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Jonathan P Perkins

Jon is a Research Geologist specializing in landslides, sediment transport, and landscape evolution. 

Jon got his Ph.D. in 2015 from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he worked on the tectonic, magmatic, and geomorphic processes that shape the landscape of the Central Andes. In 2007 he graduated with a B.S. in Geosciences from San Francisco State University, and spent the next two years working at the Cosmochemistry Laboratory at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Lab. He came to the USGS in 2016 as a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow to investigate the linkages between glacial sedimentology, groundwater flow, and slope stability in northwest Washington State.  

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., University of California, 2015

  • B.S., San Francisco State University (Geosciences), 2007

Science and Products

Below are science projects related to Jon's work

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Illustration model of the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Margin-wide geological and geophysical synthesis to understand the recurrence and hazards of great subduction zone earthquakes in Cascadia

The Cascadia Subduction Zone, located in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and southwestern British Columbia, has hosted magnitude ≥8.0 megathrust earthquakes in the geologic past, a future earthquake is imminent, and the potential impacts could cripple the region. Subduction zone earthquakes represent some of the most devastating natural hazards on Earth. Despite substantial knowledge gained from deca
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John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
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Margin-wide geological and geophysical synthesis to understand the recurrence and hazards of great subduction zone earthquakes in Cascadia

The Cascadia Subduction Zone, located in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and southwestern British Columbia, has hosted magnitude ≥8.0 megathrust earthquakes in the geologic past, a future earthquake is imminent, and the potential impacts could cripple the region. Subduction zone earthquakes represent some of the most devastating natural hazards on Earth. Despite substantial knowledge gained from deca
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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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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Field observations of ground failure triggered by the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquake sequence

This dataset consists of over 800 field observations of ground failure (landslides, lateral spreading, and liquefaction) and other damage triggered by the 2019-2020 Puerto Rico earthquake sequence. The sequence started with a M4.7 earthquake on 28 December 2019, followed by many more earthquakes, including 15 larger than M5 (as of 7 July 2020). The M6.4 mainshock, which is thought to have triggere
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Landslide Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Unsaturated flow processes and the onset of seasonal deformation in slow-moving landslides

Predicting rainfall-induced landslide motion is challenging because shallow groundwater flow is extremely sensitive to the preexisting moisture content in the ground. Here, we use groundwater hydrology theory and numerical modeling combined with five years of field monitoring to illustrate how unsaturated groundwater flow processes modulate the seasonal pore water pressure rise and therefore the o
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Toward an integrative geological and geophysical view of Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes

The Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) is an exceptional geologic environment for recording evidence of land level changes, tsunamis, and ground motion that reveals at least 19 great megathrust earthquakes over the past 10 kyr. Such earthquakes are among the most impactful natural hazards on Earth, transcend national boundaries, and can have global impact. Reducing the societal impacts of future event
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine 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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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Controls on eolian landscape evolution in fractured bedrock

Wind abrasion is important for planetary landscape evolution, and wind‐abraded bedrock landscapes contain many landforms that are difficult to interpret. Here we exploit a natural experiment in Chile where topographic shielding by an upwind lava flow yields diverse erosional landforms in a downwind ignimbrite. Using a 3‐D topographic wind model, we find that low velocities in the wake of a lava lo
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Hunting for landslides from Cascadia's great earthquakes

No abstract available.
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Control of landslide volume and hazard by glacial stratigraphic architecture, Northwest Washington state, USA

Landslide volumes span many orders of magnitude, but large-volume slides tend to travel farther and consequently can pose a greater hazard. In northwest Washington State, USA, a landscape abounding with landslides big and small, the recent occurrence of the large-volume and tragically deadly State Route 530 (Oso) landslide is a stark reminder of the hazards associated with glacial terraces lining
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Energy and Minerals, Natural Hazards, Energy Resources Program, Landslide Hazards, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Pre-USGS Publications

M.E. Pritchard, S.L. de Silva, G. Michelfelder, G. Zandt, S.R. McNutt, J. Gottsmann, M.E. West, J. Blundy, D.H. Christensen, N.J. Finnegan, E. Minaya, R.S.J. Sparks, M. Sunagua, M.J. Unsworth, C. Alvizuri, M.J. Comeau, R. del Potro, D. Díaz, M. Diez, A. Farrell, S.T. Henderson, J.A. Jay, T. Lopez, D. Legrand, J.A. Naranjo, H. McFarlin, D. Muir, J.P. Perkins, Z. Spica, A. Wilder, K.M. Ward; Synthesis: PLUTONS: Investigating the relationship between pluton growth and volcanism in the Central Andes. Geosphere doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01578.1
Perkins, J. P., Ward, K. M., De Silva, S. L., Zandt, G., Beck, S. L., & Finnegan, N. J. (2016). Surface uplift in the Central Andes driven by growth of the Altiplano Puna Magma Body. Nature Communications, 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13185
Perkins, J. P., Finnegan, N. J., Henderson, S. T., & Rittenour, T. M. (2016). Topographic constraints on magma accumulation below the actively uplifting Uturuncu and Lazufre volcanic centers in the Central Andes. Geosphere, 12(4), 1078–1096. https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01278.1
Perkins, J. P., Finnegan, N. J., & De Silva, S. L. (2015). Amplification of bedrock canyon incision by wind. Nature Geoscience, 8(4), 305–310. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2381

Science and Products