Boulders and Flyrock Resulting from the 2020 Whitney Portal, California Rockfalls

This data release includes information used to support the manuscript "Rockfall kinematics from massive rock cliffs: outlier boulders and flyrock from Whitney Portal, California rockfalls". The included datasets and supplement include data that was collected and processed to investigate the kinematics of boulder trajectories and impacts to both other boulders and to existing trees on the

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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Field, geotechnical, and meteorological data of the 22 March 2018 narrow cold frontal rainband (NCFR) and its effects, Tuolumne River canyon, Sierra Nevada Foothills, California

This data release includes information used to support the manuscript "Linking mesoscale meteorology with extreme landscape response: effects of narrow cold frontal rainbands (NCFR)". The included datasets and supplement include information related to the 22 March 2018 NCFR and associated shallow landslides in the Toulumne Canyon triggered by this event. The three
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National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Data from ring shear strength testing of glaciolacustrine silty clay from the 2014, Oso, Washington landslide

We performed ring shear strength testing of three specimens from a glaciolacustrine silty clay unit involved in a large landslide that occurred March 22, 2014 near the town of Oso, Washington. Ring shear tests utilized apparatus DPRI-5 at Kyoto University, Japan and test results are presented herein. We refer to the specimens as the clay, clayey silt, and silt. Some tests were performed under cont
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Natural Hazards, Landslide Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center
Filter Total Items: 29

Rockfall kinematics from massive rock cliffs: Outlier boulders and flyrock from Whitney Portal, California, rockfalls

Geologic conditions and topographic setting are among the most critical factors for assessing rockfall hazards. However, other subtle features of rockfall motion may also govern the runout of rockfall debris, particularly for those sourced from massive cliffs where debris can have substantial momentum during transport. Rocks may undergo collisions with trees and talus boulders, with the latter pot
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

When hazard avoidance is not an option: Lessons learned from monitoring the postdisaster Oso landslide, USA

On 22 March 2014, a massive, catastrophic landslide occurred near Oso, Washington, USA, sweeping more than 1 km across the adjacent valley flats and killing 43 people. For the following 5 weeks, hundreds of workers engaged in an exhaustive search, rescue, and recovery effort directly in the landslide runout path. These workers could not avoid the risks posed by additional large-scale slope collaps
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Landslide Hazards, Volcano Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Volcano Science Center

Progress and lessons learned from responses to landslide disasters

Landslides have the incredible power to transform landscapes and also, tragically, to cause disastrous societal impacts. Whereas the mechanics and effects of many landslide disasters have been analyzed in detail, the means by which landslide experts respond to these events has garnered much less attention. Herein, we evaluate nine landslide response case histories conducted by the U.S. Geological
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Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Remote thermal detection of exfoliation sheet deformation

A growing body of research indicates that rock slope failures, particularly from exfoliating cliffs, are promoted by rock deformations induced by daily temperature cycles. Although previous research has described how these deformations occur, full three-dimensional monitoring of both the deformations and the associated temperature changes has not yet been performed. Here we use integrated terrestr
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Linking mesoscale meteorology with extreme landscape response: Effects of narrow cold frontal rainbands (NCFR)

Landscapes evolve in response to prolonged and/or intense precipitation resulting from atmospheric processes at various spatial and temporal scales. Whereas synoptic (large‐scale) features (e.g., atmospheric rivers and hurricanes) govern regional‐scale hydrologic hazards such as widespread flooding, mesoscale features such as thunderstorms or squall lines are more likely to trigger localized geomo
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National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

A new data set of granitic rock strength values from Yosemite Valley, California: Applications to rock fall assessment

To explore connections between rock strength and rock falls, we undertook a comprehensive rock mechanics testing program for six granitic rock types in Yosemite Valley (California, USA) where rock falls are a common geomorphic and sometimes hazardous process. We collected samples from boulders located at the base of cliffs, with the inherent assumption that the intact boulders should provide reaso
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Rock strength properties of granitic rocks in Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite National Park, located in the central part of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, is a glacially carved landscape filled with iconic rock formations such as Cathedral Peak, El Capitan, and Half Dome. Igneous rocks, consisting primarily of variations of granite, granodiorite, and tonalite, make up the majority of the bedrock geology and their overall strength supports the spectacular cli
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Quantifying 40 years of rockfall activity in Yosemite Valley with historical Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning

Rockfalls and rockslides are often dominant geomorphic processes in steep bedrock landscapes, but documenting their occurrence can be challenging, requiring frequent monitoring and well resolved spatial data. Repeat application of remote sensing methods such as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry can detect even very small rockfalls, but typically these
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Assessing the feasibility of satellite-based thresholds for hydrologically driven landsliding

Elevated soil moisture and heavy precipitation contribute to landslides worldwide. These environmental variables are now being resolved with satellites at spatiotemporal scales that could offer new perspectives on the development of landslide warning systems. However, the application of these data to hydro-meteorological thresholds (which account for antecedent soil moisture and rainfall) first ne
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Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Detection of rock bridges by infrared thermal imaging and modeling

Characterization of rock discontinuities and rock bridges is required to define stability conditions of fractured rock masses in both natural and engineered environments. Although remote sensing methods for mapping discontinuities have improved in recent years, remote detection of intact rock bridges on cliff faces remains challenging, with their existence typically confirmed only after failure. I
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Enhanced landslide mobility by basal liquefaction: the 2014 SR530 (Oso), Washington landslide

Landslide mobility can vastly amplify the consequences of slope failure. As a compelling example, the March 22, 2014 landslide near Oso, Washington (USA) was particularly devastating, traveling across a 1-km+ wide river valley, killing 43 people, destroying dozens of homes, and temporarily closing a well-traveled highway. To resolve causes for the landslide’s behavior and mobility, we conducted d
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Relaxation response of critically stressed macroscale surficial rock sheets

Rock environments both underground and on Earth’s surface show indications of energetic macroscale fracture. In tunnels and excavations, these manifest as rockbursts—energetic explosions of rock that can damage engineering projects, and may pose ongoing financial and safety risk as rock stresses adjust during post-failure relaxation. In natural settings at the surface, evidence for rockbursts exis
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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Why Do Giant Rocks Suddenly Fall From Cliffs?

"In Yosemite Valley, rockfalls can happen every four to five days, where boulders that can be larger than your average car or apartment building...

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Image: Rock Slide in Nepal from an Earthquake in April of 2015
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Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government