David L George
I develop mathematical models, numerical methods, and open-source software for simulating geophysical flows. My mathematical focus is PDEs and adaptive finite volume methods, with an application focus on earth-surface flows (e.g., landslides, debris flows, tsunamis, overland flooding).
Current Position:
Research Mathematician, USGS, Cascades Volcano Observatory, 2012-present
Previous Positions:
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS, Cascades Volcano Observatory, 2008-2012
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, 2007-2008
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Mathematics, University of Utah, 2006-2007.
Education:
Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle 2006.
M.S., Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle 2004.
B.S. , B.S. & B.A., Physics, Biology, Anthropology, University of California at Santa Barbara, 1997.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 37
When hazard avoidance is not an option: Lessons learned from monitoring the postdisaster Oso landslide, USA 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...
Authors
Mark Reid, Jonathan Godt, Richard LaHusen, Stephen Slaughter, Thomas Badger, Brian Collins, William Schulz, Rex Baum, Jeffrey Coe, Edwin Harp, Kevin Schmidt, Richard Iverson, Joel B. Smith, Ralph Haugerud, David George
A new era of debris flow experiments in the Oregon woods A new era of debris flow experiments in the Oregon woods
No abstract available.
Authors
Maciej Krzysztof Obryk, David George, Benjamin Mirus
Diverse cataclysmic floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula Diverse cataclysmic floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula
In late Wisconsin time, the Purcell Trench lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet dammed the Clark Fork of the Columbia River in western Montana, creating glacial Lake Missoula. During part of this epoch, the Okanogan lobe also dammed the Columbia River downstream, creating glacial Lake Columbia in northeast Washington. Repeated failure of the Purcell Trench ice dam released glacial Lake...
Authors
Roger Denlinger, David George, Charles Cannon, Jim E. O'Connor, Richard Waitt
Landslide monitoring and runout hazard assessment by integrating multi-source remote sensing and numerical models: An application to the Gold Basin landslide complex, northern Washington Landslide monitoring and runout hazard assessment by integrating multi-source remote sensing and numerical models: An application to the Gold Basin landslide complex, northern Washington
The landslide complex at Gold Basin, Washington, has been drawing considerable attention after a catastrophic runout of the nearby landslide at Oso, Washington, in 2014. To evaluate potential threats of the Gold Basin landslide to the campground down the slope, remote sensing and numerical modeling were integrated to monitor recent landslide activity and simulate hypothetical runout...
Authors
Yuankun Xu, David George, Jin-Woo Kim, Zhong Lu, Mark Riley, Todd Griffin, Juan de la Fuente
The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin
The Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington State, USA, brought megafloods to the scientific forefront. A 30,000-km2 landscape of coulees and cataracts carved into the region’s loess-covered basalt attests to overwhelming volumes of energetic water. The scarred landscape, garnished by huge boulder bars and far-travelled ice-rafted erratics, spurred J Harlen Bretz’s vigorously disputed...
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Victor Baker, Richard Waitt, Larry Smith, Charles Cannon, David George, Roger Denlinger
Clawpack: Building an open source ecosystem for solving hyperbolic PDEs Clawpack: Building an open source ecosystem for solving hyperbolic PDEs
Clawpack is a software package designed to solve nonlinear hyperbolic partial differential equations using high-resolution finite volume methods based on Riemann solvers and limiters. The package includes a number of variants aimed at different applications and user communities. Clawpack has been actively developed as an open source project for over 20 years. The latest major release...
Authors
Kyle Mandli, Aron Ahmadia, Marsha Berger, Donna Calhoun, David George, Yiannis Hadjimichael, David Ketcheson, Grady I. Lemoine, Randall LeVeque
Overcoming barriers to progress in seismic monitoring and characterization of debris flows and lahars Overcoming barriers to progress in seismic monitoring and characterization of debris flows and lahars
Debris flows generate seismic signals that contain valuable information about events as they unfold. Though seismic waves have been used for along-channel debris-flow and lahar monitoring systems for decades, it has proven difficult to move beyond detection to more quantitative characterizations of flow parameters and event size. This is for two primary reasons: (1) our limited...
Authors
Kate Allstadt, Maxime Farin, Andrew Lockhart, Sara K. McBride, Jason Kean, Richard Iverson, Matthew Logan, Joel Smith, Victor Tsai, David George
Seamless numerical simulation of a hazard cascade in which a landslide triggers a dam-breach flood and consequent debris flow Seamless numerical simulation of a hazard cascade in which a landslide triggers a dam-breach flood and consequent debris flow
Numerical simulations of hazard cascades downstream from moraine-dammed lakes commonly must specify linkages between models of discrete processes such as wave overtopping, dam breaching, erosion, and downstream floods or debris flows. Such linkages can be rather arbitrary and can detract from the ability to accurately conserve mass and momentum during complex sequences of events. Here we...
Authors
David George, Richard Iverson, Charles Cannon
Valid debris-flow models must avoid hot starts Valid debris-flow models must avoid hot starts
Debris-flow experiments and models commonly use “hot-start” initial conditions in which downslope motion begins when a large force imbalance is abruptly imposed. By contrast, initiation of natural debris flows almost invariably results from small perturbations of static force balances that apply to debris masses poised in steep channels or on steep slopes. Models that neglect these...
Authors
Richard Iverson, David George
Basal stress equations for granular debris masses on smooth or discretized slopes Basal stress equations for granular debris masses on smooth or discretized slopes
Knowledge of basal stresses is essential for analyzing slope stability and modeling the dynamics and erosive potential of debris flows and avalanches. Here we derive and test new algebraic formulas for calculating the shear stress τ and normal stress σ at the base of variable‐thickness granular debris masses in states of static or dynamic equilibrium on slopes. The formulas include a...
Authors
Richard Iverson, David George
Combining InSAR and GPS to determine transient movement and thickness of a seasonally active low-gradient translational landslide Combining InSAR and GPS to determine transient movement and thickness of a seasonally active low-gradient translational landslide
The combined application of continuous Global Positioning System data (high temporal resolution) with spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar data (high spatial resolution) can reveal much more about the complexity of large landslide movement than is possible with geodetic measurements tied to only a few specific measurement sites. This approach is applied to an ~4 km2...
Authors
Xie Hu, Zhong Lu, Thomas Pierson, Rebecca Kramer, David George
New methodology for computing tsunami generation by subaerial landslides: Application to the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska New methodology for computing tsunami generation by subaerial landslides: Application to the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska
Landslide-generated tsunamis pose significant hazards and involve complex, multiphase physics that are challenging to model. We present a new methodology in which our depth-averaged two-phase model D-Claw is used to seamlessly simulate all stages of landslide dynamics as well as tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Because the model describes the evolution of solid and fluid...
Authors
David George, Richard Iverson, Charles Cannon
Non-USGS Publications**
D. L. George, 2008: Augmented Riemann solvers for the shallow water equations over variable topography with steady states and inundation. J. Comput. Phys., 227(6): 3089--3113.
R. J. LeVeque and D. L. George, 2008: High-resolution finite volume methods for the shallow water equations with topography and dry-states. In P. L. Liu, C. Synolakis, and H. Yeh, editors, Advanced Numerical Models for Simulating Tsunami Waves and Runup, vol. 10 of Advances in Coastal and Ocean Engineering, pp. 43--73. World Scientific.
D. L. George and R. J. LeVeque, 2008: High-resolution methods and adaptive refinement for tsunami propagation and inundation. In S. Benzoni-Gavage and D. Serre, editors, Hyperbolic Problems: Theory, Numerics, Applications, pp. 541--549, Springer.
D. L. George and R. J. LeVeque, 2006: Finite volume methods and adaptive refinement for global tsunami propagation and inundation. Science of Tsunami Hazards, Vol. 24. No. 5, 319--328.
**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
Filter Total Items: 37
When hazard avoidance is not an option: Lessons learned from monitoring the postdisaster Oso landslide, USA 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...
Authors
Mark Reid, Jonathan Godt, Richard LaHusen, Stephen Slaughter, Thomas Badger, Brian Collins, William Schulz, Rex Baum, Jeffrey Coe, Edwin Harp, Kevin Schmidt, Richard Iverson, Joel B. Smith, Ralph Haugerud, David George
A new era of debris flow experiments in the Oregon woods A new era of debris flow experiments in the Oregon woods
No abstract available.
Authors
Maciej Krzysztof Obryk, David George, Benjamin Mirus
Diverse cataclysmic floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula Diverse cataclysmic floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula
In late Wisconsin time, the Purcell Trench lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet dammed the Clark Fork of the Columbia River in western Montana, creating glacial Lake Missoula. During part of this epoch, the Okanogan lobe also dammed the Columbia River downstream, creating glacial Lake Columbia in northeast Washington. Repeated failure of the Purcell Trench ice dam released glacial Lake...
Authors
Roger Denlinger, David George, Charles Cannon, Jim E. O'Connor, Richard Waitt
Landslide monitoring and runout hazard assessment by integrating multi-source remote sensing and numerical models: An application to the Gold Basin landslide complex, northern Washington Landslide monitoring and runout hazard assessment by integrating multi-source remote sensing and numerical models: An application to the Gold Basin landslide complex, northern Washington
The landslide complex at Gold Basin, Washington, has been drawing considerable attention after a catastrophic runout of the nearby landslide at Oso, Washington, in 2014. To evaluate potential threats of the Gold Basin landslide to the campground down the slope, remote sensing and numerical modeling were integrated to monitor recent landslide activity and simulate hypothetical runout...
Authors
Yuankun Xu, David George, Jin-Woo Kim, Zhong Lu, Mark Riley, Todd Griffin, Juan de la Fuente
The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin
The Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington State, USA, brought megafloods to the scientific forefront. A 30,000-km2 landscape of coulees and cataracts carved into the region’s loess-covered basalt attests to overwhelming volumes of energetic water. The scarred landscape, garnished by huge boulder bars and far-travelled ice-rafted erratics, spurred J Harlen Bretz’s vigorously disputed...
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor, Victor Baker, Richard Waitt, Larry Smith, Charles Cannon, David George, Roger Denlinger
Clawpack: Building an open source ecosystem for solving hyperbolic PDEs Clawpack: Building an open source ecosystem for solving hyperbolic PDEs
Clawpack is a software package designed to solve nonlinear hyperbolic partial differential equations using high-resolution finite volume methods based on Riemann solvers and limiters. The package includes a number of variants aimed at different applications and user communities. Clawpack has been actively developed as an open source project for over 20 years. The latest major release...
Authors
Kyle Mandli, Aron Ahmadia, Marsha Berger, Donna Calhoun, David George, Yiannis Hadjimichael, David Ketcheson, Grady I. Lemoine, Randall LeVeque
Overcoming barriers to progress in seismic monitoring and characterization of debris flows and lahars Overcoming barriers to progress in seismic monitoring and characterization of debris flows and lahars
Debris flows generate seismic signals that contain valuable information about events as they unfold. Though seismic waves have been used for along-channel debris-flow and lahar monitoring systems for decades, it has proven difficult to move beyond detection to more quantitative characterizations of flow parameters and event size. This is for two primary reasons: (1) our limited...
Authors
Kate Allstadt, Maxime Farin, Andrew Lockhart, Sara K. McBride, Jason Kean, Richard Iverson, Matthew Logan, Joel Smith, Victor Tsai, David George
Seamless numerical simulation of a hazard cascade in which a landslide triggers a dam-breach flood and consequent debris flow Seamless numerical simulation of a hazard cascade in which a landslide triggers a dam-breach flood and consequent debris flow
Numerical simulations of hazard cascades downstream from moraine-dammed lakes commonly must specify linkages between models of discrete processes such as wave overtopping, dam breaching, erosion, and downstream floods or debris flows. Such linkages can be rather arbitrary and can detract from the ability to accurately conserve mass and momentum during complex sequences of events. Here we...
Authors
David George, Richard Iverson, Charles Cannon
Valid debris-flow models must avoid hot starts Valid debris-flow models must avoid hot starts
Debris-flow experiments and models commonly use “hot-start” initial conditions in which downslope motion begins when a large force imbalance is abruptly imposed. By contrast, initiation of natural debris flows almost invariably results from small perturbations of static force balances that apply to debris masses poised in steep channels or on steep slopes. Models that neglect these...
Authors
Richard Iverson, David George
Basal stress equations for granular debris masses on smooth or discretized slopes Basal stress equations for granular debris masses on smooth or discretized slopes
Knowledge of basal stresses is essential for analyzing slope stability and modeling the dynamics and erosive potential of debris flows and avalanches. Here we derive and test new algebraic formulas for calculating the shear stress τ and normal stress σ at the base of variable‐thickness granular debris masses in states of static or dynamic equilibrium on slopes. The formulas include a...
Authors
Richard Iverson, David George
Combining InSAR and GPS to determine transient movement and thickness of a seasonally active low-gradient translational landslide Combining InSAR and GPS to determine transient movement and thickness of a seasonally active low-gradient translational landslide
The combined application of continuous Global Positioning System data (high temporal resolution) with spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar data (high spatial resolution) can reveal much more about the complexity of large landslide movement than is possible with geodetic measurements tied to only a few specific measurement sites. This approach is applied to an ~4 km2...
Authors
Xie Hu, Zhong Lu, Thomas Pierson, Rebecca Kramer, David George
New methodology for computing tsunami generation by subaerial landslides: Application to the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska New methodology for computing tsunami generation by subaerial landslides: Application to the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska
Landslide-generated tsunamis pose significant hazards and involve complex, multiphase physics that are challenging to model. We present a new methodology in which our depth-averaged two-phase model D-Claw is used to seamlessly simulate all stages of landslide dynamics as well as tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Because the model describes the evolution of solid and fluid...
Authors
David George, Richard Iverson, Charles Cannon
Non-USGS Publications**
D. L. George, 2008: Augmented Riemann solvers for the shallow water equations over variable topography with steady states and inundation. J. Comput. Phys., 227(6): 3089--3113.
R. J. LeVeque and D. L. George, 2008: High-resolution finite volume methods for the shallow water equations with topography and dry-states. In P. L. Liu, C. Synolakis, and H. Yeh, editors, Advanced Numerical Models for Simulating Tsunami Waves and Runup, vol. 10 of Advances in Coastal and Ocean Engineering, pp. 43--73. World Scientific.
D. L. George and R. J. LeVeque, 2008: High-resolution methods and adaptive refinement for tsunami propagation and inundation. In S. Benzoni-Gavage and D. Serre, editors, Hyperbolic Problems: Theory, Numerics, Applications, pp. 541--549, Springer.
D. L. George and R. J. LeVeque, 2006: Finite volume methods and adaptive refinement for global tsunami propagation and inundation. Science of Tsunami Hazards, Vol. 24. No. 5, 319--328.
**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.