Francis Rengers

General Research Statement:

My work leverages high-resolution topography from airborne and ground-based lidar, as well as drone-based structure-from-motion, to characterize the controls on mass movement after wildfire.  I also use modeling and field-instrumentation to characterize how wildfire creates the hydrologic and soil conditions that lead to sedimentation hazards. My work is primarily focused in the semi-arid portions of the Western United States, and I have worked on projects in Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. In addition, I serve as an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of Mines, I advise USGS post-docs, and I am currently serving on Ph.D. thesis committees at several universities.

Education:

• Ph.D., Geology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. 2014. The Influence of Transient Perturbations on Landscape Evolution: Exploring Gully Erosion and Post-Wildfire Erosion.
• M. S., Geology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. 2005.  Grain Size Trends of Gravel Bars on the Rio Chagres, Panama
• B. S., Geology, Summa Cum Laude, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. 2003. Spatial Analysis of Landforms on Reclaimed Surface Mines of Monongalia County 
• B. A., French, Summa Cum Laude, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. 2003

Professional Appointments: 

2016-present                        Research Geologist

2014-2016                            Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Staley, D.M., Kean, J.W., Rengers, F.K. 2020. The recurrence interval of post-fire debris-flow generating rainfall in the southwestern United States. Geomorphology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107392

Rengers, F.K., McGuire, L.A., Oakley, N.S., Tang, H., Kean, J.W., and Staley, D.M. 2020. Landslides after Wildfire: initiation, magnitude, and mobility after fire.  Landslides. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01506-3

Rengers, F.K., Kean, J.W., Reitman, N.G., Smith, J.B., Coe, J.A., McGuire, L.A., 2020. The Influence of Frost Weathering on Debris Flow Sediment Supply in an Alpine Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 125, e2019JF005369. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005369

Wall, S., Roering, J., Rengers, F.K., 2020. Runoff-initiated post-fire debris flow Western Cascades, Oregon. Landslides. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01376-9

Rapstine, T.D., Rengers, F.K., Allstadt, K.E., Iverson, R.M., Smith, J.B., Obryk, M.K., Logan, M. Olsen, M.J. 2020. Reconstructing the velocity and deformation of a rapid landslide using multiview video. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface.  https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005348

Kean, Jason W., Staley, D.M., Lancaster, J.T., Rengers, F.K., Swanson, B.J., Coe, J.A., Hernandez, J.L., Sigman, A.J., Allst