Kate E Allstadt, Ph.D.
Kate Allstadt joined the team at the USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center in Golden, CO in June 2015.
Kate uses multidisciplinary applications of seismic and geophysical techniques to study landslide, earthquake, and volcano hazards. She currently focuses on earthquake-triggered ground failure, near-real-time earthquake impacts, seismic monitoring of debris flows and lahars, and studies of massive rapid landslides using seismic methods and numerical modeling.
Kate cofounded the ongoing GeoGirls at Mount St. Helens field camp designed to keep middle school girls interested in science through hands-on field experiences and interactions with strong science role models.
Research Interests
Multidisciplinary Applications of Seismology, Hazard and Disaster mitigation, Seismically Induced Landslides, Landslide Seismology, Earthquake and Volcano monitoring, Real-time products, Engineering seismology and Site Effects
Professional Experience
2015 – present: Research Geophysicist, USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center, Golden CO
2014 – 2015: National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory: Toward early detection and tracking of mass movements at volcanoes using seismic methods.
2013 – 2014: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Washington: M9 Cascadia megaquakes: reducing risk through science, engineering, and planning.
2009 – 2013: Duty Seismologist for Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant, University of Washington
Education and Certifications
2009 – 2013: University of Washington, PhD, Seismology/Geophysics
2008 – 2009: Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France and ROSE School, Pavia, Italy, M.S., Engineering Seismology
2003 - 2008: Northeastern University, B.S., Environmental Geology
Science and Products
Taking the pulse of debris flows: Extracting debris-flow dynamics from good vibrations in southern California and central Colorado
Inundation, flow dynamics, and damage in the 9 January 2018 Montecito Debris-Flow Event, California, USA: Opportunities and challenges for post-wildfire risk assessment
A physical model of the high-frequency seismic signal generated by debris flows
Earthquake-induced chains of geologic hazards: Patterns, mechanisms, and impacts
Exotic Seismic Events Catalog (ESEC) Data Product
Factors controlling landslide frequency-area distributions
Community for Data Integration fiscal year 2017 funded project report
Seismic and acoustic signatures of surficial mass movements at volcanoes
A global empirical model for near real-time assessment of seismically induced landslides
An updated method for estimating landslide‐event magnitude
Landslides triggered by the 14 November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake, New Zealand
Improving near‐real‐time coseismic landslide models: Lessons learned from the 2016 Kaikōura, New Zealand, earthquake
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.
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Filter Total Items: 46
Taking the pulse of debris flows: Extracting debris-flow dynamics from good vibrations in southern California and central Colorado
The destructive nature of debris flows makes it difficult to quantify flow dynamics with direct instrumentation. For this reason, seismic sensors placed safely away from the flow path are often used to identify the timing and speed of debris flows. While seismic sensors have proven to be a valuable tool for event detection and early warning, their potential for identifying other aspects of debrisAuthorsA. Michel, Jason W. Kean, Joel B. Smith, Kate E. Allstadt, Jeffrey A. CoeInundation, flow dynamics, and damage in the 9 January 2018 Montecito Debris-Flow Event, California, USA: Opportunities and challenges for post-wildfire risk assessment
Shortly before the beginning of the winter rainy season, one of the largest fires in California history (Thomas Fire) substantially increased the susceptibility of steep slopes in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties to debris flows. On January 9, 2018, before the fire was fully contained, an intense burst of rain fell on the portion of the burn area above Montecito, CA. The rainfall and associatedAuthorsJason W. Kean, Dennis M. Staley, Jeremy T. Lancaster, Francis K. Rengers, Brian J. Swanson, Jeffrey A. Coe, Janis Hernandez, Aaron Sigman, Kate E. Allstadt, Donald N. LindsayA physical model of the high-frequency seismic signal generated by debris flows
We propose a physical model for the high‐frequency (>1 Hz) spectral distribution of seismic power generated by debris flows. The modeled debris flow is assumed to have four regions where the impact rate and impulses are controlled by different mechanisms: the flow body, a coarser‐grained snout, a snout lip where particles fall from the snout on the bed, and a dilute front composed of saltating parAuthorsMaxime Farin, Victor C. Tsai, Michael P. Lamb, Kate E. AllstadtEarthquake-induced chains of geologic hazards: Patterns, mechanisms, and impacts
Large earthquakes initiate chains of surface processes that last much longer than the brief moments of strong shaking. Most moderate- and large-magnitude earthquakes trigger landslides, ranging from small failures in the soil cover to massive, devastating rock avalanches. Some landslides dam rivers and impound lakes, which can collapse days to centuries later, and flood mountain valleys for hundreAuthorsXuanmei Fan, Gianvito Scaringi, Oliver Korup, A. Joshua West, Cees J. van Westen, Hakan Tanyas, Niels Hovius, Tristram C Hales, Randall W. Jibson, Kate E. Allstadt, Limin Zhang, Stephen G. Evans, Chong Xu, Gen Li, Xiangjun Pei, Qiang Xu, Runqiu HuangExotic Seismic Events Catalog (ESEC) Data Product
Nonearthquake seismic events from sources such as landslides, debris flows, dam collapses, floods, glaciers, and avalanches are rarely included in traditional earthquake catalogs. The new Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Data Management Center Exotic Seismic Events Catalog data product provides information on such events to help accelerate research in the area of environmenAuthorsManoch Bahavar, Kate E. Allstadt, Mick Van Fossen, Stephen Malone, Chad TrabantFactors controlling landslide frequency-area distributions
A power‐law relation for the frequency–area distribution (FAD) of medium and large landslides (e.g. tens to millions of square meters) has been observed by numerous authors. But the FAD of small landslides diverges from the power‐law distribution, with a rollover point below which frequencies decrease for smaller landslides. Some studies conclude that this divergence is an artifact of unmapped smaAuthorsHakan Tanyaş, Cees J. van Westen, Kate E. Allstadt, Randall W. JibsonCommunity for Data Integration fiscal year 2017 funded project report
The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually funds small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 11 projects funded in fiscal year 2017, outlining their goals, activities, and outputs.AuthorsLeslie Hsu, Kate E. Allstadt, Tara M. Bell, Erin E. Boydston, Richard A. Erickson, A. Lance Everette, Erika Lentz, Jeff Peters, Brian Reichert, Sarah Nagorsen, Jason T. Sherba, Richard P. Signell, Mark T. Wiltermuth, John A. YoungSeismic and acoustic signatures of surficial mass movements at volcanoes
Surficial mass movements, such as debris avalanches, rock falls, lahars, pyroclastic flows, and outburst floods, are a dominant hazard at many volcanoes worldwide. Understanding these processes, cataloging their spatio-temporal occurrence, and detecting, tracking, and characterizing these events would advance the science of volcano monitoring and help mitigate hazards. Seismic and acoustic methodsAuthorsKate E. Allstadt, Robin S Matoza, Andrew Lockhart, Seth C. Moran, Jacqueline Caplan-Auerbach, Matthew M. Haney, Weston Thelen, Stephen D. MaloneA global empirical model for near real-time assessment of seismically induced landslides
Earthquake-triggered landslides are a significant hazard in seismically active regions, but our ability to assess the hazard they pose in near real-time is limited. In this study, we present a new globally applicable model for seismically induced landslides based on the most comprehensive global dataset available; we use 23 landslide inventories that span a range of earthquake magnitudes and climAuthorsM. Anna Nowicki Jessee, M.W. Hamburger, Kate E. Allstadt, David J. Wald, H. Tanyas, Mike Hearne, E.M. ThompsonAn updated method for estimating landslide‐event magnitude
Summary statistics derived from the frequency–area distribution (FAD) of inventories of triggered landslides allows for direct comparison of landslides triggered by one event (e.g. earthquake, rainstorm) with another. Such comparisons are vital to understand links between the landslide‐event and the environmental characteristics of the area affected. This could lead to methods for rapid estimationAuthorsHakan Tanyas, Kate E. Allstadt, Cees J. van WestonLandslides triggered by the 14 November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake, New Zealand
The 14 November 2016 MwMw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake generated more than 10,000 landslides over a total area of about 10,000 km210,000 km2, with the majority concentrated in a smaller area of about 3600 km23600 km2. The largest landslide triggered by the earthquake had an approximate volume of 20(±2) M m320(±2) M m3, with a runout distance of about 2.7 km, forming a dam on the Hapuku River. InAuthorsC. Massey, D. Townsend, Ellen M. Rathje, Kate E. Allstadt, B. Lukovic, Yoshihiro Kaneko, Brendon A. Bradley, J. Wartman, Randall W. Jibson, D. N. Petley, Nick Horspool, I. Hamling, J. Carey, S. Cox, John Davidson, S. Dellow, Jonathan W. Godt, Christopher Holden, Katherine D. Jones, Anna E. Kaiser, M. Little, B. Lyndsell, S. McColl, R. Morgenstern, Francis K. Rengers, D. Rhoades, B. Rosser, D. Strong, C. Singeisen, M. VilleneuveImproving near‐real‐time coseismic landslide models: Lessons learned from the 2016 Kaikōura, New Zealand, earthquake
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing near‐real‐time global earthquake‐triggered‐landslide products to augment the USGS Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system. The 14 November 2016 MwMw 7.8 Kaikōura, New Zealand, earthquake provided a test case for evaluating the performance and near‐real‐time response applicability of three published global seismically inducAuthorsKate E. Allstadt, Randall W. Jibson, Eric M. Thompson, Chris Massey, David J. Wald, Jonathan W. Godt, Francis K. RengersNon-USGS Publications**
Coe, J.A., Baum, R. L., Allstadt, K.E., Kochevar, B.F., Schmitt, R.G., Morgan, M.L., White, J.L., Stratton, B.T., Hayashi, T.A., Kean, J.W., 2016, Rock-avalanche dynamics revealed by large-scale field mapping and seismic signals at a highly mobile avalanche in the West Salt Creek valley, western Colorado, Geosphere, 12, 25p., doi:10.1130/GES01265.1Allstadt, K. E., Shean, D. E., Campbell, A., Fahnestock, M., and Malone, S. D., 2015, Observations of seasonal and diurnal glacier velocities at Mount Rainier, Washington, using terrestrial radar interferometry, The Cryosphere, 9, 2219-2235, doi:10.5194/tc-9-2219-2015.Moretti, L, Allstadt, K., Mangeney, A., Capdeville, Y., Stutzmann, E. and Bouchut, F., 2015, Numerical modeling of the Mount Meager landslide constrained by its force history derived from seismic data, J. Geophs. Res., 120, 2578-2599, doi: 10.1002/2014JB011426Allstadt, K., and Malone, S.M., 2014, Swarms of repeating stick-slip icequakes triggered by snow loading at Mount Rainier volcano, J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf. 119, doi: 10.1002/2014JF003086Allstadt, K., 2013, Surficial Seismology: Landslides, Glaciers and Volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest through a Seismic Lens, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Washington.Allstadt, K., Vidale, J.E., and Frankel, A., 2013, A scenario study of seismically induced landsliding in Seattle using broadband synthetic seismograms, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 103(6), 2971-2992.Allstadt, K., 2013, Extracting Source Characteristics and Dynamics of the August 2010 Mount Meager Landslide from Broadband Seismograms, J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surface, 118(3), 1472-1490.Guthrie, R.H., Friele, P., Allstadt, K., Roberts, N., Evans, S.G., Delaney, K.B., Roche, D., Clague, J.J., and Jakob, M., 2012, The 6 August 2010 Mount Meager rock slide-debris flow, Coast Mountains, British Columbia: characteristics, dynamics, and implications for hazard and risk assessment: Nat.Haz. Earth. Syst. Sci., 12, 1277-1294.Allstadt, K., 2009, Study of Site Effects in Landslides using Weak Ground Motion, Avignonet and Séchilienne Landslides, French Alps, M.S. Thesis, Université Joseph Fourier and ROSE School. 87p.**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.
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