Dianne L. Brien
Dianne Brien is a landslide hydrologist specializing in spatial analysis and software development. Dianne has contributed to the development of USGS software packages for slope stability assessment (Scoops3D), landslide runout, and debris flow inundation (Grfin Tools). She has recently been involved with monitoring hydrologic conditions conducive to widespread shallow landslides in the Bay Area.
Professional Experience
1997-Present: Hydrologist, Menlo Park/Moffett Field, California
Education and Certifications
1996 MS, Geology, University of Wyoming
1990 BS, Geology, Florida State University
Science and Products
Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico
In 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread landsliding in Puerto Rico. Published landslide inventories from Hurricane Maria (Bessette-Kirton and others, 2019; Baxstrom and others, 2021a, 2021b; Einbund and others, 2021a, 2021b) provided detailed mapping, including 2919 locations of headscarp points, travel distance lines, source areas, and landslide-affected areas (combined source and...
Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria induced about 70,000 landslides throughout Puerto Rico, USA (Hughes and others, 2019). Data in this project pertain to two areas situated in Puerto Rico’s rugged Cordillera Central range. Combined, these areas account for more than half of the hurricane-induced landslides. One of these areas encloses two neighboring municipalities, Lares Municipio, and Utuado Municipio...
San Francisco Bay Area Reconnaissance Landslide Inventory, January 2023 San Francisco Bay Area Reconnaissance Landslide Inventory, January 2023
From late December 2022 to January 2023, a series of atmospheric river storms produced widespread landsliding in the San Francisco Bay area of California. USGS scientists performed reconnaissance field work to document the extent of landsliding in the region and compiled reports of landslides from media and California Highway Patrol (CHP) reports. This data release documents locations of...
Infiltration data collected post-Hurricane Maria across landslide source area materials, Puerto Rico, USA Infiltration data collected post-Hurricane Maria across landslide source area materials, Puerto Rico, USA
This Data Release includes information to support the characterization of surface/near-surface infiltration rates of selected landslide source area materials following Hurricane Maria across Puerto Rico, USA. The dataset includes comma-delimited measurements of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) collected over two field campaigns (Fall 2018 and Spring 2019) as well as...
Filter Total Items: 15
Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico
In 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered more than 70 000 landslides in Puerto Rico. After initiation, these predominantly shallow landslides were mobilized to varying extents – some landslides only traveled partway downslope, whereas others reached drainage channels and were mobilized into long-traveled debris flows that could severely impact roads and infrastructure. Thus, forecasting...
Authors
Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Jonathan P. Perkins
Grfin Tools—User guide and methods for modeling landslide runout and debris-flow growth and inundation Grfin Tools—User guide and methods for modeling landslide runout and debris-flow growth and inundation
The software package, Grfin Tools, can estimate potential runout from landslides or inundation from geophysical mass flows such as debris flows, lahars from volcanoes, and rock avalanches within a digital elevation model (DEM). Grfin is an acronym of growth + flow + inundation. The tools within this package apply simple, well-tested, empirical models of runout that are computationally...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Dianne L. Brien, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Jonathan P. Perkins
Assessing locations susceptible to shallow landslide initiation during prolonged intense rainfall in the Lares, Utuado, and Naranjito municipalities of Puerto Rico Assessing locations susceptible to shallow landslide initiation during prolonged intense rainfall in the Lares, Utuado, and Naranjito municipalities of Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria induced about 70 000 landslides throughout Puerto Rico, USA, including thousands each in three municipalities situated in Puerto Rico's rugged Cordillera Central range. By combining a nonlinear soil-depth model, presumed wettest-case pore pressures, and quasi-three-dimensional (3D) slope-stability analysis, we developed a landslide susceptibility map that has very good...
Authors
Rex L. Baum, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid, William Schulz, Matthew J. Tello
Investigating the atmospheric conditions associated with impactful shallow landslides in California (USA) Investigating the atmospheric conditions associated with impactful shallow landslides in California (USA)
Shallow landslides are often triggered during rainfall events, which can increase subsurface soil water pressure and destabilize hillslopes. The likelihood of regional shallow landslide initiation is often assessed through a comparison of rainfall intensity and duration to pre-established thresholds. While informative for landslide warning, this exclusive focus on rainfall exceeding...
Authors
Nina S. Oakley, Jonathan P. Perkins, Samuel M. Bartlett, Brian D. Collins, Karimah Halona Comstock, Dianne L. Brien, W.P. Burgess, Skye C. Corbett
Using integrated growth to delineate debris-flow inundation Using integrated growth to delineate debris-flow inundation
Debris-flow volume is fundamental to mobility, yet many debris flows change volume as they travel. Growth can occur through diverse processes such as channel-bed entrainment, bank failures, aggregation of landslides, and coalescence of multiple flows. Integrating growth, either over upslope area or stream length, combines the effects of these growth processes and requires specification...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Dianne L. Brien, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Jonathan P. Perkins
Debris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data Debris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread debris flows in Puerto Rico. We used field observations and pre- and post-Maria lidar to study the volumetric growth of long-travelled (>400 m) debris flows in four basins. We found overall growth rates that ranged from 0.7 to 30.4 m3 per meter of channel length. We partitioned the rates into two growth mechanisms, aggregation...
Authors
Jeffrey A. Coe, Erin K. Bessette-Kirton, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid
Debris-flow initiation promoted by extension within a slow-moving landslide Debris-flow initiation promoted by extension within a slow-moving landslide
The dynamics of slow landslide motion can predispose oversteepened and extended slide regions to debris-flow initiation. For more than 20 years, our real-time monitoring, combined with repeat high-precision GPS surveys, of the Cleveland Corral landslide complex, California, USA, reveals that debris flows initiate from slow-moving kinematic elements of this complex. Different slide...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Dianne L. Brien
Forecasting inundation from debris flows that grow during travel, with application to the Oregon Coast Range, USA Forecasting inundation from debris flows that grow during travel, with application to the Oregon Coast Range, USA
Many debris flows increase in volume as they travel downstream, enhancing their mobility and hazard. Volumetric growth can result from diverse physical processes, such as channel sediment entrainment, stream bank collapse, adjacent landsliding, hillslope erosion and rilling, and coalescence of multiple debris flows; incorporating these varied phenomena into physics-based debris-flow...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Jeffrey A. Coe, Dianne Brien
Scoops3D: software to analyze 3D slope stability throughout a digital landscape Scoops3D: software to analyze 3D slope stability throughout a digital landscape
The computer program, Scoops3D, evaluates slope stability throughout a digital landscape represented by a digital elevation model (DEM). The program uses a three-dimensional (3D) method of columns approach to assess the stability of many (typically millions) potential landslides within a user-defined size range. For each potential landslide (or failure), Scoops3D assesses the stability...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Sarah B. Christian, Dianne L. Brien, Scott T. Henderson
Plenary: Progress in Regional Landslide Hazard Assessment—Examples from the USA Plenary: Progress in Regional Landslide Hazard Assessment—Examples from the USA
Landslide hazard assessment at local and regional scales contributes to mitigation of landslides in developing and densely populated areas by providing information for (1) land development and redevelopment plans and regulations, (2) emergency preparedness plans, and (3) economic analysis to (a) set priorities for engineered mitigation projects and (b) define areas of similar levels of...
Authors
Rex L. Baum, William Schulz, Dianne L. Brien, William J. Burns, Mark E. Reid, Jonathan W. Godt
Volcano collapse promoted by progressive strength reduction: New data from Mount St. Helens Volcano collapse promoted by progressive strength reduction: New data from Mount St. Helens
Rock shear strength plays a fundamental role in volcano flank collapse, yet pertinent data from modern collapse surfaces are rare. Using samples collected from the inferred failure surface of the massive 1980 collapse of Mount St. Helens (MSH), we determined rock shear strength via laboratory tests designed to mimic conditions in the pre-collapse edifice. We observed that the 1980...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Terry E.C. Keith, Robert E. Kayen, Neal R. Iverson, Richard M. Iverson, Dianne Brien
Deciphering landslide behavior using large-scale flume experiments Deciphering landslide behavior using large-scale flume experiments
Landslides can be triggered by a variety of hydrologic events and they can exhibit a wide range of movement dynamics. Effective prediction requires understanding these diverse behaviors. Precise evaluation in the field is difficult; as an alternative we performed a series of landslide initiation experiments in the large-scale, USGS debris-flow flume. We systematically investigated the...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Richard M. Iverson, Neal R. Iverson, Richard G. LaHusen, Dianne L. Brien, Matthew Logan
Non-USGS Publications**
Brien, D. L., Reid, M. E., Cronkite-Ratcliff, C., and Perkins, J. P.: Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2024-141, in review, 2024.
**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.
Grfin Tools—Software Package and Runtime Documentation for Users Grfin Tools—Software Package and Runtime Documentation for Users
Grfin Tools (an acronym of Growth + flow + inundation) is a set of software tools for portraying areas potentially impacted by runout from landslides or inundation from geophysical mass-flows (such as debris flows) with or without growth as they travel. Grfin Tools allows users to assess the effects of a wide range of factors that can influence mobility. The software also enables runout...
Science and Products
Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico
In 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread landsliding in Puerto Rico. Published landslide inventories from Hurricane Maria (Bessette-Kirton and others, 2019; Baxstrom and others, 2021a, 2021b; Einbund and others, 2021a, 2021b) provided detailed mapping, including 2919 locations of headscarp points, travel distance lines, source areas, and landslide-affected areas (combined source and...
Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria induced about 70,000 landslides throughout Puerto Rico, USA (Hughes and others, 2019). Data in this project pertain to two areas situated in Puerto Rico’s rugged Cordillera Central range. Combined, these areas account for more than half of the hurricane-induced landslides. One of these areas encloses two neighboring municipalities, Lares Municipio, and Utuado Municipio...
San Francisco Bay Area Reconnaissance Landslide Inventory, January 2023 San Francisco Bay Area Reconnaissance Landslide Inventory, January 2023
From late December 2022 to January 2023, a series of atmospheric river storms produced widespread landsliding in the San Francisco Bay area of California. USGS scientists performed reconnaissance field work to document the extent of landsliding in the region and compiled reports of landslides from media and California Highway Patrol (CHP) reports. This data release documents locations of...
Infiltration data collected post-Hurricane Maria across landslide source area materials, Puerto Rico, USA Infiltration data collected post-Hurricane Maria across landslide source area materials, Puerto Rico, USA
This Data Release includes information to support the characterization of surface/near-surface infiltration rates of selected landslide source area materials following Hurricane Maria across Puerto Rico, USA. The dataset includes comma-delimited measurements of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) collected over two field campaigns (Fall 2018 and Spring 2019) as well as...
Filter Total Items: 15
Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico
In 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered more than 70 000 landslides in Puerto Rico. After initiation, these predominantly shallow landslides were mobilized to varying extents – some landslides only traveled partway downslope, whereas others reached drainage channels and were mobilized into long-traveled debris flows that could severely impact roads and infrastructure. Thus, forecasting...
Authors
Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Jonathan P. Perkins
Grfin Tools—User guide and methods for modeling landslide runout and debris-flow growth and inundation Grfin Tools—User guide and methods for modeling landslide runout and debris-flow growth and inundation
The software package, Grfin Tools, can estimate potential runout from landslides or inundation from geophysical mass flows such as debris flows, lahars from volcanoes, and rock avalanches within a digital elevation model (DEM). Grfin is an acronym of growth + flow + inundation. The tools within this package apply simple, well-tested, empirical models of runout that are computationally...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Dianne L. Brien, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Jonathan P. Perkins
Assessing locations susceptible to shallow landslide initiation during prolonged intense rainfall in the Lares, Utuado, and Naranjito municipalities of Puerto Rico Assessing locations susceptible to shallow landslide initiation during prolonged intense rainfall in the Lares, Utuado, and Naranjito municipalities of Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria induced about 70 000 landslides throughout Puerto Rico, USA, including thousands each in three municipalities situated in Puerto Rico's rugged Cordillera Central range. By combining a nonlinear soil-depth model, presumed wettest-case pore pressures, and quasi-three-dimensional (3D) slope-stability analysis, we developed a landslide susceptibility map that has very good...
Authors
Rex L. Baum, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid, William Schulz, Matthew J. Tello
Investigating the atmospheric conditions associated with impactful shallow landslides in California (USA) Investigating the atmospheric conditions associated with impactful shallow landslides in California (USA)
Shallow landslides are often triggered during rainfall events, which can increase subsurface soil water pressure and destabilize hillslopes. The likelihood of regional shallow landslide initiation is often assessed through a comparison of rainfall intensity and duration to pre-established thresholds. While informative for landslide warning, this exclusive focus on rainfall exceeding...
Authors
Nina S. Oakley, Jonathan P. Perkins, Samuel M. Bartlett, Brian D. Collins, Karimah Halona Comstock, Dianne L. Brien, W.P. Burgess, Skye C. Corbett
Using integrated growth to delineate debris-flow inundation Using integrated growth to delineate debris-flow inundation
Debris-flow volume is fundamental to mobility, yet many debris flows change volume as they travel. Growth can occur through diverse processes such as channel-bed entrainment, bank failures, aggregation of landslides, and coalescence of multiple flows. Integrating growth, either over upslope area or stream length, combines the effects of these growth processes and requires specification...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Dianne L. Brien, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Jonathan P. Perkins
Debris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data Debris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread debris flows in Puerto Rico. We used field observations and pre- and post-Maria lidar to study the volumetric growth of long-travelled (>400 m) debris flows in four basins. We found overall growth rates that ranged from 0.7 to 30.4 m3 per meter of channel length. We partitioned the rates into two growth mechanisms, aggregation...
Authors
Jeffrey A. Coe, Erin K. Bessette-Kirton, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid
Debris-flow initiation promoted by extension within a slow-moving landslide Debris-flow initiation promoted by extension within a slow-moving landslide
The dynamics of slow landslide motion can predispose oversteepened and extended slide regions to debris-flow initiation. For more than 20 years, our real-time monitoring, combined with repeat high-precision GPS surveys, of the Cleveland Corral landslide complex, California, USA, reveals that debris flows initiate from slow-moving kinematic elements of this complex. Different slide...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Dianne L. Brien
Forecasting inundation from debris flows that grow during travel, with application to the Oregon Coast Range, USA Forecasting inundation from debris flows that grow during travel, with application to the Oregon Coast Range, USA
Many debris flows increase in volume as they travel downstream, enhancing their mobility and hazard. Volumetric growth can result from diverse physical processes, such as channel sediment entrainment, stream bank collapse, adjacent landsliding, hillslope erosion and rilling, and coalescence of multiple debris flows; incorporating these varied phenomena into physics-based debris-flow...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Jeffrey A. Coe, Dianne Brien
Scoops3D: software to analyze 3D slope stability throughout a digital landscape Scoops3D: software to analyze 3D slope stability throughout a digital landscape
The computer program, Scoops3D, evaluates slope stability throughout a digital landscape represented by a digital elevation model (DEM). The program uses a three-dimensional (3D) method of columns approach to assess the stability of many (typically millions) potential landslides within a user-defined size range. For each potential landslide (or failure), Scoops3D assesses the stability...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Sarah B. Christian, Dianne L. Brien, Scott T. Henderson
Plenary: Progress in Regional Landslide Hazard Assessment—Examples from the USA Plenary: Progress in Regional Landslide Hazard Assessment—Examples from the USA
Landslide hazard assessment at local and regional scales contributes to mitigation of landslides in developing and densely populated areas by providing information for (1) land development and redevelopment plans and regulations, (2) emergency preparedness plans, and (3) economic analysis to (a) set priorities for engineered mitigation projects and (b) define areas of similar levels of...
Authors
Rex L. Baum, William Schulz, Dianne L. Brien, William J. Burns, Mark E. Reid, Jonathan W. Godt
Volcano collapse promoted by progressive strength reduction: New data from Mount St. Helens Volcano collapse promoted by progressive strength reduction: New data from Mount St. Helens
Rock shear strength plays a fundamental role in volcano flank collapse, yet pertinent data from modern collapse surfaces are rare. Using samples collected from the inferred failure surface of the massive 1980 collapse of Mount St. Helens (MSH), we determined rock shear strength via laboratory tests designed to mimic conditions in the pre-collapse edifice. We observed that the 1980...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Terry E.C. Keith, Robert E. Kayen, Neal R. Iverson, Richard M. Iverson, Dianne Brien
Deciphering landslide behavior using large-scale flume experiments Deciphering landslide behavior using large-scale flume experiments
Landslides can be triggered by a variety of hydrologic events and they can exhibit a wide range of movement dynamics. Effective prediction requires understanding these diverse behaviors. Precise evaluation in the field is difficult; as an alternative we performed a series of landslide initiation experiments in the large-scale, USGS debris-flow flume. We systematically investigated the...
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Richard M. Iverson, Neal R. Iverson, Richard G. LaHusen, Dianne L. Brien, Matthew Logan
Non-USGS Publications**
Brien, D. L., Reid, M. E., Cronkite-Ratcliff, C., and Perkins, J. P.: Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-2024-141, in review, 2024.
**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.
Grfin Tools—Software Package and Runtime Documentation for Users Grfin Tools—Software Package and Runtime Documentation for Users
Grfin Tools (an acronym of Growth + flow + inundation) is a set of software tools for portraying areas potentially impacted by runout from landslides or inundation from geophysical mass-flows (such as debris flows) with or without growth as they travel. Grfin Tools allows users to assess the effects of a wide range of factors that can influence mobility. The software also enables runout...